A Minnesota police dog was on the hunt, snout to the street, searching for traces of possible burglary suspects early on a September morning. A 20-foot leash tethered the German shepherd to an officer from the St. Paul Police Department.
The two suspects were fleeing on foot, and Gabe, a 5½-year-old dog with the police K-9 unit, had been brought in to help law enforcement respond to a possible burglary in a neighborhood just west of downtown St. Paul.
But when the K-9 darted past a garbage dumpster, screams suddenly filled the air.
“Oh, there’s a lady,” one of the police officers shouted, according to footage from an officer’s body cam.
The dog’s jaws were clamped around the right arm of Desiree Collins, a 52-year-old woman who happened to be taking out her garbage when the K-9 attacked. The animal hauled Collins to the ground, where she screamed and squirmed to break free as the dog refused to give.
“You’re fine, you’re fine,” one of the officers tried to tell Collins over her pained shouts.