Police Dog Breaks Free From Handler, Attacks Bystander At Crime Scene, Disturbing Video Shows

A police dog attacked a bystander after breaking free from its handler at a crime scene in Vancouver, Washington, on Sunday.

Police responded to the scene late Sunday afternoon along with the K9 which got away from the handler, ran across the street and attacked a bystander who was not involved in the incident. Video of the incident obtained by ABC-affiliated television station KATU showed the dog attacking a man after which an officer runs to save the victim and pulls away the canine.

Nathan Lux, who recorded the incident from his apartment window, said the dog got loose when the officers were arresting another person in his apartment complex.

Recalling the incident, he said, “I just really couldn't believe that was happening. In a split second, it was just history; I just got to get it documented. All I was hearing was, 'heel, heel, heel,' and so the dog was not listening to any of it whatsoever.”

Joe Gold, another witness, said, “It was almost like the dog thought the guy was the criminal he was dealing with. It was within a second, there was a dog, a police dog attacking an innocent person."

Vancouver police said the unidentified victim escaped with minor injuries and they were investigating the incident.

This comes two days after a police dog mauled a motorcycle crash victim at an accident scene in Madison County, Indiana. A deputy stopped his vehicle and walked toward Samantha Batler to render aid when the canine too jumped out of the vehicle through the window, attacked her before dragging her about 15 feet from the accident spot. She was rushed to a nearby hospital with bites all over her body.

“We are investigating this incident and we have placed the K9 on an off-duty status at this point until we can determine if the K9 behaved appropriately as trained, if the deputy took standard precautions when leaving the vehicle, or if there was a mechanical malfunction which allowed the K9 to leave the vehicle. Obviously we would never intend for an innocent bystander to suffer any type of injury while performing our duties,” Madison County Sheriff Scott Mellinger said.