Chew
Chew v. Gates
Opinion
Opinion
Gadbois, J.
ORDER AND OPINION
Plaintiff Thane Carl Chew brings this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that his constitutional rights were violated when a police dog injured him during his arrest. Here, certain defendants move for summary judgment on plaintiffs claims that the training and use of police dogs to search for, seize and hold suspects is unconstitutional.
FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
On September 4, 1988, at about 2 p.m,, when the temperature had soared to 110 degrees, Plaintiff Chew was stopped for a traffic violation. Before the officer could check him for weapons, Chew fled on foot into a large junkyard where he hid for two hours. The traffic officer discovered that Chew had three outstanding felony warrants and called for assistance. A perimeter was set up around the junkyard, a helicopter began searching the area, and police canine units were called in to search for and find Chew.
Officer Bunch and his dog Volker responded to the call and began searching for Chew. Volker had been trained to seek, find and seize the suspect, by biting if necessary, unless called off by the handler. The pair searched for Chew for some time before the dog picked up Chew’s scent.