OR- Man guilty of assaulting, disabling police canine

10-12-2008 Oregon:

A mentally ill man who injured a Gresham police dog so badly the canine had to retire from police work has been found guilty of assaulting a law enforcement animal.

Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Edward Jones, following a two-day trial that started Monday, Oct. 6, sentenced John Clark Milam, 48, to a year in jail and three years of post-prison supervision. Because he’s been in jail since his arrest last July, the judge gave him credit for time served.

He also must pay the Gresham Police Department $9,500, which is the cost of replacing Koda, a 4-year-old Czechoslovakian shepherd, with a new police dog.

Koda suffered an injured leg after falling off a cliff while nabbing Milam, a fugitive sex offender. The injury required two surgeries and ended his police career.

“Given the mental health issues, I thought the sentence was fair,” said Prosecutor Heidi Moawad. “… I’m glad that the judge found him responsible for it.

Koda was searching for Milam on July 11, 2007, when Koda found the suspect hiding in the thick woods along the Sandy River. Milam beat the dog’s head and tumbled over a 100-foot cliff toward the river with the dog.

For hours, Koda’s human partner, Officer Shawn Debler, thought his canine partner was dead. But police found Milam hiding on a steep cliffside and later discovered Koda – alive but injured – on a small ledge above the suspect. The dog had been there for about six hours.

During the trial, Milam testified that the dog knocked him over the cliff, adding that he was confused and disoriented while police chased him in the dark.

Milam’s defense attorney, Ulanda Watkins, argued that Milam was delusional and didn’t mean to hurt the dog. A doctor testified that Milam has a psychotic disorder and shows signs of paranoid schizophrenia.

Officer Debler testified that as Koda tracked Milam – who was wanted by Beaverton police for failure to register as a sex offender – he repeatedly yelled “police!” and ordered him to stop. But Milam refused to comply with the officer’s demands.

Finally, the officer issued the command for Koda to bite. Koda complied. The next thing Debler knew, Milam was repeatedly beating Koda over the head.

Milam then grabbed Koda’s harness, and together they tumbled down a 20- to 30-foot hillside before falling another 100 feet over a steep cliff toward the Sandy River.

Milam broke his back, arm and some ribs, which punctured his lung, during the fall. He has since recovered from his injuries.

He was wanted for violating his parole on a 1994 burglary and child molestation conviction in California in which he broke into a house and tried to take photos of a young girl inside.

Now he faces the Beaverton charge of failure to register as a sex offender and must be extradited to California for parole violation, Moawad said.

Debler has since been partnered with a new canine officer, and another Gresham officer adopted Koda. ..News Source.. by Mara Stine