Dog bites top police injury list, need regulation: legal advocacy group
VANCOUVER – Dog bites top the list for injuries caused during confrontations involving police forces in British Columbia.
The information is contained in a new report by the Pivot Legal Society and was compiled from two years of data from the RCMP and municipal police departments.
The report says that between 2010 and 2012, there were 490 people bitten by dogs deployed by police, although that number could be higher because many bites go unreported.
Pivot lawyer Douglas King says that unlike other police weapons such as fists and batons, dogs can inflict devastating and permanent injuries and they shouldn’t be viewed as friendly ambassadors of policing.
Andrew Rowe lost his left ear and part of his hearing after a police dog attacked him while he was on the ground after being arrested and says he’ll have the scars for the rest of his life.
The legal advocacy group says police dog use is largely unregulated in B.C.
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