Police dogs off the leash
Article published: Monday, March 21st 2011
Greater Manchester Police has had to pay out more compensation to victims of police dog bites than any other force in the UK over the past three years, according to figures obtained by the BBC under the Freedom of Information Act.
image by bartmaguire on flickr
The BBC found that police forces across the country paid out £770,000 in total over the three year time period. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) had by far the worst record in this respect, coughing up a massive £180,743. This is almost double the next highest spenders, the London Metropolitan Police, despite having just 58 dogs compared to the Met’s 200.
In one incident £49,000 was paid to a victim who was bitten during a chase. According to GMP the dog “mistakenly mistook a member of the public for an offender and bit them” after it was “distracted by noises in the area.” The case was settled out of court and no action was taken against the dog or its handler.
Ben Markham, a former student at University of Manchester, was bitten by a police dog when GMP violently broke up a party in Fallowfield in May 2008. While another student filmed the police on his camera phone forcefully moving people on, he was knocked to the ground, sending his phone flying.
“I was pushing my bike along and seeing this picked the phone up for him, and at this point was thrown onto the floor, over my bike, from behind. Once on the floor I rolled over and there was a dog biting my leg,” Markham told MULE.
“I was terrified obviously, and I had been given no warning. I was screaming for help, literally begging them to get the dog off me. About four of them crowded round and formed a circle around me, and stood there and watched, doing nothing.”
Markham explained how the police then practically threw him down the road, despite barely being able to stand with his leg bleeding profusely. After managing to get himself through the gate to a church car park round the corner, he collapsed. Eventually he was found by another student, who helped him onto a bus to the hospital.
“I couldn’t walk without crutches for at least a month after that, and I was in and out of hospital every other day for at least that long. I also missed all my summer exams which messed up my degree, and the injury meant I couldn’t work or do anything over the summer.”
High standard of training
According to the GMP website the force’s Dog Training Unit is “renowned for the high standard of training that it provides to police dogs.”
GMP denied the suggestion that the force deploys police dogs more frequently than other forces, and dismissed the idea that its dogs and handlers are insufficiently trained to avoid such incidents and pose a significant risk to the public. A spokesperson told MULE that dog teams “are tested on a regular basis to ensure that they meet the standard set by ACPO” and further tests “will take place if deemed necessary to ensure their suitability to continue with operational duties.”
Commenting on why GMP paid so much out to bite victims compared to other forces Sian Williams, Deputy Director of Legal Services said the figure of £180,000 is misleading since the “damages paid out for a dog bite may be just one small part the total damages paid out on a wider claim.”
Questioned specifically about why no action had been taken against the dog or handler in the case where the dog ‘distracted by noises’ had bitten a member of the public, a spokesperson said: “After a full investigation, it was concluded that the dog did not hear the handlers command resulting in its actions. It returned as soon as it heard the instruction to do so.”
On whether actions had been taken against other dogs and handlers during the same period GMP suggested MULE make its own Freedom of Information request. However, they said that when one of their dogs does bite a member of the public “dog handlers [must] submit a report outlining the full circumstances of the incident and supervision examine the facts.”
Markham received no compensation following his attack: “The police have given me no explanation as to why I have been bitten, no apology, and they refuse to even acknowledge that it happened, despite the irrefutable evidence I possess – including a video recording – to the contrary.”
He filed a complaint with the Independent Police Complaints Commission, but after a year the case was dismissed and the use of dogs deemed ‘necessary and justified’. Though he appealed the decision, Markham has never heard from the IPCC since. Despite GMP’s report of the incident which details two handlers admitting their dogs bit people, Markham says neither of them was the one whose dog attacked him.
Andy Lockhart
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