Man bitten by police dog - Greater Manchester Police, October 2017

On 6 October 2017, a Greater Manchester Police (GMP) police dog was used to search an area for two offenders following a report of burglary. The police dog located a man, who was arrested on suspicion of burglary. The man was handcuffed and escorted by an officer towards a gate to leave the area. The dog handler remained with the police dog, searching for the second suspect. As the gate was locked, the officer turned the man round and they started walking back to where the man had been arrested. The police dog, still tracking a scent, came towards the man and bit him. The man sustained bite injuries to his left calf.

During the investigation, investigators viewed the body-worn video footage of all officers present at the scene. The man who was bitten by the dog provided a statement in relation to the incident. We interviewed the dog handler and obtained statements from the arresting officer and a trainer from the Dog Training Unit. We also gathered and considered a volume of other material during the investigation, such as the incident log and dog bite report.

We were of the view that the dog handler was not aware of the man’s presence (believing that he and the officer had already left the area) and could not therefore reasonably have foreseen the risk to the man. We considered the mitigating factors, which were that the dog handler used his police dog for a legitimate policing purpose in searching for an alleged offender, that he quickly acted to reduce the harm caused by seeking medical assistance, and that he showed remorse in apologising to the man.

Based on the evidence available, we found no indication that any person serving with the police may have behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings.

After reviewing our report, the force agreed with our findings.