Victoria man convicted in attack that injured police dog

Victoria man convicted in attack that injured police dog
CHEK

Police said PSD Uno recovered from his injuries after being attacked in 2016 and returned to duty. (VicPD).

Police said PSD Uno recovered from his injuries after being attacked in 2016 and returned to duty. (VicPD).

Police said PSD Uno recovered from his injuries after being attacked in 2016 and returned to duty. (VicPD). [/caption]

A Victoria man has been convicted of charges laid after an attack on a VicPD police service dog.

VicPD said on July 6, 2016, a patrol officer stopped a vehicle at the Kingston and Menzies street intersection. During the stop, the officer got the identity of the male driver and saw drugs in the driver’s lap.

The officer had the driver exit the vehicle and started to arrest him. VicPD said the man assaulted the officer and got back into his vehicle. The officer tried to stop the suspect from driving away and was partially dragged by the vehicle before he was able to free himself.

The officer then called for backup. He did not pursue the vehicle as he had identified the suspect and there were risks to the public associated with a pursuit in the James Bay neighbourhood, police said. When backup arrived, VicPD officers recovered baggies of cocaine and heroin the suspect had left behind.

Patrol officers and VicPD K9 officers began to look for the suspect. A short time later, officers located the suspect in a hotel in the 400-block of Quebec Street. VicPD said when officers made their way to the suspect’s room, they encountered him and a companion, who had been a passenger earlier when the suspect’s vehicle was stopped.

VicPD said the suspect and his companion began to fight with officers. A police service dog (PSD) called Uno was released to assist with the arrest. Both suspects attacked Uno, striking him several times in the head and the face.

After a struggle, the officers took both suspects into custody. The male suspect was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries and released for transport to cells.

The suspect’s companion was injured. Uno recovered from his injuries and returned duty later.

The man was charged under the Justice for Animals in Service Act, or “Quanto’s Law.”  Quanto’s Law makes it a criminal offence to cause harm, suffering or death of a service animal. The law was inspired by Edmonton Police Service PSD Quanto, a German shepherd with four years of service and more than 100 arrests to his name, who was killed on the job in Edmonton in 2013.

On Oct. 16, 2018, the suspect was convicted on charges of charges of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking, dangerous driving, obstruction of a police officer and the assaults on PSD Uno. He will be in court later this month for sentencing.

The other suspect who was the passenger in the vehicle previously pleaded guilty to similar charges.

Victoria police said this was the first conviction under “Quanto’s Law” in Greater Victoria.

“Quanto’s law helps protect our K9 partners, who so often put themselves in harm’s way to protect the public and us, their human partners,” VicPD K9 Sgt. Calvin Ewer said. “This conviction shows that harming a K9 has serious consequences.”

Police have not released the name of the man but court records show his name is Monte Tucker. The records also show the other suspect who was charged and plead guilty was Sherry Herman.

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