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Courtroom Field Trip Ends in Vicious Dog Bite
The Abbotts, a Brazil, Indiana family have reached nearly $200,000 in settlements after their child was bit by a police dog. The Abbotts filed a civil lawsuit in Clay County against the Brazil Police Department, City of Brazil, Clay Superior Court Judge Blaine Akers and the Clay Community School Corporation as a result of the bite.
Jaxson Abbott was among students who participated in a “simulated drug raid” in which a small amount of marijuana was placed on some of the children lying on the floor. A trained drug dog handled by the Brazil Police Department was sent into the courtroom to sniff the children as part of the demonstration. During that simulation, the dog bit the leg of Jaxon Abbott and had to be forcibly pried off the boy’s leg by other police officers.
The Terre Haute Tribune-Star recently reported that public records requests show Michael and Gabriel Abbott of Brazil recently reached out-of-court settlements of $105,000 from the state and $80,000 from the city of Brazil. Jaxson suffered scarring and nerve damage as a result of the bite.