Fremont Sergeant Bitten by Police Dog is Department's K-9 Supervisor | KQED

"During the pursuit of suspects, there can be other people that come in close proximity to the attempted apprehension of the suspect. That can result in the dog misidentifying or unintentionally biting the person we did not intend to bite."

"All four occupants fled the vehicle in different directions. And so multiple officers were chasing multiple suspects in different directions, and one of the suspects was pursued on foot by Sgt. Taylor, as well as one of our police canines. And that's where Sgt. Taylor was bitten, and the unintentional firing of his firearm occurred."

"Police said in a press release on Feb. 19 that the shot Taylor fired hit one of the suspects, a 25-year-old from Redwood City. He was hospitalized for his injury, but Snelson said he has since been discharged and was turned over to another police agency for alleged crimes in that jurisdiction."

Following a short driving pursuit, police deployed spike strips to disable a suspect vehicle. Four occupants fled in different directions, prompting officers to pursue them separately. A police sergeant was bitten by a police canine during one pursuit, resulting in an unintentional firearm discharge. The shot struck a 25-year-old suspect from Redwood City, who was hospitalized but later discharged and transferred to another agency. The sergeant, a 17-year veteran, was treated for bite injuries and released the same night. He is on paid administrative leave during the investigation. Police acknowledged that during dynamic operations, police dogs can misidentify targets and bite unintended individuals in close proximity.

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