Police officers who shot dead two dogs have been cleared of wrongdoing by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
The incident sparked controversy online, with footage of the incident being posted to social media. This shows an altercation which results in officers tasering a homeless man and shooting dead his two dogs.
However, the officers have now been cleared of wrongdoing. The IOPC found “no indication that any officers behaved in a manner which would justify disciplinary action or had committed a criminal offence.”
Police were called to reports of a woman and her dog being attacked by two dogs on Commercial Road, in Tower Hamlets, on May 7, 2023 at around 5pm. The woman and her dog were both found to have injuries.
(stock image) The dogs were Cane Corsos
(Image: Falombini/Getty Images)
Louie Turnbull, in his 40s, and his two Cane Corso dogs were tracked down by officers. He refused to surrender his “agitated and barking” dogs to police. Officers tried to negotiate with Mr Turnbull, with one dog breaking free before being recaptured by the owner.
One of the dogs was shot dead by officers after breaking free on the Limehouse Cut Canal. The second dog was also shot by police after it broke free from a police dog handler who had captured and tasered it.
Mr Turnbull was found to have been disqualified from keeping dogs for 20 years as part of an order in 2019.
He was given a suspended prison sentence in November 2023 after pleading guilty to being the owner of a dog dangerously out of control without injury. He also pleaded guilty to possession of dogs while under a 20-year disqualification order.
He had earlier that month admitted the same offences in relation to an incident in February 2023 in Strutton Ground, Westminster, during which his dogs attacked and blinded a Pomeranian dog.
Following public complaints about the actions of the officers, the Met made a referral to the IOPC which launched an investigation. This found “no indication that any officers behaved in a manner which would justify disciplinary action or had committed a criminal offence. All officers were treated as witnesses throughout our investigation.”
However, the IOPC did ask both the City of London and the Met Police, who were involved in the incident, to consider their availability and demand for dog handlers and if there was adequate resourcing of this.
Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway, who leads policing in the area, said: “The IOPC investigation has been extensive, examining every aspect of what happened that day and scrutinising body worn video, mobile phone footage and CCTV of the incident as well as consulting dangerous dog experts.
“The investigation found the officers faced a really challenging situation and made numerous attempts to get the owner of the aggressive animals – after they had attacked a woman and her dog – to surrender them to prevent further injury to anyone.
“The officers demonstrated impressive restraint and bravery in trying to resolve the situation in the face of the owner repeatedly refusing to comply, and only took further action when they were left with no choice after the dogs came free of the man’s grip.
“Parts of the incident were filmed and posted on social media and we know how much distress this matter caused. None of us would wish to see injury to any animal and that includes our officers who only acted to ensure the safety of everyone involved.
“Police officers are highly trained to deal with situations involving dogs that are dangerously out of control and their overriding concern will always be to ensure the safety of the public.”
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