A police dog has been shot dead by armed officers after mauling its handler while on a search for a missing person, a force has said.
Lancashire Police said PD Jax, a Belgian Malinois, "became aggressive" and attacked a handler in a field off Higher Walton Road in Walton-le-Dale at about 05:15 BST.
It said the officer suffered a serious leg injury and remains in hospital. Supt Hassan Khan said the incident would be "reviewed in due course".
It's lucky for her that there were armed officers on scene, isn't it? But why were they there, in just a hunt for a missing person?
A force representative said after PD Jax bit the handler, "further patrols, including armed officers, attended the scene with attempts made to restrain the dog".
So they weren't there? They were called to the scenc and actually used this time?
"These are highly-trained, working dogs which do a skilled job, but like any dog, [they] can present a danger in certain circumstances. "
What are those 'certain circumstance', I wonder?
H/T: Ian J via email
Ian J via email eh ... thlot pickens. 😆
ReplyDeleteThere is now no justification for police dogs. In addition to attacks on their own handlers, there are hundreds of attacks on innocent members of the public that that result in life changing injuries, particularly to children. There are millions of pounds of compensation claims of our money paid out by the Police to the victims of such attacks.
ReplyDeleteNorthish,
ReplyDeleteWhere’s the evidence of your assertions?
Sgt Hall,
ReplyDeleteGoogle is your friend, but here's a starter.
Over the last three years almost £800,000 has been paid in compensation to people bitten by police dogs.
Irene Collins, 73, from Middlesbrough died after being bitten by a Cleveland Police dog. She had given officers permission to search her garden for a suspect they were pursuing.
In a case in the Thames Valley police region, a woman who was not a suspect was in the street when a group of police with a dog walked past. Without warning or provocation, the dog bit her on the right thigh. She and her friends begged the officers to remove the dog but it bit her again. She was left bleeding and distressed and her friends took her to hospital. The victim had been a dog owner but was so traumatised by the incident she had to give her pet away. She received £11,000 in compensation.
At least 150 police dog attacks on innocent people have been reported in the past three years, a BBC investigation has revealed.
Officers had been searching for four suspects when a dog handler entered the private garden and his German shepherd-Belgian Malinois cross attacked Tom, who was aged 10 at the time.
If we had a piece of equipment at work that we knew seriously injured members of the public at random, the HSE would rightly shut us down and take us to court.
"Ian J via email eh ... thlot pickens. 😆"
ReplyDelete😏
"There is now no justification for police dogs."
On the contrary, they are an invaluable piece of kit. And they probably 'malfunction' with less frequency than the cars and helicopters!
"If we had a piece of equipment at work that we knew seriously injured members of the public at random, the HSE would rightly shut us down and take us to court."
You've got more faith in the HSE than me!