An incident along the boardwalk at Barrie’s marina at around 9 p.m. Sunday night saw a woman arrested, a dog tasered and a bystander briefly detained after reportedly trying to rescue the canine which had fallen into the water after being zapped with the stun gun.
According to city police, officers were following up on an earlier call after they were made aware of a theft which had taken place.
“Police learned that the suspect being sought was believed to be in the Lakeshore Drive area and began to search for her,” Barrie police communications co-ordinator Peter Leon told BarrieToday this morning.
“She was located near the Barrie Marina and her three dogs were off leash. As the female was being taken into custody, the dogs turned on three officers. One dog in particular became very aggressive and attacked the officers and began biting them,” he added.
A conducted energy weapon, or stun gun, was used on the aggressive dog. The two other dogs attacked this dog and chased it into the water at the marina, according to Leon.
A 45-year-old Toronto woman now faces five charges under the Dog Owner Liability Act, with the owner failing to prevent the dog from biting a person, and City of Barrie bylaws with regards to “allowing the dogs to run at large, and having an aggressive dog which was unrestrained,” according to police.
She is also charged with two counts of theft under $5,000, causing a disturbance, assault with intent to resist arrest and breach of recognizance. The accused was held for a bail hearing.
“The black aggressive dog that viciously attacked the police officers has been quarantined and is in possession of bylaw (officials),” Leon said. “The other two dogs are presently at (police headquarters on Fairview Road) pending placement.”
During the incident, a 35-year-old Toronto man was placed under arrest for obstructing police as he was allegedly interfering with the investigation. He was later released unconditionally, with no charges laid, Leon said.
A witness at the scene described the man as having “helped get the dog out of the water, and was basically advocating for the dogs, saying ‘why are you tasing the dogs? The dogs are obviously scared. Do you have no humanity?’”
“He was talking back to them and saying ‘what are you doing?’” the woman told BarrieToday at the scene shortly after the incident.
The man had just been released and then left the area on foot.
“They were putting this man in cuffs for saving a life. I didn’t think that was fair,” said the woman. “The guy literally saved the dog’s life. They arrested him for obstruction is what they said.”
The witness said the officer was being "super-aggressive with him when he didn’t need to. The situation just went sideways. It just blew up way more than it needed to for a guy who literally saved a life."
In video footage obtained by BarrieToday, the man can be seen speaking with police while in handcuffs and seated on the ground. Later, he is seen without handcuffs and speaking with officers before leaving the marina's parking area.
Footage also shows police restraining a black dog on one of the marina docks and taking it away to a vehicle.
