Eight months after a Coeur d’Alene police officer shot and killed a dog in a parked van, sparking criticism from across the nation, the city has agreed to pay the dog’s owner $80,000. The settlement was approved Tuesday night in a unanimous vote of the City Council. Craig Jones, whose 2-year-old Labrador Arfee died from a gunshot wound to the chest on July 9, had sought $350,000 in damages. The city and Jones’ attorney, Adam Karp of Bellingham, have been in settlement talks the past few months.

“By agreeing to this sum, the City, its police force, and the shooting officer recognized their tremendous exposure to protracted litigation followed by a sound defeat at trial,” Karp said in an email tonight. “This prefiling settlement represents the largest to date in the Pacific Northwest, if not the country, involving the wrongful death of a dog at the hands of law enforcement. May this deter future unnecessary tragedies.” “This was a regrettable event that the city has taken complete responsibility for,” Mayor Steve Widmyer said in a statement Tuesday. “I want to again extend our apologies to Mr. Jones”/Scott Maben, SR. More here.

Question: Do you agree with settlement amount?

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