Police cleared after shooting dogs

A PICTURE of two police officers shooting two dogs by the canal in Limehouse shocked the public when it circulated on social media back in May 2023. There were calls for action to be taken against the officers.

The Metropolitan Police referred the incident to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which has now cleared the officers of any wrongdoing. It found they acted correctly during the a challenging situation and that shooting the dogs was a last resort.

Police were first called to Commercial Road by reports that two dogs had attacked a woman, knocking her to the ground, and her dog, which had been injured. Armed police and a dog handler from the City of London police attended. They found a man nearby, who was accompanied by two dogs of the Cane Corsa breed – Italian mastiffs often used as guard dogs. One of the dogs jumped up at one of the officers. The police asked the man to hand over his dogs, but he refused and walked away.

The man and his dogs, which were agitated and barking, went down to Limehouse Cut Canal. The man again refused to hand the dogs over. The man lost control of the dogs, which moved towards the officers before he managed to regain control. He soon lost control again, and one of the dogs lunged towards the police dog handler. It was at this point that a firearms officer destroyed the dog.

The dog handler used a pole capture device to take control of the second dog and tasered it. It broke free and was shot too, by an officer who feared for the safety of his colleagues.

The dog owner was tasered and arrested. It was later found that he had been prosecuted in 2019, which resulted in him receiving an Order banning him from keeping dogs for 20 years. The dog owner was later found to be homeless. He was prosecuted for being the owner of a dog dangerously out of control and for possessing a dog while under a disqualification order. He pleaded guilty and in November 2023 he was given a suspended prison sentence. It was then revealed that he had appeared in Court earlier that month, where he had pleaded guilty to the same charges – arising out of an incident in February 2023 in Westminster.

Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway commented, “None of us would wish to see injury to any animal and that includes our officers, who acted to ensure the safety of everyone involved. Police officers are highly trained to deal with situations involving dogs that are dangerously out of control and their overriding concern will always be to ensure the safety of the public.”

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