A Surrey family is outraged its child's face was mauled by a police dog after the teen broke into a gas station and stole an energy drink early Saturday morning.
James, the kid's father, says he was shocked to see his child had a broken nose as well as puncture wounds and deep gashes on his face.
"My kid's face was mutilated to the point where I could not recognize my child," he told CTV News.
The teen, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, has been charged with break and enter and possession of stolen property. The kid's parents think their child did something wrong, but wanted to come forward because they believe this is a case of excessive use of force.
"You might as well use a metal pole or something, it's the same thing. (The police officer) was using it as a weapon and he didn't even call the dog off until the dog did his damage," James said.
The teen's mom Danielle shared a similar opinion
"I could see a dog attacking your arms or legs, but not the face, I just couldn't believe it," Danielle said.
The RCMP says the case will be reviewed, but the dog and the officer are both still on duty.
RCMP Sgt. Peter Thiessen told CTV News police were unsure if they were dealing with an adult or a youth at the time of the incident and attempted to defend the dog's behaviour.
"There was a level of resistance that the dog was reacting to in an effort to secure the suspect for the dog handler," he said.
Last week, the victim of another police dog attack came forward. Chris Evans is suing the city of Vancouver and two constables for damages after he was bitten five times by a Vancouver police dog. His case has been taken up by the Pivot Legal Society who want police dogs to attack only suspects who are armed.
James and Danielle say there should be a similar policy against using police dogs on minors. They have hired a lawyer to take on their case.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Nafeesa Karim
