Eagan Police Officer Being Sued
An Eagan man is suing an Eagan Police Department officer after an incident in 2016 in which he was arrested and bitten by a K-9 officer.
The suit was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court, seeking $300,000 in damages, from Eagan Police Officer Tony Lejcher, according to KSTP.
Here is what happened, according to the lawsuit information. Nicholas Griffith and a friend went to the Hidden Corner Park baseball fields in Eagan on August 17, 2016. They were both underage at the time and a resident a few blocks away reported suspicious activity and that one individual was dressed all in dark and had a ski mask.
Six officers responded, two officers waited at the elementary school for the rest to arrive. Two officers spotted the men in the park and the put their headlights on and drove toward them, which spooked the two men and they ran. They separated and police caught Griffith's friend, who showed the police his backpack and identified Griffith. The backpack did not contain any of the clothing or mask mentioned in the original call.
Lejcher and his K-9 then arrived. In the process of the search, Lejcher spotted Griffith hiding by a bush. He told Griffith to put his hands up. The lawsuit says as Griffith was complying he was bitten by the K-9, which was running free at the time. Griffith said he suffered a number of lacerations to the neck
No other information is available from Eagan PD at this time.
.