COEUR d'ALENE - The city of Coeur d'Alene has agreed to an out-of-court settlement with Craig Jones, owner of the dog shot and killed last summer by a city police officer.

The Coeur d'Alene City Council approved the $80,000 settlement Tuesday after several months of negotiation between city attorneys and Jones' lawyer, Adam Karp. The Washington-based attorney notified the city in October that he was seeking at least $350,000 in damages associated with the value of Arfee, Jones' 3-year-old black Lab, and the emotional distress and mental anguish Jones went through as a result of the incident.

"I want to extend our apologies to Mr. Jones," Mayor Steve Widmyer said. "This settlement acknowledges that we made a mistake and are making good. We are hoping to just move on from this and learn from our mistakes."

On July 9, Officer Dave Kelley - responding with Police Recruit Officer Jason Weidebush to a report of a suspicious van parked outside Java on Sherman - shot and killed Arfee. Jones was inside the business at the time of the incident and was unaware of what was unfolding outside.

During a press conference in September, Coeur d'Alene Police Chief Lee White announced that both a "Use of Deadly Force Review Board" and an outside party concluded that Kelley's conduct was in violation of department policy.

After the settlement was approved, council President Woody McEvers told The Press that he was grateful for the resolution.

"It was a bad thing that happened and I hope he can have a new dog and a new truck," McEvers said. "That's all we ever wanted and it (the settlement) seemed like the simplest way to fix things. But sometimes 'legalese' gets involved and complicates things."

The Press has asked city officials several times what disciplinary action, if any, has been taken against the officer who shot the dog. Each time reporters have been told that public record laws preclude city officials from releasing that information.

Kelley had his hourly wage reduced by $3.15 in October and now makes $31.02 an hour. The 17-year law enforcement veteran was previously making $34.17 an hour with the department after receiving four raises in one year. The last raise came three weeks before the shooting.