Police officer and dog injured during theft attempt of VPD cruiser

A police officer and a dog suffered minor injuries after the theft of a cruiser on Monday morning.

According to a statement from the Vancouver Police Department (VPD), the incident took place just before 6 am. Police officers and the VPD canine unit responded to reports “of a man attempting to steal a marked police vehicle from the City of Vancouver National Yards.”

National Yards is an engineering facility for the City of Vancouver.

When police officers attempted to stop the suspect, he allegedly fought with officers as well as “kicked and punched the police dog.”

None of the officers sustained serious injuries, however, the police dog suffered a broken tooth after being kicked by the suspect.

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Fortunately, the man was unable to make off with a police vehicle. He was ultimately arrested and taken into custody.

“We are very fortunate that our officers and Canine unit were not seriously injured during the incident,” said Sergeant Aaron Roed, spokesperson for the VPD. “This man was attempting to start the vehicle and flee before he was arrested for Assault Police Officer and Assault Police Dog.”

Roed explains that the same individual was arrested one day earlier for “uttering threats in Stanley Park.” Prior to Sunday’s alleged car theft, the 66-year-old was taken to jail and released with conditions to appear at a later date.