Man Brutally Bitten By Police Dog During Arrest; Should Cops Be Charged With Negligence? [Video]

A man arrested by the Somerset police in UK was brutally bitten by a police dog in the head, pushing investigators to inquire what drove the dog to assault the already apprehended man.

The 16-second video, taken by a passersby in Weston-super-Mare, caught the disturbing footage of a man lying face down on the ground as a police dog handled by one police officer barked incessantly at the suspect. A few seconds later, shortly after a vehicle passed behind them, the police officer appeared to have lost control of the chain, allowing the police dog to swiftly go for the man’s head.

WARNING: The following video can be quite distressing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLFv-8nzcOc

UPDATE: It appears that the video above has been taken down. Here is another copy:

The screams of the man could be heard as onlookers watch a short distance away, shocked by what they were witnessing – a full-on attack of a trained police dog against the defenseless, apprehended man on the street. The dog was even able to drag the man by the head a few feet from his original position. Police officers were seemingly unable to restrain the dog from the man, as the brief video ended before the dog could let go of the suspect.

One witness was heard to shout:

“Oh My God! It’s biting his head”.

According to Louisa Rolfe, the Assistant Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Police, the man’s arrest was related to a “large fight” reported to happen Saturday in the nearby seaside resort.

In her statement, reported Tuesday by the Independent, she said:

“The incident has been referred to our Professional Standards Department for thorough investigation as we are keen to understand what happened.

She added that the video was not able to capture the circumstances before and after the arrest. An online representative of the police department said that the station is currently looking into the use of the police dog to verify whether its use during the particular arrest was “appropriate and necessary.” In a YouTube comment, the Avon and Somerset Constabulary wrote:

“We are aware of the comments made by people who have seen footage on YouTube of a man being bitten by a police dog during his arrest.

“We are looking into exactly what happened and whether the use of the dog was appropriate and necessary. If you were in the area at the time and witnessed the incident we would very much like to speak to you. Please call 101 and ask to speak to the professional standards department.”

The station did not give additional statement regarding the current situation of the man, adding that it would be “inappropriate” to comment further. They also did not offer updates regarding investigative efforts towards the police dog and the officers handling them.

[Image is screenshot of the video]