B.C. called on to release provincewide statistics on police-dog bites
VANCOUVER — A month after a bystander was mistakenly mauled by a Vancouver police dog, a legal advocacy group is calling on the provincial government to release newly gathered numbers outlining how many people are being bitten in British Columbia.
All police forces in B.C. have been ordered to report dog-bite data to the province since new regulations were introduced over a year ago. It’s a departure from earlier legislation that in some instances didn’t require a report to be filed for an accidental bite.
Pivot Legal Society spokesman Doug King said he’s heard too many stories of bite injuries involving innocent people, as well as “arrestable” suspects who say they had turned themselves in and posed no threat but still had a dog released on them.
“Police are not meant to punish people,” King said in an interview on Tuesday. “Their sole job is to bring them in front of the justice system. Then after conviction a judge sentences them accordingly.