Report: $300,000 settlement for woman attacked by police dog
From Staff Reports
A woman who was attacked by a Darlington County Sheriff’s Office police dog in 2017 has received a $300,000 payout, according to a Florence television station.
WPDE-TV reported last week that the woman, Patrinola Butler, received the settlement from the S.C. Insurance Reserve Fund, which basically serves as an insurance company for city and county governments in the state. WPDE said it filed a Freedom of Information Act request to learn the settlement amount.
Butler’s Florence lawyer, Rose Mary Parham, said in a statement: “As you can see from the settlement, we obtained the maximum available for our client allowed by law. Although Patrinola was at no fault whatsoever in bringing about this ordeal, she was very pleased with the money she received as a result of the county’s negligence.”
Parham did not return a phone call from the News & Press about the case.
The dog attack took place in December 2017 near McBee in Darlington County.
The police dog’s handler was reportedly searching for a burglary suspect when the dog went out of control. Butler was not involved in the case; she was a bystander.
The sheriff’s deputy handling the dog, named Sky, reported that the dog started running toward two people walking along the road. He said the dog wouldn’t obey his commands and attacked one of the people, Butler, who was trying to run away, He said the dog seized Butler by the arm and knocked her to the ground. She had to be hospitalized because of the injuries she suffered.