Man sent to hospital after police dog deployed in Nanaimo

Police said today that a takedown of a suspect by a police dog sent the suspect to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The RCMP said in a statement that at around 9:20 am on Monday, an off-duty police officer was with his police dog Herc at a red light at the intersection of Esplanade Street and Terminal Avenue.

The officer reportedly heard a man yelling, and then saw him walk into traffic.

“The officer pulled into a local mall parking lot and using his police truck radio, he alerted other officers to the emerging situation,” the RCMP said.

The department said the officer then followed the man in his truck to the intersection of Albert St at Cavan St, where the man was “ranting and raving.”

The officer reported that he saw the man approaching citizens, and radioed in to speed up the police response time. He then got out of his truck and with Herc at his side, and attempted to talk to the man.

“The officer quickly learned that the man was very upset because someone had apparently stolen his suitcase,” the RCMP said. “The officer offered to help him look for it but the man was not interested in speaking with the officer, and repeatedly told him to leave, and threatened him and Herc with death.”

“During their conversation, that lasted several minutes, the officer noted that the man was sweating profusely, acting erratically and was walking back and forth into the flow of traffic,” the department added.

As other officers arrived, the police dog handler told the man he was under arrest and to get on the ground. The man did not comply, and Herc was deployed.

The man, age 47, was transported to the Nanaimo hospital where he was treated for several puncture wounds.
After receiving medical treatment, he was taken to the Nanaimo RCMP detachment and lodged in cells.

Later that day and when he was deemed fit to be released, he was served with an appearance notice for one count of uttering threats, and issued with a court date to appear in Nanaimo Provincial Court for later in December.

Police added that the individual involved was previously flagged due to other police encounters. Police said that the man also admitted while at the hospital that he had consumed a large quantity of cocaine earlier that day.

“This was an extremely volatile dynamic situation with significant risk to the man, the general public and the officer. Considering all the risk factors, the officer and Herc performed admirably,” said Constable Gary O’Brien.