Calgary police officer cleared of wrongdoing in suspect chase that resulted in dog bite

A Calgary police officer's uniform can be seen in a stock photo from Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022.

A Calgary Police Service officer has been cleared of any wrongdoing in an incident that saw a police dog bite a suspect, giving them a one-inch cut on their neck.

Alberta’s police watchdog, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), was directed to investigate the incident, which happened on Nov. 17, 2023.

The suspect was a youth who police were investigating in connection with a series of robberies that involved “weapons and violence,” ASIRT said in the report, released Wednesday.

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Uniformed officers had gone to the suspect’s home to arrest him for breaching his court-ordered curfew, but ASIRT says he “fled out the back door.”

The report indicates officers chased the suspect for several blocks but lost sight of him. When he was later located, ASIRT indicates he “fled again.”

Officers used a police service dog to search an area where the youth was believed to be hiding.

The dog went beneath a deck, at which time ASIRT says officers heard the suspect yell that the dog was “eating him alive.”

According to the report, the dog pulled the youth out from his hiding place, tearing the food off his pullover.

“Officers immediately directed the dog to release, and the [suspect] was secured in handcuffs,” ASIRT said.

The youth suffered not only a one-inch laceration on his neck behind the jaw, but also a laceration to his left earlobe, both of which were bleeding.

He was taken to hospital for treatment.

ASIRT found the officer controlling the dog “did not intend for his dog to bite” the suspect.

“He was tracking the [youth], and there was a risk that the dog would bite the [youth] when he found him.”

Ultimately, ASIRT determined the officers were acting properly in the execution of their duties.

“While the use of the police dog did result in the [suspect] suffering injuries, this was an unfortunate and unintended consequence of a lawful use of the canine,” ASIRT said.