Armed suspect bites off piece of police dog’s ear during arrest in California

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An armed suspect bit off part of a police dog’s ear during an arrest in California, authorities said.

The incident occurred in Wilmington as a SWAT team took a wanted and “dangerous” felon into custody, the Redondo Beach Police Department said in a Facebook post earlier this week.

“The suspect was armed and barricaded inside a residence and refused to surrender,” the post said. “Wouter was deployed to assist officers and during apprehension, the suspect bit Wouter and tore off a portion of his ear.”

Despite being injured, Wouter helped officers apprehend the suspect, who was not identified.

“Wouter was then transported to ACCESS Specialty Animal Hospital for treatment, and he’s now taking a much-needed break,” police said.

“Wishing our bestest boy a speedy recovery, and want him to get all the scratchies and treats,” police said. “Shout out to our amazing Redondo Beach K9 Team for their incredible work!”

The post included photos showing Wouter with a bloodied, injured ear and later wearing a large plastic cone, mouth agape and tongue hanging out.

Wilmington is a neighborhood in the South Bay area of Los Angeles.