A member of the Redlands Police Department’s Canine Corps, Duke, was bitten by a suspected impaired driver at the close of a pursuit on June 1.
Shortly before 8 p.m. Friday night, officers were summoned to respond to a white Honda Accord being driven erratically near Orange Street and Pearl Avenue. According to a phoned-in report, the driver collided with another vehicle and fled.
Officers spotted what they believed to be the car moving south on Orange Street. When they attempted to pull the vehicle over, the driver accelerated, hitting a curb in front of the police annex at Cajon and Vine streets. The driver then sped away, careening toward the outdoor patio of a nearby restaurant, obliging diners there to run from where they were sitting.
The car continued south, crossed into the oncoming lane, bashed into curbs and knocked the bead out of its tires, and hit another vehicle. It came to a stop near Cajon Street and Fern Avenue, all four of its tires flat, with its radiator smashed and the car overheating.
When the driver ignored repeated commands in both English and Spanish to show his hands and exit the car, the officers deployed Duke, a German shepherd. When the dog made contact with the driver, subsequently identified as Timothy Arnold Carlos of Grand Terrace, Carlos became combative and fur began to fly. At one point, according to the police, the five-foot eight-inch and 235 pound Carlos bit the 70-pound dog on the snout.
Shortly thereafter, Carlos was taken into custody. He was brought to a hospital for treatment of the injuries he sustained in the crash and the fracas with Duke prior to his being transported to West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, where he was booked on driving under the influence, hit-and-run, evading a police officer, disregarding the safety of the public, wrong way driving, possession of narcotics and assault on a police dog. Duke was taken to a local veterinarian, given rudimentary treatment, and released to his handler.
Carlos remains in custody in lieu of $105,000 bail.