Lawsuit Over Police Dog's Leg Chomp Stays Alive

HOWELL (AP) — An appeals court won't free a Livingston County sheriff's deputy from a lawsuit by a woman who was bitten by a police dog after attending a self-help conference.

Anthony Clayton isn't entitled to immunity. The decision Friday means the case can continue in Detroit federal court.

Terry Greco of Old Lyme, Connecticut, was attending a conference in Howell in 2011. She became lost on her way to a hotel, and her car got stuck on the side of a road. There's no dispute that Greco earlier had been drinking wine.

Greco says deputies who approached her while she was urinating in bushes released a police dog named Diago.

But the deputy has a different story. Clayton says he slipped on a log and almost landed on Greco. He says the dog released her thigh after he confirmed that Greco didn't have a weapon.

The appeals court says a jury can sort out whether the dog bite was intentional or an accident.