Officer deployed police dog leading to serious injuries – Cleveland Police, March 2024

Two police officers visited a house to speak to a woman about her son’s use of a motorcycle. The woman’s partner intervened and was aggressive towards the officers. The officers tried to detain the man but were unsuccessful. They used their police radio to call for urgent assistance and one of the officers activated his emergency alarm.

A police dog handler responded to the request for assistance and went to the scene. He deployed his police dog which bit the man on his arm. The original officers were able to handcuff the man and tend to his injuries. 

We received a death or serious injury referral from Cleveland Police and decided to independently investigate the contact between the man and the police. 

We investigated the decisions and actions of the dog handler and subsequently the actions of the police dog, the police’s contact with the man before he sustained his injuries, and whether officers acted in accordance with legislation, local and national policies and procedures, and their training. 

We also examined whether there was any evidence that the officers may have caused or contributed to the man’s injuries. 

We obtained accounts from the officers involved, as well as the training records for the police dog handler and police dog. Copies of the reports submitted after the incident recorded the deployment of the police dog. We also examined police body worn video and CCTV footage. 

We concluded there was no indication that a person serving with the police committed a criminal offence or behaved in a manner justifying the bringing of disciplinary proceedings. 

We accepted that the man sustained his injuries as a result of being bitten by the police dog, but found that the use of the police dog was necessary, reasonable and proportionate in the circumstances. 

All officers were treated as witnesses and co-operated fully with this investigation.

In a criminal investigation conducted by Cleveland Police, the man was arrested and charged with two counts of assaulting an emergency worker (the two initial attending police officers). He was found guilty.

We carefully considered whether there were any learning opportunities arising from the investigation. We make learning recommendations to improve policing and public confidence in the police complaints system and prevent a recurrence of similar incidents. 

We did not identify any organisational learning in this case.