UNITED KINGDOM -- An off-duty police dog has attacked and injured four people after escaping from its kennel.
The dog, which is understood to be a German Shepherd, bit a 13-year-old girl on her arm and leg in Glossop, Derbyshire, on February 7.
An 18-year-old man who tried to help the girl was bitten on his arm and a 48-year-old man, who also attempted rescue, sustained scratches and had his shirt ripped.
But the first person it attacked and bit was a man who had rung police to say it was running around freely.
The canine was in fact a Greater Manchester Police dog whose handler lives in Derbyshire.
A Derbyshire Constabulary spokesman said the force would now investigate how it had managed to escape from its kennel.
The spokesman said: “Local police were first alerted at 7pm when a man reported he had been bitten by a German Shepherd type dog on Pennine Road in the town.
“Thirty minutes later a 13-year-old girl was bitten on her arm and leg on Charlestown Road.”
He added: “The dog ran off towards Freetown and was captured by its handler at about 9.50pm on King Street.”
The force said it would be investigating the incident fully, partly in liaison with GMP.
(Police Oracle - Feb 8, 2013)