Broken glass thrown, injures Hamilton police dog and handler

A man has been arrested after allegedly throwing broken glass at a police dog and handler who were called to a crime spree in Hamilton last night.

At around 9.30pm, police were alerted to a man who had reportedly stolen a mobile phone from a passerby walking near Alma St.

Police said the same man had earlier been seen stealing cash from a restaurant on Victoria St. He attempted to do the same at another restaurant on Alma St before staff intervened.

He then ran towards a river path, with police finding him outside a Mexican restaurant.

“While police were placing him under arrest, he smashed a glass storefront window of a business premises,” Inspector Andrea McBeth said.

“The offender then threw shards of glass at a dog handler and police dog, causing the handler to receive cuts to his hand, and the dog to suffer cuts to his paws.”

The man suffered large gashes to his arm while breaking the window, and a bite from the police dog. He was taken to hospital in an ambulance.

While the offender was being arrested, another man tried to intervene, police said. He was also arrested and charged with obstruction.

“This was a cowardly assault on our staff and dog, and the violent behaviour exhibited last night is not acceptable,” McBeth said.

“This arrest serves as a clear message to anyone who steals from retailers or the public and assaults police executing their duty. We do not condone this offending and if people choose to engage in this behaviour they can expect to be held to account.”

Both the dog handler and dog were receiving support and expected to make a full recovery.

The charges laid were:

Both appeared in the Hamilton District Court today, where the 35-year-old was remanded in custody to appear at a later day.

“We continue to ask our retailers to report any offending – reporting offences is the first step to help police locate these individuals and put them before the court,” McBeth said.