THE family of a frail pensioner who died four days after being mauled by a police dog have spoken of their anger after an inquest jury criticised two forces for failing to highlight the animal's history.

And an inquest jury ruled yesterday that the dog was 'out of control' and more should have been done to stop it as it attacked terminally-ill Irene Collins in her Middlesbrough home.

She was bitten several times by the German Shepherd dog after it managed to get into her home as officers used him in a search in her garden for a suspect who had absconded.

A jury at Teesside Coroners Court ruled that Mrs Collins should have been told that the police dog was searching her back garden. The inquest has heard that the Cleveland Police dog, who was bought from Hampshire and Thames Valley joint dog unit, had a history of ten previous bite attacks.

But senior officers at the force claimed they were not given any information about the dog’s history and it passed all Cleveland’s tests.
The jury ruled that ‘the dog’s history should have been shared as part of the transaction'.

When Mrs Collins went to hospital she ‘repeatedly’ told her son that the dog was out of control, the inquest had heard.

While she was being attacked, the former NHS cleaner repeatedly screamed ‘why is this happening to me?’

Mrs Collins need an operation and made an initial good recovery, despite being terminally-ill with lung cancer, but then developed pneumonia in hospital and died four days later.

The inquest at Teesside Magistrates' Court concluded on Friday that she died from natural causes "contributed to by the consequences of the dog bites while the dog was out of control".

The jury criticised the Thames Valley and Hampshire forces, which sold the dog to Cleveland Police for £500 without fully disclosing that Dano had already bitten 10 people, including one in the face.

Following the hearing, Mrs Collins' son Eric Collins told told reporters: "I am very angry with the police. This has been a disgrace on their part."

He paid tribute to his mother, a retired hospital worker, saying: "She was the most gentle woman you could ever want to meet. She wouldn't harm a fly and this family loved her to bits."

The dog, Dano, was destroyed after the incident.

Assistant Chief Constable Adrian Roberts said: “We are deeply sorry for what has happened and cannot stress enough our sympathy for Mrs Collins’ family and friends. We accept and will carefully consider the findings of the inquest."

PC Baines was given a written warning after facing a police misconduct hearing in private.

ACC Roberts added: “Police dogs are highly trained in specialist work and are well documented as being an extremely valuable tool in the fight against crime; however despite their training, as with any animal they can sometimes be unpredictable. It’s clear that, despite a good record and a positive endorsement from its previous force, during this particular incident, PD Dano acted in an out of character way.

“Police handlers and their dogs undergo regular reassessment to ensure they can carry out their work safely and effectively. Our training methods are fully in line with relevant national standards and are appropriate for the particular policing challenges we face in Cleveland. In addition, all operational bites are fully reviewed to ensure they are justified and to identify any lessons for the future. Notably, during the course of the Inquest, there was no criticism whatsoever in regard to our training regime. Nevertheless we will always seek to make improvements where the need is identified.

“During this incident, officers were dealing with a fast moving investigation into serious drugs offending following which three men received 17 years imprisonment. Whilst this doesn’t excuse what went wrong that evening, it does serve as a reminder of the consequences of serious organised criminality in our communities.

“Again, we apologise unreservedly for the pain and distress caused. We sincerely hope that this inquest has provided answers to any questions Mrs Collins’ family and the public have about this tragic event.”

The Independent Office for Police Conduct referred its evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) who decided, in January 2016, that no criminal charge would be brought. This was reviewed at the request of Irene Collins’ family and the CPS decided, in March 2017, there would be no criminal charge.

IOPC Regional Director Miranda Biddle: “Our investigation was completed within a year of Mrs Collins’ death, and we provided regular updates to her family about its progress. Our thoughts and sympathies have been with them throughout.

“The protracted proceedings which followed our investigation were, unfortunately, out of our control. However, we recognise the impact these had on both Mrs Collins’ family and the officer involved.

"I sincerely hope that the conclusion of the inquest, and the publication of our investigation report, provide answers as to what happened that day.”