Police Dog Mauls Motorcycle Crash Victim In Front Of Deputy At Accident Scene

A woman was attacked by a police dog after she fell from her motorcycle when her clothing got tangled in its wheel. The incident took place in Madison County, Indiana, on Friday.

Madison County Sheriff Scott Mellinger said a deputy stopped his vehicle to render aid to Samantha Batler when the canine jumped from the vehicle through the driver’s side window and attacked the woman.

“The K9 thought his deputy partner was in distress and the K9 bit a female who had been injured in the original crash. The K9 was restrained by the deputy,” Mellinger said.

However, Jon Meeks, Batler’s fiancé, felt otherwise and said there was “no way the dog thought the officer was in distress.”

Recalling the incident, Meeks said Batler was thrown off from the motorcycle after her clothing got caught in the rear wheel. The deputy got down from his vehicle and walked toward them when the canine too jumped out of the vehicle through the window and began to “maul” Batler.

“Sam was laying on the ground not moving, her head was in my hands when the attack started,” he said.

Batler was rushed to a nearby hospital with multiple lacerations and bites. Meeks said the canine dragged his fiancée about 15 feet from the spot where the accident took place “all the while disobeying the officer’s commands.”

In a press release Monday, Mellinger said the incident was being investigated.

“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,” he said.