Attorney: St. Paul will pay $520,000 to woman bitten by police dog

An attorney for a St. Paul woman bitten by a police dog says the city will pay her more than half a million dollars.

In July, U.S. District Court Judge John Tunheim ruled that the St. Paul police officer who handled the K-9 Gabe, was "more than negligent" when the dog bit Desiree Collins last year. The incident, which was captured on a police body camera, happened in an alley as Collins was taking out the trash.

The court left the parties to work out the amount of payout through either a jury trial or settlement process. According to attorney Andy Noel, the parties settled on $520,000.

Noel said the settlement is an "excellent result." And he praised the city of St. Paul for taking steps to making sure this doesn't happen again. A call to Mayor Melvin Carter's office for comment has not been returned.

The city has already commissioned an audit of its K-9 unit following previous incidents of "accidental" dog bites. Data analyzed by MPR News show St. Paul averages about 1.7 accidental police dog bites each year.

Last year, the city paid $2 million to Frank Baker who was seriously injured when a police dog tore into his leg during a 2016 incident.