Family of boy 'viciously' attacked by Calgary police dog sues for $600K

The parents of a 12-year-old boy, who they say has PTSD and a "disfiguring wound" after being attacked by a Calgary police dog, are suing the City of Calgary and the dog's handler for $600,000.

The statement of claim filed this week at the Calgary Courts Centre alleges the the K9 unit's Belgian Malinois named Marco had gotten out of his house before and "had a known propensity for escape."

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Marco got out of his backyard in Aspen Hills on March 30, 2016 and chased Ali Hassan — who had been playing with two of his friends — into his house.

"The dog viciously and violently attacked Ali in the kitchen," according to the statement of claim.

The attack happened in front of Ali's parents, who tried to pull the dog off their son. Cst. Will Glover, who was Marco's handler at the time, arrived and took the animal out of the victim's house.

None of the allegations in the statement of claim have been proven in court. A statement of defence has not yet been filed.

Surgeries and PTSD 

Glover failed in a number of ways, according to the document, including that he did not properly train, muzzle, harness, or socialize Marco to live in a residential neighbourhood. 

Ali's injuries included a "disfiguring" wound on his right leg from Marco's bite, stiffness and loss of motion in his leg, PTSD and anxiety, according to the statement.

The bite Ali suffered on his leg was rated by bylaw officers at the time as a five on the Dunbar dog bite scale, where six is death.

The boy has also undergone surgery, therapy and rehab following the attack.

"The attack was vicious and was precipitated by a casual, unconcerned and cavalier attitude towards the safety of those in the community," reads the document.

Marco sent back to U.S.

The handler was charged with four bylaw infractions, including allowing a dog to run at large and another of an animal attacking a person and causing severe injury.

Glover was also charged in a separate, previous incident that saw his pet Doberman and Marco escape from his yard and run away weeks earlier.

Police have said they'll do an administrative review of the incident.

Marco has been sent back to a U.S. kennel.