Cop not guilty of gross misconduct over dog bite incident which left suspect needing surgery
The police officer was accused of taking around 24 seconds to remove a police dog that was biting a suspect’s leg, as a colleague said: “take him off the bite”
A South Yorkshire Police officer accused of using unnecessary force by deploying a police dog, and of taking 24 seconds to remove the animal from a suspect’s leg, has been found not guilty of gross misconduct.
The allegations were made against Police Constable dog handler Terry Davidson, who went before a two-day misconduct hearing last week.
South Yorkshire Police has now published the findings of the misconduct panel, attributed to panel chair Jonathan Roy – Former Deputy Chief Constable Chair, who presided over the hearing.
The allegations arose out of an incident in which a suspect, referred to as Mr A, was arrested in January 2024.
PC Davidson was subsequently accused of using unnecessary force by deploying police dog (PD) Benson, and that the time it took to remove the animal from the bite it administered was “not reasonable, necessary or proportionate.”
Both allegations were found to be unproven. The misconduct panel also found PC Davidson did not breach the Standards of Professional Behaviour.
Prior to the incident unfolding, PC Davidson reportedly received information suggesting Mr A had not been searched, that he was likely to “kick off,” had damaged a police vehicle and a requested taser was not available.
The hearing heard that when PC Davidson located Mr A in a gateway in the back garden of a property he was standing with his legs crossed and his forearms leaning on the gatepost.
PC Davidson told Mr A, who was wanted in connection with a domestic incident: “Stay where you are, f***ing mean it, you’ll get this dog.”
The hearing documents continue: “You proceeded to state “come on out, come on out, come on out” in quick succession over the course of approximately three seconds and Mr A stated “alright” whilst slightly raising his hands with his forearms remaining on the gateposts.
“You proceeded to state “come on out, come on out, come on out” in quick succession...and Mr A stated “alright” whilst slightly raising his hands with his forearms remaining on the gateposts.
“Immediately thereafter you shouted “stop him Bence”, instructing PD (police dog) Benson to bite Mr A.
PD Benson proceeded to bite the back of Mr A’s right thigh, causing him to “scream in pain,” following which PC Davidson took hold of his right arm and took him to the ground.
Moments later, a colleague of PC Davidson’s arrived on the scene, and told him: “Terry, take, Terry, take him off. Take him off the bite”.
The panel found it took approximately 24 seconds for PC Davidson to remove the police dog from Mr A’s leg.
Mr A was subsequently found to have “suffered a severe laceration to the rear of his right thigh which required surgery.”
The panel deemed it “reasonable” for PC Davidson to perceive he and PD Benson were engaging with an individual who had the potential to be violent and to try to evade arrest; and subsequently, there was nothing “which justified a reduction in that perception.”
The panel concluded that given the perception PC Davidson held of the risk posed by Mr A, it was “reasonable” for him to have deployed PD Benson when he did.
They also concluded that his actions in relation to the “24-second bite” were reasonable, stating it was the time period it took to “control the situation.”