VIRGINIA -- Charlottesville police will assess the training of a police dog that bit a 13-year-old girl in June, as soon as the dog recovers from surgery.
Ringo, a 3-year-old Dutch shepherd, is recovering from a surgery unrelated to the biting incident, Charlottesville police Lt. Steve Upman said Wednesday. Once Ringo is fully healed, police will evaluate him and determine if he needs to be retrained. After the assessment is completed, Upman said, police can finish the review of the incident.
While investigating a vehicle with a stolen license plate in the 700 block of Prospect Avenue on June 25, city police called in a K9 handler and Ringo after detecting the odor of marijuana. When the K9 officer arrived, he walked around the suspect car before returning to his own vehicle to retrieve his dog. As he returned to his car, police said he accidentally hit the automatic door release button and released the K9.
A group of people, along with another uniformed officer, were standing on the opposite side of the street observing the investigation. When the dog jumped out of the car, police said it directly approached the group of people. The dog then reacted to a quick movement from the group and bit a 13-year-old girl multiple times, including on the buttocks and on the leg, according to police. The K9 was then taken under control by the handler.
The girl was treated at the scene before she was transported to the University of Virginia Medical Center, where she received multiple stitches to close at least one of her wounds.
Since then, the handler has been working regular patrol shifts, but has recently been off work due to vacation time and some training not related to the K9 unit, Upman said.
“Due to all of these factors, the K9 has not been on the street and will remain inactive until the assessment and our review is completed,” Upman said.
(The Daily Progress - Aug 5, 2015)
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