Special Investigations Unit officials are clearing the Niagara Regional Police of any wrongdoing after a suspect was bitten by a police dog during an assault investigation.
Police were called to an apartment in St. Catharines in July of last year after a witness claimed a screaming woman had been forced into a van by men with weapons.
Officers rushed to the scene and were able to find the woman, who told them she had been assaulted by a man who had already fled the scene.
The canine unit was called in, eventually tracking the still fleeing suspect to a nearby Sobeys parking lot where he was trying to climb over a barbed wire fence.
During the arrest, the man struggled with an officer and the dog was given the order to engage.
The man suffered injuries to his face and neck and was eventually cuffed.
SIU officials say the officers acted within their jurisdiction as the suspect had shown a 'propensity for violence and a doggedness to avoid apprehension.'