Woman hounded over dog crusade

POLICE made an ‘intimidating’ phone call to a dog lover after she launched a campaign calling for police animals to have the same status as officers if injured in the line of duty.

A senior official at Hertfordshire Constabulary rang student Johanna Bann out of the blue and said the force wanted to see her Twitter account closed down.

It was opened last week to promote Finn’s Law, named after the police dog who, along with his handler PC Dave Wardell, was stabbed in Stevenage.

‘The call came from a woman in Hertfordshire Police’s communications department,’ said Miss Bann, 24. ‘She was calling to scold me. I was accused of contacting officers and acting inappropriately.

‘The call quickly became intimidating. It became apparent I was under suspicion. She wanted to know what exactly my motives were.

‘All I wanted to do was help stop police dogs being classified as property. It was bizarre.’

Hertfordshire Constabulary said: ‘It is legitimate for us to ensure the identity and understand the motives of anyone becoming actively involved with the constabulary and offering their services.’