Police officer bitten by XL Bully when criminal ordered dogs to attack during arrest in Hexham
A police officer was bitten by an XL Bully dog when a criminal ordered it to attack him while being arrested.
After getting the dog to use its teeth on the sergeant, Nathaniel Wardle then tried to bite officers himself in shocking scenes. Newcastle Crown Court heard the police officer who was attacked by the dog suffered one bite to his arm, with others deflected by his padded jacket.
Now Wardle, 20, who has been having mental health issues after witnessing his dad being unlawfully killed, has been given a suspended prison sentence.
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It was around 9pm on October 31 last year that police attended a location in Hexham, Northumberland, and saw two men with XL Bully dogs. Wardle made off with the two dogs and a police officer gave chase, telling him to stop.
He grabbed hold of Wardle's shoulder but he broke free and pushed the sergeant away. Anthony Pettengel, prosecuting, told Newcastle Crown Court: "He ordered the dogs to attack the officer, shouting 'get him' and 'help' repeatedly.
"The dogs became agitated. Most of the bites were to his padded jacket, fortunately but one punctured his right upper arm."
Another officer arrived on the scene and used PAVA spray and the dog was deterred from attacking further. But Mr Pettengel said: "The defendant then started trying to bite the officers himself and repeatedly pulled the dog closer to him as if trying to encourage them to attack again."
After a struggle lasting around five minutes, Wardle was put in handcuffs and arrested. He said he became violent because he thought the officers were there to seize his dogs.
He was taken to the police van but while the doors were open he managed to break free before being detained again. He later denied setting the dogs on the officer.
The sergeant who was bitten said in a victim impact statement he had never experienced such an attack, which he branded "disgraceful and reprehensible". He was left worried and fearful about the consequences of being bitten by the dog.
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Wardle was bailed, failed to attend court then was bailed again. A day later, on November 26, police attended an incident in County Durham and Wardle said he had taken ecstasy. He was searched and found to be in possession of a hunting knife and a catapult. He was released on bail then failed to attend another court hearing.
Wardle, who has 19 previous convictions, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm in relation to the dog attack, possessing a bladed article and two offences of failing to attend court.
Ian Cook, defending, said: "Life has been utterly chaotic for this still very young defendant for some time. The offence involving an assault with a dog is a particularly concerning offence, deeply unpleasant.
"He has be really struggling with his mental health for some time now, since the death of his father, who was killed in horrific circumstances, which the defendant saw.
"Those who were alleged to have been responsible were acquitted of his father's murder and, for whatever reason, the difficulty his father and those people had has now been placed at the feet of the defendant and his younger brother. He is continuing to have problems with those who, in his mind, were responsible for his father's murder."
Judge Stephen Earl sentenced Wardle, of Lancaster Hill, Peterlee, County Durham, to two years suspended for two years with £300 compensation. The judge told him: "You encouraged your dog to bite him and bite him he did and he suffered injury as a result of that."
He added: "You are before the court for a very serious offence and are lucky I'm not sentencing you to immediate custody. I believe you can still be offered help which can divert you from the criminal justice system."