Jury finds police dog which repeatedly bit Middlesbrough pensioner was "out of control"

The family of a frail pensioner who died after she was repeatedly bitten by a police dog have spoken of their anger after an inquest jury criticised two forces for failing to highlight the animal's history.

Irene Collins, 73, was a much-loved grandmother who was attacked in her kitchen by seven-stone German shepherd Dano, which had been deployed to search her garden for a suspected drug dealer.

She died days after suffering bites to her arm, leg and breast, and a broken arm at her home in Penrith Gardens, Middlesbrough, in July 2014.

Dano's handler Pc Mark Baines had managed to get the dog to release Mrs Collins but it escaped his grasp after being taken into the hallway and returned to bite her leg as she lay bleeding on the floor.

Mrs Collins need an operation and made an initial good recovery, despite being terminally-ill with lung cancer, but then developed pneumonia in hospital and died four days later.

The inquest at Teesside Magistrates' Court concluded on Friday that she died from natural causes "contributed to by the consequences of the dog bites while the dog was out of control''.

The jury criticised the Thames Valley and Hampshire forces, which sold the dog to Cleveland Police for £500 without fully disclosing that Dano had already bitten 10 people, including one in the face.

The panel said that information "should have been shared as part of the transaction''.

An experienced dog handler who viewed the dog had earlier told the hearing he may not even have travelled to see Dano had he been aware of the facial bite.

Following the hearing, her son Eric Collins told told reporters: "I am very angry with the police. This has been a disgrace on their part.''

He paid tribute to his mother, a retired hospital worker, saying: "She was the most gentle woman you could ever want to meet. She wouldn't harm a fly and this family loved her to bits.''

The jury, after hearing four days of evidence, made a number of findings, including:

:: Mrs Collins was unaware a dog was to be used in the search

:: Her back door should have been checked to make sure it was firmly closed

:: The dog "engaged'' with Mrs Collins four times

:: Further action should have been taken to stop the dog going back into the kitchen once his handler had removed him into the hall

Assistant coroner Karin Welsh thanked the jury and those who gave evidence, saying: I am sure for everyone involved that night it will have been a distressing.''

Cleveland Police said since the attack it has altered its policy when acquiring dogs and now asked for full details of an animal's past.

The coroner asked the force to consider requiring dog handlers to carry two leads after she heard Pc Baines could not control Dano with his leash after it got tangled under Mrs Collins.

Dano was destroyed after the incident.

Assistant Chief Constable Adrian Roberts said:

“We are deeply sorry for what has happened and cannot stress enough our sympathy for Mrs Collins’ family and friends. We accept and will carefully consider the findings of the Inquest, have already put in place some changes, and will adopt any other relevant lessons learnt.

“In July 2014 Cleveland Police Dog Dano badly bit Mrs Collins during a search of her garden for a suspect. The search was taking place after a car was stopped nearby and two men detained with a large quantity of heroin and cash. A third man had run away into nearby gardens.

“Police dogs are highly trained in specialist work and are well documented as being an extremely valuable tool in the fight against crime; however despite their training, as with any animal they can sometimes be unpredictable. It’s clear that, despite a good record and a positive endorsement from its previous force, during this particular incident, PD Dano acted in an out of character way.

“Police handlers and their dogs undergo regular reassessment to ensure they can carry out their work safely and effectively. Our training methods are fully in line with relevant national standards and are appropriate for the particular policing challenges we face in Cleveland. In addition, all operational bites are fully reviewed to ensure they are justified and to identify any lessons for the future. Notably, during the course of the Inquest, there was no criticism whatsoever in regard to our training regime. Nevertheless we will always seek to make improvements where the need is identified.

“During this incident, officers were dealing with a fast moving investigation into serious drugs offending following which three men received 17 years imprisonment. Whilst this doesn’t excuse what went wrong that evening, it does serve as a reminder of the consequences of serious organised criminality in our communities."