WASHINGTON (AP) - The D.C. Court of Appeals says teeth qualify as a deadly weapon.

The ruling stems from a 2005 incident. D.C. police Officer Anthony Convington was responding to a call of shots fired when he spotted a teenager who matched the suspect's description. While Convington tried to handcuff the youth, the suspect bit Convington in his upper inner right thigh.

Convington required a six-month course of anti-viral and HIV drugs. The teenager was convicted of assaulting a police officer using a deadly weapon and sentenced to juvenile detention.

The appeals court said the teenager used his teeth in a manner likely to cause great bodily harm.

Other objects that can be deadly weapons under D.C. law include a wooden table leg, a belt, an automobile and a foot wearing a shoe.