VANCOUVER -- Mounties in Richmond say one of their officers shot and killed a dog that attacked police while they were responding to a call for backup on Wednesday.
The incident occurred around 6:40 p.m., when two officers who were attempting to arrest a suspect for breaking and entering. Police said in a news release that the suspect fought with those officers as they attempted to arrest him, prompting the officers to call for assistance. Police did not say where in Richmond the alleged break-in was taking place.
Several additional officers responded to the scene. When they entered the house where the original officers were attempting to arrest the suspect, they encountered a person with a large dog, according to Richmond RCMP.
The person lost control of dog, which cornered officers in a tight space and bit two of them, police said.
"Unfortunately, an officer was ultimately forced to shoot the dog as it continued to attack them," RCMP said in their news release.
The dog died as a result of being shot, police said.
“This was a terribly unfortunate incident for all involved,” said Richmond RCMP spokesperson Const. Kenneth Lau in the release. “Police officers often have to make a split second decision between being potentially seriously injured or protecting the safety of themselves, their fellow officers or the public.”
The break-in suspect, a 40-year-old man of no fixed address, was eventually arrested and is now scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 24, according to Richmond RCMP.
