A police dog that had been under review after a young girl was bitten while a dog team was tracking two suspects is back on active duty with his handler.
The incident happened June 9th. The 6 year old was bit between the armpit and the hip.
The Belgian Malinois had been with the Saskatoon Police Service for 10 months at the time.
Deputy Chief Mitch Yuzdepski assures the public that the SPS recognizes the seriousness of the incident and that’s why they responded by taking the dog out of active duty and conducting a thorough investigation.
The Saskatchewan Police Commission investigation included assessments of the dog and the handler and a review of the incident itself.
Although the team met the provincial standard, the Commission suggested some modifications of deployment procedures when using a police dog team.
The SPS made improvements to policy and procedure which are now part of standardized training.