Sturgeon lawyer says settlement talks ‘productive’ in dog shooting lawsuit
Editor's note, 7/25: The story has been updated with the job status of Myron Woodson.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A lawyer for the City of Sturgeon told a federal judge that it, a suspended police officer and the owner of a blind and deaf dog killed by police were still working on a settlement in the owner's lawsuit.
Attorney Michael Berry wrote in a motion Friday that all sides were "engaged currently in productive negotiations." Berry asked for an extension to the deadline to file motions ahead of a 2026 trial over former Sturgeon officer Myron Woodson's killing of a dog in 2024 because of those talks.
Nicholas Hunter, the owner of the dog Teddy, sued the city and Woodson in May 2024. Woodson shot the 13-pound dog for allegedly "behaving strangely" while trying to catch him. Video ABC 17 News obtained after the incident shows Woodson trying to catch Teddy for about three minutes before shooting him. The city suspended Woodson while it investigated.
Berry's motion said the two sides had a "failed mediation" in June, but "have made substantial progress on their own toward narrowing the difference between their respective settlement positions, and they are engaged currently in productive negotiations."
Berry asked Judge Willie Epps to move the motion deadline to Aug. 8. The trial is set to begin Feb. 2, 2026.
