Man bitten by police dog not satisfied with changes to Regina police canine training procedures

Regina police have tweaked protocol for its dog training exercises that happen in residential neighbourhoods. 

A man bitten and injured last summer said the change is an improvement, but he questions why it hasn't always been this way. 

"​I think it'll be a lot better than the way it was," Marty Marin said.  "This should have never happened to begin with."

In July 2017, Marin was hanging out on his front porch when a canine officer bit his leg and dragged him down the driveway.

The dog was participating in a training exercise and it was on a leash.

After conducting a Use of Force Review, Superintendent Darcy Koch said police have made changes to its standard operating procedure.  

Police now post "very visible" signs in residential areas prior to training exercises. Furthermore, Koch said officers will continue to approach residents in-person, advise them of the training and ask them to come through the yard. 

"We believe we've improved our communication with the public, especially around our training environment."

"A track had been left through Mr. Marin's yard," Koch said. However, Marin wasn't notified by police this was going to happen despite being home prior to the exercise. 

"We don't just randomly run through yards without permission of the resident, so if he was home and that contact wasn't made, I don't know why it wasn't made." 

Koch said officers "made an assumption he wasn't home" when contact with Marin wasn't made.

Marin seriously doubts police tried to notify him, and he still has concerns about how the police handled the situation. He said his neighbours also appeared unaware of the exercise — until the ambulance showed up for Marin. 

He said he was given $853 in compensation, but noted that was not enough to cover the long term costs of recovery.

"I was off work for just about four months and then I was limited to what i could do. I lost a heck of a pile of money," he said.

"I've got to live with this."

A year after the attack, Marin remains physically scarred and mentally rattled by the incident. He's fearful to be out in a neighborhood as he is fearful of dogs. He said he crosses the road when he sees a dog.  

Marin said he still has unanswered questions about what happened to him. What bothers him most is how the dog was able to injure him so badly while on a leash. 

"That means that that cop stood there and watched that dog take me down, well that's kind of a little disturbing to me."

Marin said he won't give up in pursuing more compensation. 

Koch rejected the notion that the handler in control of the dog made an error. 

"Our people aren't perfect.They're going to constantly learn from the environment," Koch said. 

The dogs are trained to bite and hold on until they are told to let go.

Regina police dogs are trained in suspect apprehension with a bite and hold method rather than a bark and hold method — where the dog will only bite if threatened. 

"The handler makes the decision, not the dog. Leaving the decision whether to bite someone or bark at someone to a dog I think is a tough decision," Koch said. 

"We can't find error in what the dog did, what we can do is we can find error or better ways to improve communication on the training environment."