Caught on cam: Fleeing suspect bitten by police dog on Granville

Dashcam video has surfaced showing Vancouver police chasing a suspect back and forth across busy Granville Street before a canine officer catches him and sinks its teeth into his leg. The dramatic video was posted onto YouTube Monday, but appears to show the final moments of a tense foot pursuit that happened last week near Granville and Southwest Marine Drive. It shows the fleeing suspect trip and fall in the middle of the road, giving the police dog a chance to latch onto him. At least seven officers, most of them in plainclothes, then approach the man and begin punching and kicking him as they place him in handcuffs. Police said they were trying to arrest three break-in suspects on the afternoon of Nov. 30 when one of the men bolted and allegedly tried to carjack two vehicles to escape, including a taxi. The YouTube video begins with a man approaching a cab near the Chevron gas station before several unmarked police vehicles pull up and officers begin running toward him. The suspect runs across all six lanes of traffic in a desperate bid to evade police before turning back toward the Chevron, where he falls down and is placed under arrest. Graham Scott Beattie, a 40-year-old Surrey resident, has since been charged with two counts of breaking into a dwelling and one count of attempted theft of an auto over $5,000. The accused, who had to be taken to hospital after the arrest, appeared in court Tuesday with a gash several inches long on his right cheek. His case was adjourned until Friday. Two counts of breaking into a dwelling have also been approved against Richmond resident Harold Jason Gillis, 42, and Vancouver resident Joseph Leon Kidd, 34, is facing one count. Though officers managed to arrest all three suspects, the incident was an embarrassment for Vancouver police – a second canine officer that was involved in the chase attacked a 75-year-old bystander. Const. Jason Doucette said the victim just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. “Our goal here is to arrest the bad guys and ensure public safety, and in this situation something didn’t go as planned,” Doucette told reporters last week. “Our dog bit someone that wasn’t the intended target.” The senior had to be treated in hospital as well.