More than five a week bitten by police dogs
Posted: 25th November 2014
Posted in: Animal Attacks Leg Injuries
New figures have revealed that police dogs bite an average of five people every week in London alone. Compensation paid out to dog bite victims has more than doubled in the last three years, standing at £250,000. The lawyers representing the victims described the number of attacks as “troubling” and said that the force should be doing more to prevent these accidents from happening.
Over the last three years the Met police recorded a total of 827 dog attacks – figures released following a Freedom of Information request. Where the force was pursuing the majority of these victims at the time of the incident, 53 were police officers and members of the public. The Met had to pay out £243,363 to claimants over these three years, more than double the £95,000 paid out during the three years previous.
‘Our police dogs are highly trained’
One case involved a woman, who was not suspect, walking down the street past a group of police dogs. Without warning, one of the dogs lunged and bit her on the thigh. After one of the officers managed to remove the dog, it lunged and bit her again. She was taken immediately to hospital with fairly severe injuries. She received £11,000 in personal injury compensation.
One Met spokesman said every bite incident was investigated by a chief inspector, he added: “Our police dogs are highly trained in line with the national police guidelines as set out by the Association of Chief Police Officers and training is ongoing throughout the dog’s life.”
If you have suffered an animal-related injury, and are looking to claim compensation, please contact us.
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