A WOKINGHAM dog handler is using his body camera to fight for justice.
Mike Kent, from Thames Valley Police’s Bracknell and Wokingham unit, said his police dog was attacked while on duty.
Viper, his two-year-old Belgian Malinois, had tracked an offender on the run, PC Kent said.
After finding him, PC Kent warned the man what would happen if he released his dog.
Ignoring his warnings, the man made a break for it, and Viper pounced.
Trained to only bite once, the dog held on while being attacked, PC Kent said.
“He tried to escape, and punched Viper in the head and body,” he said.
With the entire event caught on his body camera, PC Kent submitted it as evidence.
“The offender was charged with causing unnecessary suffering to a working animal,” he said.
Established in 2019, Finn’s Law, or the Animal Welfare (Service Animals) Bill, was created after a police dog was stabbed multiple times in 2016 while pursuing a robbery suspect.
PC David Wardell, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Dog Unit, said his German Shepherd protected him from the man.
“Finn stopped the knife from reaching me and saved my life,” he said. “Even after being stabbed through the lung Finn did not let go of the suspect until other police units arrived and arrested him.”
His dog was not expected to survive.
At the time, the only charge PC Wardell could pursue was criminal damage, as police dogs were considered property.
“Finn isn’t a plant pot or window and should not be treated as such,” he said.
This provoked his campaign to protect service animals.
PC Kent is now hoping Finn’s law will be used in the same way for Viper.
In Staffordshire, police have begun using body armour for their dogs.
The lightweight protection is custom-made to better protect the dogs from knives, bullets and blunt trauma.
While PC Kent said he had not seen any police dogs attacked with knives, he said it could be possible in the future.
“Fair play to Staffordshire for putting it forward,” he said. “We’re always open to other force’s ideas and ways we can improve.”
The project is also being used by Cheshire and North Wales Police Alliance Dog section.
