Shocking moment man bites police dog during violent arrest

Shocking footage has emerged of the moment an offender on the run viciously bit a police dog around the ear and head.

German shepherd Theo was deployed by his handler after a suspect refused to surrender to police following a chase through Manchester.

Footage posted to social media page Bullshire Strikes Back shows the man bite the 6-year-old police dog after it captures him in the middle of the road.

The man had abandoned his car and led police on the chase.

The suspect is then seen repeatedly hitting and kicking Theo as he tries to break free of the dog's grip.

The footage then shows a second man arguing with Theo's handler PC Gareth Greaves and shouting at the suspect on the floor to "bite the dog's ear off".

Mobile phone footage filmed by a horrified bystander shows the man sink his teeth into the six-year-old police dog after it captures him in the middle of the road. Photo / Bullshire Strikes Back

Back up officers arrived soon after and the two men were detained.

Greaves said the tussle lasted around seven minutes - and the clip doesn't show the man kicking both Theo and himself to the floor.

"He wasn't giving up at all. He was a pretty determined individual. He put up quite a bit of resistance," he told the Manchester Evening News.

The man can be seen in the clip repeatedly hitting and kicking Theo as he tries to break free of the dog's grip. Photo / Bullshire Strikes Back

Theo suffered a bite wound to the head while the officer is recovering from a broken hand during the ordeal.

"My wife helped patch Theo up. He had a nice warm bath and we cleaned up his head wound from the bite."

It's not Theo's first injury suffered in the line of duty having previously been set on fire and assaulted while detaining a man.

"He gets injured, he suffers and couldn't lie down for four days. To members of the public he is a police dog, but to us he is family.

"A lot of people don't realise the police dogs come home with us."

The man in the clip has since been charged with a public order offence, but was not charged for attacking Theo.

Greaves said the incident highlights the need for a law to recognise working animals injured while on duty.