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Canadian man bites police dog
11/07/2006 09:18 - (SA)
Ottawa - A man in a desperate bid to evade capture bit a police dog in Canada's westernmost province, triggering a debate on animal rights, a Victoria police spokesperson said on Monday.
The man rammed a police truck with a stolen car and then tried to run away, said Sergeant Brad Fraser.
The police dog, named Pago, gave chase and when he caught up with the suspect, an altercation ensued. The man kicked, punched and bit the dog, he said.
"It's quite a foolish thing to do because a dog will bite back and much harder," Fraser said. "In this case, it was tit for tat."
Both the suspect and the three-year old German Shepherd suffered minor injuries, but neither "will miss any play time," he added.
The man will appear in court on Tuesday to face several related charges, but will not be prosecuted for the assault on Pago, he said.
Current legislation that prescribes harsher punishment for people convicted of assault on a law enforcement officer does not include police dogs, despite protests by their handlers, who are lobbying Ottawa to change the law.
In February, a massive funeral was held in Vancouver for a German shepherd named Nitro who fell beneath the wheels of a train while pursuing a suspected car thief.
"Some day we'll see him again, and I promise on that day, we'll play ball," his handler Howard Rutter told 700 mourners.
- AFP
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