Nico was removed from his handler Oct. 24 and quarantined by the Snohomish County sheriff's office. The day before, the dog escaped from a backyard kennel at Officer Linda Binkley's house in Marysville and attacked the jogger, who suffered substantial injuries to her legs, shoulder and back.

Binkley was not home at the time and is not being disciplined, Police Chief David Stern said.

Stern told The Seattle Times that he decided to have Nico put to sleep after the dog's veterinarian said the animal was likely to continue to attack innocent victims.

Joe Bennett, a lawyer representing two of the five dog-bite victims, has filed claims with the city of Edmonds.

Bennett said that the dog was "erratic" and that Edmonds police should have addressed its biting well before the most recent attack.

At least two of the dog bite victims have sued the city of Edmonds. One of them, Adam Taylor, 19, a community college student, filed a $1 million damage claim last year, saying he was bitten 10 times by Nico.

Named as defendants in the suit were the cities of Edmonds and Lynnwood, and Edmonds Community College.