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Mohr Sentenced to 10 Years for Dog Bite
Stephanie Mohr is appealing her conviction and 10-year sentence. She is pictured with her police dog, Valk.
Former Prince George’s County (Maryland) Police Officer Stephanie Mohr was sentenced to serve 10 years in prison because her police dog chased a fleeing suspect and bit him. She is out on bond pending an appeal. The LELDF has assisted with the filing of briefs and paperwork for her appeal to the Fourth Circuit Court. Oral arguments are pending.
The incident occurred in 1995 in Takoma Park, Maryland, where Officer Mohr was patrolling in a P.G. County canine squad car.
Responding to a call in which two burglary suspects were hiding on the roof of a building, Officer Mohr and several other officers, with the support of a helicopter, ordered two suspects to face the wall. When one apparently started to flee, Officer Mohr released the police dog to chase him — a standard operating procedure completely within police guidelines. The dog bit the suspect on the leg.
Five years later, the federal Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice arranged for the indictment of Officer Mohr on civil rights violations and conspiracy charges. The first trial resulted in a hung jury. In the second trial, held in August 2001, the prosecution convinced the jury that Mohr had wanted her dog to harm innocent minority citizens because of racial prejudice. Officer Mohr was convicted of a federal criminal civil rights violation and given the maximum sentence allowed – 10 years.
Stephanie Mohr, who has received more than 25 letters of commendation and two awards for her police work since 1993, resigned in the Fall of 2001. A mother of a three-year-old son, Mohr greatly appreciates the generous donations of LELDF supporters to assist with her appeal.
