Police dog Duke refuses to let go after latching onto a car thief’s leg and being dragged behind the vehicle in Melbourne
Police dog Duke refuses to let go after clinging to a car thief’s leg and being dragged behind the vehicle in Melbourne
- Cop and dog tackle car thief
- Thief drags police dog 150 meters
- READ MORE: Officer waves dog
A police dog was dragged 150 yards along the road after clinging to the leg of a car thief who tried to drive away in a stolen vehicle while evading arrest.
Joel Simons fought viciously with a dog squad officer who saw the 36-year-old trying to break into a car in Melbourne’s south-eastern suburb of Cranbourne on September 18 last year.
CCTV footage and a police bodycam show how the officer struggles with Simons.
“Police officer, police, police,” the officer shouts as Simons tries to break free from his grasp.
“Get on the ground you f***.”
Duke manages to sink his teeth into Simons’ thigh, but the car thief still manages to drive away and drag the unfortunate animal out of the driver’s side door.
Simons takes a metal bat and delivers brutal blows to the officer’s head, loosening his grip.
As Simons breaks free and runs down the street, the officer asks police dog Duke to get out of the back of his car to help him take down the fugitive.
Duke, a Belgian Malinois, chases Simons who jumps into the stolen Toyota Corolla parked a few meters away.
Before Simons can close the door, the courageous police dog sinks its teeth into the thief’s leg while the officer tries to pull the perpetrator out of the car.
However, Simons is able to accelerate as Duke is dragged off the side of the vehicle.
‘He has my dog. Duke jumped! Come!’ the officer shouts desperately.
The dog had to be rushed to a vet with abrasions to his right shoulder, inner thigh, all four legs and a deep abrasion to his right knee.
The police officer was taken to hospital with deep cuts to his face and bruises.
Police later found the Toyota, which was stolen from a car rental company, in Lang Lang, about 70 kilometers southeast of Melbourne.
Simons was arrested the next day and pleaded guilty to causing injury with intent, injuring an animal, driving while disqualified and attempting to steal from the Holden.
As Simons runs to his nearby Toyota, the officer calls for his faithful police dog companion Duke
A court heard Simons has cognitive impairment and is a heavy user of illegal drugs
He reappeared in the County Court of Victoria in September on charges of wounding with intent and cruelty to animals after nearly a year in custody.
Simons told the court he was angry at being accused of animal cruelty because he was not the kind of person who would harm animals.
“He (Duke) jumped in the car, he jumped out, I didn’t tow him,” Simons testified, according to the Blue Mountains Gazette.
The court was told that Simons has cognitive limitations that make him compulsive and unable to cope with complex circumstances.
He has spent much of his life homeless, but still hoped to secure long-term housing with the help of the NDIS.
Simons had worked seven days a week as a laborer and as a fiber optic installer at NBN before he was forced to take leave due to his mental health.
This had caused him to relapse into drug use, the heart of the court.
He will be sentenced at a later date.