32-year-old man seriously injured by Saskatoon police dog during arrest

Saskatchewan's main police oversight agency is investigating an arrest in Saskatoon that resulted in a man being seriously injured after he was bitten by a police dog.

Saskatoon police say officers observed a suspicious vehicle with two occupants moving erratically in the area of 21st Street W. and Avenue Y S. at approximately 3:30 a.m CST on Thursday.

Officers tried to pull the vehicle over, but it sped away before crashing into some infrastructure in a nearby park, police say. The driver of the vehicle fled the scene, but was soon apprehended by a police service dog in the 200 block of Avenue Y S. Police say he sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries from the dog.

The passenger remained with the vehicle and was arrested without further incident.

Both suspects were believed to be under the influence of an intoxicant at the time of their arrests and were transported to hospital for further evaluation.

Police say the 32-year-old driver has been charged with evading police and dangerous driving, and the 31-year-old man in a passenger seat has been charged with breaching court-imposed conditions.

The Saskatoon Police Service has requested that the Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) conduct an independent investigation into the circumstances of this incident. SIRT investigates incidents involving police in the province.

This is the second serious injury caused by a police dog in Saskatchewan in the last month that SIRT will be investigating. The previous one happened in Prince Albert on Aug. 29.