Police dog catches assault suspect in rough seas (From The Argus)

Police dog catches assault suspect in rough seas

4:00pm Sunday 6th December 2009 in

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A police dog swam in rough seas to catch a man who was wanted on suspicion of assaulting a woman.

Sabre held on to the 41-year-old man until dog handler PC Desmond Kirby swam out to pull the man ashore.

The incident happened near Saltdean Lido when the man swam out to sea to avoid arrest after officers received reports that a woman had been assaulted and pulled into a car.

The man threw stones and threatened PC Kirby and his colleague PC Geoff Fox.

PC Kirby said: “It was pitch black and the sea was very rough and extremely cold.

“The man kept going under and it was difficult to follow him. We were concerned for the man’s welfare due to the length of time he had been in the water and his attempts to swim out further.

“If he had remained in the water there was a real possibility he may have died.

“Police dogs aren’t trained to swim out in rough seas, so it’s very impressive that Sabre was able to swim out and hold on to him, stopping him from swimming out further and harming himself or other officers.”

Superintendent Ian Davies, of Sussex Police, congratulated the officers for their actions on Sunday at about 2am.

He said: “The police officers’ common sense and good judgement prevented this incident from escalating and led to the arrest of a man wanted for assault.

“PC Kirby and his dog Sabre did a fantastic job in a dangerous and difficult situation and I commend all the officers involved for their dedication and bravery."