A Minnesota woman is suing the St. Paul Police Department after being mauled by a police dog.
Desiree Collins was taking out the trash on the morning of Sept. 23 when a K-9 on a 20-foot leash went behind the dumpster she was using and attacked her. The horrifying incident was captured by police body-cam footage. The video shows a terrified Collins screaming for help as the dog bites on her arm and leg throughout a 30-second period.
Police officer Thaddeus Schmidt and another officer, who hasn’t been identified, were reportedly responding to a burglary incident in the area when the dog attacked the 52-year-old. Officers are seen fruitlessly yelling at the canine to relieve the woman before one of them begins physically attempting to remove the dog.
Collins’ lawyer Andrew Noel said his client is still suffering the repercussions of the attack.
“What you have here is a completely innocent person taking out their garbage … and a K-9 simply wasn’t controlled,” Noel said according to the New York Post. “It should never have happened.”
“She’s struggling emotionally with this incident,” he continued.
Officer Schmidt received “leash training” just last year after supervising the same dog when he attacked an innocent bystander.
