Local News in Brief : $365,000 Award Over Police Dog Bite

A jury has awarded the 6-year-old daughter of a Glendale police sergeant $315,000 and his ex-wife $50,000 for injuries suffered when his dog, which was owned by the city, attacked the girl four years ago.

In a series of split verdicts, however, the Glendale Superior Court jury ruled out damages against the city for emotional suffering and returned a judgment far short of the $3 million an attorney sought for the mother and daughter.

The case arose after the police dog used by Sgt. Ricardo L. Jauregui in December, 1984, bit his daughter, Jennifer, in the head, puncturing her skull in two places and shattering her nose. The girl’s mother, Roberta Jauregui, testified that the dog bit her own arm when she grabbed for her daughter and then repeatedly bit Jennifer’s legs and buttocks as she tried to carry the child to safety.

The incident occurred as Jennifer and her mother were raking leaves in their back yard while Ricardo Jauregui was at work. It is not unusual for Glendale police officers to keep police dogs at their homes, officials said.