NORTON (CBS) – A State Police trooper who shot a woman in a hunting accident is in the clear, at least criminally.

Cheryl Blair was walking her dogs in Norton on New Year’s Eve when her neighbor, John Bergeron, mistook her dog for a deer and shot her.

Bergeron was charged with negligence but a clerk magistrate has thrown out the case.

The State Police determined the shooting was accidental.

The trooper has a permit for the black powder rifle, and was out within the deer hunting season.

The bullet shattered Blair’s hip and she has had to undergo at least nine surgeries for infections.  She has filed a lawsuit against Bergeron.