Judge says RCMP “lost control” of pursuit dog

JOHN THOMPSON

Justice Earl Johnson expressed concern in court on Monday over how Nunavut RCMP use their purebred German shepherd, Lar.

“It seems like police lost control of their dog,” he said. “I hope police rethink how police use dogs in the future, in relation to youth.”

The judge made his comments while dealing with a case of five would-be beer thieves, who police apprehended near the sealift crates during the early hours of October 8.

Police used Lar to sniff out several culprits who hid in a beached boat nearby. When one man later tried to out-run police, police issued a warning, then released their dog.

But Lar became confused during the chase. The suspect looped around several sheds before returning to the boat where he had been found. Lar, in pursuit, lost sight of the suspect shortly before coming upon two other young men who an officer had handcuffed on the ground.

Lar bit one handcuffed man several times on the arm before his handler, Cpl. Dean Muir, ordered the dog to stop. Photos taken of the arm afterwards show several abrasions, but the bites did not deeply break the skin. Ambulance staff treated the injuries before the man was brought to RCMP detachment.

“Not only did the dog become briefly distracted as it chased one youth. It then sank its teeth into one of two youth handcuffed on the ground,” said legal aid lawyer Chris Debicki, who used the proceedings as an opportunity to criticize police use of their dog.

“It’s particularly troubling that a dog of that nature would be deployed at all at youth,” said Debicki, who alleged the dog handler lost control.

“It’s unfortunate because youth in trouble don’t need to be antagonized,” he said. “There’s a climate of mistrust.”

Debicki also said that one man spent 23 hours in custody, without his parents being told of his whereabouts.

Justice Johnson agreed he was also concerned the dog would be deployed against youth, “in what I’d call a relatively minor offence.”

All five pleaded guilty to charges of robbery and were tried summarily. Four agreed to attend the justice committee and were adjourned until February. A fifth, who broke previous probation orders, will continue serving nine months probation and time served.

The parents of the five thieves aren’t too happy either. At least one said she plans to contact the commission for public complaints against the RCMP, at the urging of Debicki.

One 17-year-old agreed to speak about his experiences after the court hearing.

“My friends were shouting very loud. They were scared, asking the police dog to stop,” he said.

He also said the dog had to be subdued with the handler’s flashlight. But an RCMP officer in the hallway, who said she was at the scene, disputed this: “You tell that dog to pee, it’ll pee,” she said.

Muir, Lar’s handler, could not be contacted because he was on avalanche training with the dog this week.