Man jailed after police officer mauled by dog

Andre Willis was jailed at Bournemouth Crown Court for 22 months

A man has been jailed after a police officer was mauled by a motorist's dog.

The driver ran off shortly after PC Mark Moreland-Francis approached the car in Thwaite Road in Poole, Dorset, at about 23:00 BST on 4 April, Bournemouth Crown Court heard.

At the same time, the Staffordshire bull terrier-type dog locked on to the policeman's arm and legs, causing him to "scream in pain and fear" and fight the animal off with a Taser, the court was told.

Andre Willis, 32, of South Norwood in London, who previously admitted an offence under the Dangerous Dogs Act as well as driving while disqualified, was jailed for 22 months.

In a victim personal statement read by a barrister, PC Moreland-Francis said the assault was the worst in his 15-year career.

He said his wounds, which needed surgery, had left him with scars and nerve damage, while the trauma had given him sleepless nights.

The Staffordshire bull terrier-type dog bit the officer on his arm and legs (stock image)

In police body-worn camera footage, which was played in court, the officer repeatedly asked Willis to put the dog back into the car.

The animal then attacked him for several seconds, causing the policeman to fall to the ground howling in pain before repeatedly firing the Taser.

Willis, who pleaded guilty to failing to control a dog that caused injury in public, denied actively setting the animal on the officer.

However, he accepted that he should have intervened rather than fleeing, the court heard.

The dog was found three days after the attack and was put down, police previously said.

Judge Jonathan Fuller KC said Willis was in breach of two community orders and had previous convictions for drug dealing and assaulting a police constable.

He said: "This was an awful attack by a Staffordshire-type cross terrier, which are intimidating dogs and capable of causing even more serious harm.

"Anyone listening to the video of the officer screaming in pain and fear would recognise the seriousness of what that dog did and you allowed it to do."

He disqualified Willis from driving for 55 months.