Treat this as a different kind of case from the outset, because it is.
Section 767.16 exempts “any canine that is owned, or the service of which is employed, by a law enforcement agency” from Florida’s dangerous dog provisions. So the classification framework does not reach a police K9.
What replaces it is harder ground: sovereign immunity, statutory caps on recovery against government entities, and potentially federal civil rights claims where the use of the dog is argued to be excessive force.
The deadline is the urgent part. Claims against Florida government entities carry pre-suit notice requirements with their own deadlines, much shorter than the ordinary limitations period. Miss the notice and the claim can be barred years before the statute of limitations would have run — regardless of how strong the facts are.
That single fact is why this question does not belong on a general dog bite page. If a police dog bit you, the clock you need to worry about is not the two-year one.
Document everything immediately: body camera footage exists but is subject to retention schedules, and requesting it early matters.
The deadline is the urgent part
This is the single most important thing on the page, and it is why a police dog bite should not sit in a drawer.
Claims against Florida government entities carry pre-suit notice requirements with their own deadlines, much shorter than the ordinary limitations period. Miss the notice and the claim can be barred years before the two-year statute of limitations would have run — regardless of how strong the facts are.
So the ordinary advice on this site — that you have two years and being early costs nothing — does not describe this situation. Act on it now.
What to preserve immediately
Body camera and dash camera footage. It exists, and it is subject to retention schedules that can be measured in weeks. A written request made early is the difference between having it and not.
Also:
- The names and badge numbers of every officer present
- The agency — city police, county sheriff, or a state agency, because that determines who the notice goes to
- Photographs of the injury, on the day and daily afterwards
- Any incident or arrest report number
- Names of civilian witnesses, who are often the only neutral account
Why this is a different kind of case
Section 767.16 exempts law enforcement canines from the dangerous dog provisions, so the classification framework does not reach them. What replaces it is harder ground: sovereign immunity, statutory caps on recovery against government entities, and potentially federal civil rights claims where the use of the dog is argued to be excessive force.
That is a different practice area from an ordinary dog bite, and it moves on a different clock. The useful step is to speak to someone quickly rather than to read further.