The city of St. Paul has agreed to pay $43,500 to settle a lawsuit accusing a St. Paul police dog of an unprovoked attack on a 13-year-old boy walking near his suburban home in 2009.

His mother, Terri Fox-Fitzgerald, filed the suit last summer in Dakota County District Court against the dog’s handler, Officer Isaac Rinehart, and the city of St. Paul.

The case was scheduled for trial today at the Hastings courthouse, but the parties instead settled moments before trial, said St. Paul City Attorney Sara Grewing.

The judge and the St. Paul City Council have to approve the settlement to finalize the agreement.

Because of the city’s liability statute, Grewing said, St. Paul was required to pay damages. “If one of the K9 officers is involved in an injury like this, we have to pay.”

However, she said the question was how much.

The plaintiff had asked for damages in excess of $50,000, which is common in civil cases. The Fox-Fitzgerald family and their attorney were not immediately available for comment.

The city paid for the settlement amount from its tort liability budget, which covers lawsuits filed against the city while conducting normal business, Grewing said.

The boy, Mitch Fitzgerald, got three stitches on his lip and 13 on his arm after Rinehart’s K-9 partner, Sarik, bit him about 9 p.m. March 15, 2009, the teen’s mom previously said. Mitch was standing near a water tower in South St. Paul, close to his home, when Sarik suddenly ran up to Mitch, knocked him down and started biting him, she said.

Rinehart, who was off-duty, was in uniform and driving a marked squad car when he stopped by to let Sarik out unleashed. Mitch later told police he was at the water tower with a friend when he heard a sound and saw a dog running toward him, the release said.

South St. Paul police investigated the case, and did not issue a citation to the officer.

The dog is still working in the K9 unit, but is assigned to another officer, Grewing said.

Rinehart is currently working as a St. Paul officer, but not in the K9 unit.

Later that year after the dog bite incident, Rinehart was accused in a separate incident of assaulting his wife. The case later went to trial where his wife testified, denying that the assaults happened. The jury came back with a not guilty verdict.

Maricella Miranda can be reached at 651-228-5421.