By Canadian Press

RCMP DOG ATTACKS SUSPECT

Cold Lake RCMP use of force justified

Jan 29, 2020 | 7:24 AM

EDMONTON- The organization that reviews Alberta police has cleared Mounties of wrongdoing in the 2018 arrest of suspect who was mauled by a police dog while handcuffed.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team says the suspect suffered serious dog bites and required several surgeries after being bitten near Pierceland, Saskatchewan just across the Alberta border.

Investigators say the RCMP’s use of force was justified when the suspect scuffled with the dog.

ASIRT says there are no grounds to believe that the police officers broke the law.

Here is a small part of the investigation statement: As the dog caught up with him, the man turned and took a swing at the police dog. The dog latched onto the man’s right midsection. The man fought with the police dog, trying to pry the dog’s mouth open, grabbing and pulling on the dog’s ears or scruff as the dog whined but continued to bite. At one point, the man appeared to be attempting to put the dog in a headlock. The dog handler and another officer approached to place the man in handcuffs.

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The only potential issue would relate to the police dog’s continued bite even after the man had been placed in handcuffs. For an additional approximately 50 seconds, the dog refused to release the man and continued biting and pulling on the man while his handler attempted to gain control. Having been handcuffed, the need for the police dog’s engagement was no longer necessary.

In many respects, a police service dog is a use of force tool, not unlike an officer’s service pistol, baton, or a conducted energy weapon. That said, unlike the other tools, a police service dog is not an inanimate object. It is a sentient being with its own instincts. It is the subject of significant training and control by a handler but can act on instinct. One can reasonably expect that the police dog’s response would be slightly different when, as in this case, the man actively fought the dog, as opposed to circumstances where a person surrenders following contact with the dog. It is for this reason that intensive training is undertaken to attempt to ensure that, even in the most heightened situation, the police service dog remains capable of being controlled by its handler.