City Attorney Michael Aguirre announced today that he is suing police officer Paul Hubka, whose police dog “Forrest” died of heat stroke after being left it in the back of Hubka’s police car unattended.
The complaint seeks damages exceeding $25,000 for the purchase and training of a new dog. Earlier this week, Aguirre denied Hubka $50,000 in retirement benefits, which the officer would have accrued for training and spending time with his dog.
The dog’s death and the handling of the matter has fueled debates recently in the pages of voiceofsandiego.org.
Jan Goldsmith, who is facing Aguirre in the November elections for city attorney, said there was no need for Aguirre to hold a press conference because litigation in a situation like this is nothing out of the ordinary.
“Yes, this is a valuable dog and a terrible situation, but it’s a routine criminal matter,” he said. “In my time on the bench I have issued thousands of restitution orders … it is a normal process for the victim to get restitution.”