A Chatham-Kent police dog is off the hook for biting a suspect in Chatham almost a year ago.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) released its conclusion in a final report on Thursday stating that there was no criminal wrongdoing found after the 27-year-old man was bitten on October 24, 2018, just before 3 a.m. outside a home on Inshes Avenue. Officers noticed a man riding a bicycle without proper lights and called for backup because the suspect ditched the bike and ran into a backyard.
"He hid lying on the ground between a shed and fencing in the yard behind the house," stated the SIU in the report.
The SIU said one of the officers used his police dog to help locate the man before he was arrested and it bit the man’s left thigh and right hand. The suspect suffered a fracture to the small finger on his right hand as a result of the bite.
The suspect was later found to be breaking his curfew.
"There are no reasonable grounds to lay criminal charges in this case," SIU Interim Director Joseph Martino said.
The SIU is an arm’s length agency that investigates reports involving police where there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault.