IOPC says investigation not required after Cleveland Police armed officers destroyed American pitbull dog in Hartlepool

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) received a referral from Cleveland Police following the incident in which a pitbull dog attacked a man as he was getting arrested in Thornton Street, Hartlepool, on May 23, on suspicion of assault and criminal damage.

The 32-year-old suspect suffered serious but “non-life threatening” injuries and was taken to Stockton’s University Hospital of North Tees.

Cleveland Police said at the time that the dog had run in an agitated state towards the town centre and had to be put down as it posed “a serious risk to the public” and was “dangerously out of control”.

The IOPC has decided that no investigation is required following an assessment.

A spokesperson said: “We received a referral from Cleveland Police following an incident in which a man was bitten by a dog while being arrested by officers in Hartlepool.

“We carried out a detailed assessment of the available information in relation to the injuries suffered by the man. We were not able to consider the actions of police in relation to the dog’s injuries.

“Based on the evidence we saw, we considered officers could not reasonably have foreseen or prevented the dog’s reaction.

"There was also evidence that police risked their own safety using a number of tactics to prevent further injury caused by the dog.

“In light of this, we determined no investigation was required and returned the matter to the force to deal with in a reasonable and proportionate manner.”