A two-year-old girl and her father are recovering from severe injuries after a Jefferson County Sheriff's Department K-9 jumped a fence into their Castle Rock backyard and attacked them during a birthday party, leaving the family with $300,000 in medical debt and, so far, no legal path to recover it.
The attack happened on August 11, 2024, when the Dean family was hosting a birthday party for their twins in the backyard of their Castle Rock home, according to CBS Colorado. K-9 Ragnar, who lived next door with Deputy Zachary Oliver, escaped his enclosure and vaulted the fence into the Deans' yard. Two-year-old Lily Dean was attacked by the dog, and family friend Rachel DeWolf said Lily remained in Ragnar's mouth during the assault.
Lily's father, Nick Dean, rushed to protect his family and guests and was joined by two other men in fighting off the dog, per the same CBS Colorado report. Dean said he heard his daughter's femur bone crack while he wrestled with Ragnar, and Ragnar dragged Lily across the grass during the struggle. Both Lily and Nick Dean were taken to the hospital with severe injuries.
Deputy Was Cleaning the Kennel When the Dog Got Loose
Deputy Oliver was inside cleaning urine from Ragnar's kennel at the time of the escape, according to prosecutors and attorneys cited by CBS Colorado. A Castle Rock Police Department investigation, as reported by Animals 24-7, found that an inadequately secured latch on the outdoor enclosure allowed Ragnar to get out before he cleared the five-foot fence into the Deans' yard. Castle Rock police body-camera footage captured Oliver telling officers he rushed outside after hearing screaming, unaware his K-9 had already jumped into the neighboring yard.
Ragnar had been paired with Oliver in July 2023, five months after the deputy's previous K-9 partner, Graffit, was shot and killed during an active suspect search near the Colorado School of Mines campus — the first Jefferson County Sheriff's Office police dog killed in the line of duty. In early 2024, Oliver testified before the Colorado General Assembly in support of House Bill 24-1074, which raised penalties for harming law enforcement animals to a Class 4 felony.
Jury Clears Deputy, DA Blasts the Verdict
A six-person jury in Douglas County found Oliver not guilty of two misdemeanor charges of unlawful ownership of a dangerous dog causing injury on July 31, 2025. Oliver's defense successfully argued that maintaining a police dog at home fell under his official law enforcement duties, a framing that effectively shielded him from criminal liability for what happened in his own backyard.
23rd Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler, who personally oversaw the prosecution, publicly condemned both the defense strategy and Jefferson County Sheriff's Office leadership afterward, calling the reliance on handler-duty immunity for a home dog escape a failure of organizational leadership. The Colorado Police Canine Association pushed back in a statement defending Oliver's actions, calling the attack a tragic accident while criticizing Brauchler's public comments.
State Law Leaves the Family Without Recourse
Colorado law generally makes dog owners strictly liable for economic damages when a dog causes serious bodily injury, letting victims recover medical costs without proving negligence. But that statute, Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-21-124, carries a specific exception when the dog is used by a peace officer in the performance of official duties — the same exception that shaped Oliver's criminal defense.
The Dean family ultimately decided against filing a civil lawsuit, concluding that additional litigation costs, layered on top of immunity defenses, would only add to their debt rather than resolve it. Attorney Dagny Van Der Jagt, who represented the family in anticipated civil claims, said the criminal verdict marked a severe disappointment and demonstrated a lack of public agency accountability for injured citizens. Lawyers approached by the family reportedly refused to take the case on a contingency basis.
According to the Deans, Jefferson County initially promised to support the family after the attack but ultimately refused to help. The Jefferson County Sheriff's Department told CBS Colorado it had no statement to contribute. The family says friends and relatives have suffered tremendously watching the aftermath unfold, and a family friend said asking the community for financial help required vulnerability and involved real hurt.
A Pattern Emerging Statewide
The Castle Rock case is not isolated. Just seven days after Oliver's acquittal, another off-duty police K-9 fatally mauled the 3-year-old daughter of the Burlington police chief in Kit Carson County, according to Animals 24-7, which reported that the dog was a former narcotics detection animal kept at a private residence. Together, the two cases have drawn scrutiny to the practice of housing law enforcement dogs at officers' homes with limited independent oversight of their enclosures.
Nick Dean has accrued mounting medical costs and says he is now unable to participate in many activities he once did because of his injuries. The family launched an online fundraiser seeking community help, saying they do not want to pass the financial burden on to relatives. With $300,000 in medical bills and no clear legal avenue to recover the money, the Deans say they are left to rebuild largely on their own.
