Domestic abuser bit police dog on the ear and fractured its jaw

COURT: Sentence deferred after man pled guilty to total of nine serious charges

A fleeing domestic abuser who sank his teeth into the ear of a pursuing police dog has also admitted breaking its jaw with a metal pole.

Jamie O’Neill had already assaulted his former partner on March 26 before throwing a brick through the window of a neighbouring property.

The shards of glass landed perilously close to a vulnerable 60-year-old woman, who was bedridden and suffered from vascular dementia,

The 33-year-old fled the scene, an address in Dirrans Terrace, Kilwinning, but was soon tracked by police at a nearby industrial estate.

Police dog handler Paul O’Donnell attended and deployed police dog Remo to apprehend O’Neill.

He grabbed a large metal pole which he used to repeatedly hit the dog on the head.

As the dog continued to bite the calf on his right leg, O’Neill hunched over and sank his teeth into Remo’s ear. O’Neill then struck PC O’Donnell in the face with the same metal pole before eventually being brought under control.

During a journey to Crosshouse Hospital, near Kilmarnock, O’Neill continued to struggle violently in the back of the vehicle, forcing officers to stop and restrain him.

Once he arrived at the hospital for treatment to his leg, O’Neill continued to be verbally abusive before spitting in the face of a nurse.

Procurator depute fiscal Ruaraidh Ferguson told Kilmarnock Sheriff Court: “The constable suffered a cut to the left ear and also to the right cheek.

“The dog was seriously injured and required stitches to close the injury in the ear, caused by the accused biting it.

“Also, as a result of being struck by the pole, the dog lost one of its full canine teeth and suffered a fractured jaw.”

O’Neill, a prisoner at HMP Kilmarnock, pled guilty to nine charges yesterday, including two police assaults, causing unnecessary suffering to the dog and culpable and reckless conduct.

Sheriff Elizabeth McFarlane deferred sentence for background reports until next month and O’Neill was remanded in custody.

PD Remo, a Belgian malinois/Dutch herder cross, has recovered well and returned to duty after the attack.

“The dog was seriously injured and required stitches to close the injury in the ear, caused by the accused biting it.

RUARIDH FERGUSON

PD Remo needed stitches to his damaged ear and has been fitted with a titanium canine tooth.