A father-of three has been barred from ever owning a dog after the bulldog he owned attacked a police officer who was trying to assist him.
Bodeane Rostron had been lying in the road on September 18 2021 when he was spotted by officer Michelle Murphy, who got out of her van to assist him as she believed he was injured.
However, PC Murphy soon realised that Rostron was drunk and as a result was not able to keep control over his two dogs, the Manchester Evening News reported.
While trying to help Rostron, the larger dog, called Bo-Bo, attacked PC Murphy, gripping her left leg in its teeth and violently shaking, pulling her to the ground.
Despite her screams for help Rostron made no attempt to regain control of the dog, barrister Andrew Molloy told Bolton Crown Court.
PC Murphy's colleague PC Duncan intervened and repeatedly punched Bo-Bo in the face, but the dog only released PC Murphys leg when PC Duncan pepper-sprayed him.
PC Murphy managed to get back to the van and press her emergency button - calling for backup.
In the end it took four police officers with a fire extinguisher to get Bo-Bo under control.
Rostron, 37, was taken to hospital to have his head wound examined and was arrested on suspicion of a section five public order offence after using ‘abusive words', Mr Molloy said.
In June of this year, Rostron, of Firwood Grove, Tonge Moor, was convicted of being the owner in charge of a dog dangerously out of control and causing serious injury.
In an emotional victim impact statement, a tearful PC Murphy told of how she has permanent damage to her left leg after her muscle was ripped off the bone.
She branded Rostron a 'disgrace' and added that the incident has left her terrified of dogs other than her own.
Speaking to Roston, PC Murphy said: "My colleague, a grown man, cried at the scene because he felt he had let me down; when in fact he didn't, his actions probably saved my leg from being ripped off by your dog.
"You let me down, nobody else. I have recurring thoughts that if your dog had grabbed me by the throat and not the leg, it would have killed me."
Defending, Martin Sharpe said Rostron "sincerely apologises to the officer and wants to make it clear that this is a public apology".
He added: “He wished this never happened and he wishes to place on the record his sincere apologies for the severe discomfort and long-lasting harm that Ms Murphy is suffering.”
Mr Sharpe told the court Rostron owns a successful landscaping business and employs three people. He also has shared custody of his two-year-old son.
Addressing PC Murphy from the dock, Rostron said: “I’m sorry. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. I’ve not known how to get an apology across."
The judge, Recorder Simon Hilton sentenced Rostron to 12 months, suspended for two years.
"Immediate custody would significantly affect and harm the lives of other people, not least the people you employ,” he said.
He ordered Rostron to pay Ms Murphy £3,000 in compensation, as well as £4,350 in kennelling costs.
Rostron will be banned from owning dogs in the future, Recorder Hilton ruled, and Bo-Bo will be destroyed.
