Woman bitten by police dog during arrest

After flying off the handle at her exboyfriend, a woman came off second best when a police dog bit her on the leg during her arrest.

Brittney Payton King had been drinking with her former partner and other associates at a New Plymouth address on August 12 last year when she got into a heated argument with another woman.

She decided to leave and drove off, despite being banned from the road by the court.

The summary of facts stated that King returned to the address but soon entered into another verbal exchange with the female she had fought with earlier.

King was restrained in an attempt to keep the argument from turning physical, but she broke free and launched herself at her exboyfriend, smacking him in the face and on the shoulder.

The police arrived shortly afterwards, and just in time to see King kick out at the man, hitting him in the ribs.

A police dog was then used by an officer to keep King at bay.

The defendant earlier pleaded guilty to charges of common assault, driving while disqualified and two breaches of a previous community work sentence and appeared in the New Plymouth District Court for sentencing yesterday.

Lawyer Jo Woodcock supported the recommendations made in the pre-sentence report for King to be sentenced to community detention and supervision.

She said King had been left upset and stressed by the offending and arguably suffered a worse injury than the assault victim after she was bitten by the police dog. The canine had sunk its teeth into King’s upper thigh, Woodcock said.

King had since cut ties with her former associates and had also called time on her use of alcohol.

‘‘It was a real shake up for her,’’ Woodcock said.

Judge Chris Sygrove imposed a four-month term of community detention on King, who will have to abide by a daily curfew from 8pm to 6am, along with a six month term of supervision. She was also disqualified from driving for six months.