The Alberta Serious Incident Response team has cleared the Cold Lake RCMP after a 2018 incident that saw a man suffer wounds from a police dog bite. The original incident took place in October of 2018 and saw Cold Lake mounties begin a chase of a stolen Chevrolet car on Highway 55.
The chase ended near Pierceland after crossing the Saskatchewan border. It was there were mounties say the man tried to ditch the car and flee.
A police dog was released. Mountie video camera footage shows the man struggling with both officers and the dog. The man was taken to the hospital where he suffered serious dog bite wounds to his abdomen and glute. He later had surgeries to repair the damage.
Mounties eventually found a pistol said to have been discarded by the suspect. A woman riding with the man was also arrested.
ASIRT says although the police dog did bite the man and cause damage, the dog is an animal and when a struggle occurs it will use 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.”