CBC News
VANCOUVER — Vancouver police are taking the unusual step of responding publicly to a lawsuit filed last week over a police dog attack.
Christopher Evans, 33, is suing the Vancouver Police Department for excessive use of force after his leg was ripped open by a police dog during his arrest. Evans needed 100 staples to close the wounds after he was bitten four times.
At a news conference Monday, Vancouver police showed video of Evans repeatedly hitting the front doors of a city bus with his skateboard in the 1400 block of East Hasting Street just after midnight on June 12, 2011.
Deputy Chief Adam Palmer said a canine squad responded to the scene and chased Evans into an alley.
He said an officer warned Evans to stop running or the dog would be deployed. When Evans failed to stop, the dog was let go and ultimately took Evans down.
Palmer defended the tactics employed by dog handlers that night.
"When [an officer] is making an arrest, the first thing that has to happen is the suspect has to comply to the commands," Palmer said.
"So we are dealing with a suspect that has just smashed out a window on a bus on a dark lane in East Hastings Street, who is fleeing from the police and the officer had him into custody in less than a minute."
Dog bite injuries Evans claims the dog bit him repeatedly after he dropped to the ground, but Palmer said the dog bit down four times because the suspect continued to struggle.
Evans was taken to hospital for treatment.
He was later charged with mischief under $5,000, but that charge was eventually stayed.
Evans told CBC News last week that hitting the bus "was a stupid decision," but feels the police response was over the top.
Figures released last week indicate dog bites make up about 47 per cent of the in-custody injuries reported by municipal police forces in B.C. over the past two years.
Palmer said that number sounds high when taken out of context. In 2011, he said, dog squad officers responded to about 11,000 calls, of which about 65 resulted in a reportable injury.
Copyright 2012 CBC
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