NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – The Metro Nashville Airport Authority has agreed to pay the medical bills of a Kentucky teacher who was bitten by an explosives detection dog in 2022.
The settlement confirmation obtained by WSMV4 Investigates does not indicate how much Kelly Jones was paid, but she filed a lawsuit for $200,000 after she was bitten by a police dog as she walked past the dog and its handler.
As part of the agreement to pay all of the medical bills, Jones agreed to drop her lawsuit. Jones’ settlement is the second case uncovered by WSMV4 Investigates in which a TSA-trained dog bit someone without cause.
In 2019, Paulina Yescas filed a lawsuit after she was bitten by an explosives detection dog at the airport. Yescas said she was awarded only $3,000 after paying legal fees.
Our investigations also revealed that two airport officials were attacked by an explosives detection dog in 2021. One of the officials had the tip of his finger bitten off.
According to incident reports, in none of the cases were the animals provoked by the victims.
WSMV4 has filed a Freedom of Information request with the TSA to find out if police dogs have bitten other people at airports across the country. We are still awaiting the outcome of that request.
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