Former chief will lead probe of St. Paul police dog unit
Former St. Paul police chief William Finney will lead an audit of the city's police dog unit, Mayor Melvin Carter and police chief Todd Axtell said on Friday.
The review comes after several recent incidents in which police dogs have bitten bystanders.
Axtell said nothing will be off limits in the audit. Finney's review will consider history, policy, training and K-9 practices.
The city will pay Finney $50,000 for six months of work. The audit's budget allows for another $50,000 to cover travel expenses and hiring outside experts.
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Once the audit is complete, Finney will issue recommendations "for how canines should best be deployed in the interest of public safety," a city statement said.
Finney worked in St. Paul for 33 years, 12 as police chief. He retired in 2004, the city said.
The latest incident involving a K-9 biting a bystander was earlier this month when a dog's collar broke and it bit a man's arm.
Carter called it "very disturbing, especially viewed in the context of other events that have occurred over the past two years."
Perhaps the highest profile police dog attack in St. Paul in recent years involved Frank Baker in 2016. He spent two weeks in the hospital with severe leg and feet injuries.
Officers had responded to a call about a fight. They didn't find a fight but found Baker sitting in a vehicle nearby. One officer said Baker didn't comply quickly, so he let the dog loose on him.
Baker later won a $2 million settlement from the city. It was the largest in St. Paul history.