Footage shows police dog chasing down machete suspect

Footage shows a police dog chasing down and catching a man suspected of carrying a machete.

West Midlands Police said a member of the public called 999 reporting three men getting out of a van wearing gloves and carrying crowbars in Coventry on 4 September.

Officers attended the scene and arrested the three men before finding two crowbars and a machete on the drivers seat of the van.

After handcuffing the suspects, police were searching the men when one of them tried to flee, bolting from the officers and running off down the road.

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However, a police dog called Gunner was also on the scene with his handler, Sergeant John Simpson.

The six-year-old German shepherd and Simpson began to chase the 25-year-old suspect down.

Simpson can be heard shouting: "Get him, get him son," as he encourages Gunner to catch the man.

Amid the chaos of the chase, the suspect can then be heard saying: "Get that f***ing dog off. That dog's on my f***ing leg."

Simpson then tells Gunner the instruction: "And out," after which the dog lets go and steps back as an officer arrests the suspect.

The 25-year-old, who was found in possession of the van keys, was taken to hospital for treatment for a dog bite but wasn’t seriously hurt.

All three men – the others aged 24 and 28 – were arrested on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon.

They have been released under investigation while officers conduct more enquiries.

West Midlands Police said: "Like most of our police dogs, Gunner was born into our breed scheme and trained in-house by specialist dog trainers before hitting the streets of the West Midlands to protect the public."

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