A police officer was left seriously injured after being mauled by a police dog released by a colleague. The officer was left requiring surgery after being attacked as he was trying to apprehend a suspected car thief in the early hours of Tuesday.
The officer had been trying to capture the suspect on foot after he abandoned a stolen car near an alleyway following a ten-mile car chase. But when he returned to the vehicle to check for any other passengers he was set upon by a police dog released by its handler.
West Midlands Police has now launched an investigation as their officer remains in hospital. A force spokesperson said: "One of our traffic officers was bitten by a police dog from our West Midlands Police Dog Unit following the pursuit of a stolen car which started in the Cannock area of Staffordshire and ended in Leighs Road, Shelfield.
