Speedster jailed for police dog attack

Photo / Michael Cunningham

A Tauranga man who attacked a police dog after a drunken high-speed chase on Christmas Eve has been jailed for a year.

Kingi Stanley Tokona, 28, of Welcome Bay, was sentenced in the Tauranga District Court on Wednesday.

The court was told the police pursuit began in the early morning on December 24 when a police dog handler on his way to a job saw Tokona go through two red lights on Welcome Bay Rd in the Bay of Plenty.

Tokona drove off, reaching speeds of about 100km/h on Maungatapu Rd.

The pursuit ended when Tokona stopped his car at Taipari St and ran off into a bush. The police dog handler then released his dog, Turk.

When Turk caught up with Tokona he was kicked and punched.

Tokona grabbed Turk's head and smashed it into the ground.

When Tokona was breath-tested, he had a breath alcohol reading of 684mcg - more than one-and-half times the adult limit of 400mcg.

On September 1, when Tokona was caught driving while disqualified, he gave a false name to police.

Then on October 1, when he was spotted driving again in Vale St without his lights on, Tokona had a breath alcohol reading of 703mcg.

On November 6 he also broke into two cars in Maungatapu and stole items worth $1000.

When police searched his home on December 26 they found the stolen items and six small cannabis seedlings.

Tokona, who has amassed 42 convictions in the past 12 years, had been disqualified indefinitely from November 11, 2009.

His lawyer, Simon Whitehead, told Judge Paul Kellar his client had a different side to his character when he was not affected by alcohol.

Mr Whitehead said Tokona was remorseful, knew he needed help to address his alcohol problems and was willing to take up the offer of help.