Canine team’s takedown of suspect under investigation

A traffic stop that ended with a man receiving several dog bites and suffering a skull fracture is under review by Alberta’s police watchdog.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) said its investigation stems from an early Sunday morning vehicle stop by Stony Plain RCMP.

A 29-year-old man was riding as a passenger when the vehicle was pulled over just after 1:45 a.m., according to an ASIRT news release issued Thursday.

The man ran into a wooded area north of Township Road 232 and Range Road 28 after police said they were going to arrest him on outstanding warrants that included theft, drug and weapons-related charges.

A “confrontation occurred” after a police dog team tracked the man and he was injured in a struggle with officers, ASIRT said.

Those injuries included dog bites to his right forearm, cuts or bite marks to his left ear and surrounding area, as well as a skull fracture. He was stitched up in hospital and the fracture was deemed to be minor. He was medically cleared and taken into police custody.

ASIRT, which investigates situations with police that result in serious injury or death, as well as police misconduct, continues to investigate the arrest and the circumstances of the man’s injuries.

The RCMP is still handling an investigation into the criminal conduct of the people in the vehicle, according to ASIRT.