PLAISTOW - The SAU will not pay for damages to vehicles owned by five Timberlane Regional High School students who say police dogs scratched their cars during a random campus-wide drug search in April. School Administrative Unit 55 Business Administrator George Stokinger said the claims were rejected because of the unliklihood that any scratches were the result of the police canines.
"The claims seemed, in our judgment, pretty excessive," he said. "Just about every panel in the cars were in the claims and we just didn’t think it was justified."
The school was locked down on April 8 while five police K-9 teams and administrators checked lockers and vehicles in the parking lot. The dogs alerted their handlers to 20 vehicles. Five students later reported damage to their vehicles.
The claims varied in their severity and location of the scratches. One claim alleged the canine scratched the hood of a pickup truck.
"I talked to the police to try and understand how the dogs act and why and the way it was described to me is the dogs would not do that," said Stokinger.
Plaistow Master Patrolman Alec Porter, who is the handler of the Plaistow police canine Stryker, said the claims were the first he has heard of his 19 years of service in any police agency. He said the dog alerts the handler by barking or scratching at a scent, but the scratches could be buffed out very easily and it is "highly unlikely" any serious damage was done.
Stokinger said one parent has pursued the claim through the district’s insurance company, which indicated it would not pay for repairs.
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