POLICE dog savaged boy, 10, as he played in his grandmother's back garden despite the dog being under police control

A police dog has attacked and seriously injured a ten-year-old boy while on a lead held by an officer.

Tom Cutbill was fixing a scooter in his grandmother’s garden when he was mauled by the dog, which was searching for suspected metal thieves.

Yesterday his father Martin said the attack left him ‘disgusted’ and ‘completely and utterly shocked and amazed’.

Tom spent three nights in hospital, where he needed surgery to clean up and treat puncture wounds to his right leg. Mr Cutbill, 40, said his son was now ‘starting to take his first steps on crutches’.

Speaking at the family home in Rowley Regis, West Midlands, the warehouse manager added: ‘My son has gone through a terrible time. There were quite a few puncture wounds and tears to the skin. ‘He’s had two operations, one to clean up the wounds to stop the risk of infection and the next one to seal the wounds.

‘We haven’t heard much from the police.’

Mr Cutbill and his wife, Alison, said they expected their son would be well enough to speak to police about the incident today.

The dog and his unnamed handler were searching for four men seen running off after allegedly trying to steal copper wiring at Oldbury, two miles away, when Tom was bitten.

The handler had the animal on a one-metre lead when it followed a scent into the garden of Tom’s grandmother, Bev Bakewell, 52.

Yesterday, she said what happened next was like ‘something out of a horror movie’.

The handler, thinking the garden was empty, bent down to look under a car on the drive to his right. As he did so, the dog – a German shepherd-Belgian Malinois cross called Shadow – bit Tom, who was shielded from the officer’s view by a garden gate on the left.

Mrs Bakewell said she heard screaming and looked out of her window to see ‘this great big dog which had hold of Tom’s leg’.

She added: ‘The police didn’t even give any kind of warning they were coming into the garden, no shouts of “Police” or anything, they just barged in. ‘Tom was lying on the grass near the gate and the dog just went for him.

‘That dog was still on the leash held by the policeman. ‘It should have been well under control. There’s no way the attack should have happened.’

West Midlands Police yesterday said Shadow’s experienced handler was ‘absolutely gutted’ by what had happened.

Chief Superintendent Chris McKeogh offered a ‘full and direct apology’ to the family, adding: ‘It is an appalling incident, but a very, very rare event.

‘I have never seen anything like this happen before. The handler had not seen the boy. If he had known there was a ten-year-old boy behind the gate he would have reacted differently to the situation.

‘The boy has suffered bites both above and below the knee. There is no doubt it was both a mentally and physically traumatising experience.’

Chief Superintendent McKeogh said that the following day Shadow and his handler passed a ‘rigorous assessment with flying colours’ and were ‘deemed to be OK to go back on duty’.

Chief Inspector Ian Marsh said: ‘We apologise unreservedly for what has happened.

‘Police dogs and their handlers receive intensive training and play crucial roles in the arrest of suspects day in day out. 'But on the very rare occasions where things go wrong, it’s vital we understand why and learn the lessons to ensure it doesn’t happen again.’

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating the incident, which happened on Sunday afternoon. A spokesman said: ‘The IPCC received a referral from West Midlands Police concerning a police dog biting a ten-year-old boy on Sunday.

‘After assessment, the IPCC has decided to supervise an investigation by the professional standards department of West Midlands Police. ‘The IPCC will agree the terms of reference for the investigation and be updated on its progress. ‘At the end of the investigation we will need to be satisfied the terms of reference have been met.’

Original report here




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