§ 36.1 Police dog handlers - Civil liability.

This rule protects police officers who handle police dogs from being sued personally when their dog causes harm while doing its job. If the officer follows the rules and guidelines set by their police department when using the dog, they cannot be held personally responsible for damages the dog causes.

This protection has limits though. It only applies when the handler is following their department's official policies for using police dogs. It also does not remove all legal responsibility. People who are harmed may still have options to seek compensation through the Governmental Tort Claims Act, which covers claims against government agencies and employees in certain situations.

In simple terms, this law shields individual officers from personal lawsuits over police dog incidents, as long as they were doing their job the way they were trained and instructed to do it. Any legal claims about harm caused by a police dog would need to go through the proper government claims process instead of a direct lawsuit against the officer.