Police cleared of wrongdoing after dangerous dogs shot dead on Poplar footpath
Metropolitan Police firearms officers who shot dead two dangerous dogs during a stand-off on a canal towpath have been cleared of wrongdoing.
Armed officers were deployed after a woman and her dog were attacked by two Cana Corsa in Poplar, east London, on the afternoon of May 7, 2023.
The dogs’ owner, Louie Turnbull, refused to surrender them into police custody in a prolonged stand-off with police which was partly caught on camera.
When one of the dogs broke free and lunged at a police dog handler, the firearms officer opened fire and killed the animal.
The second dog was also shot dead after he had been seized and Tasered by police, but managed to break free and start to run.
Turnbull, who was also himself Tasered during the incident, was later handed a 14-week prison term, suspended for a year, over the dog attack on the woman and her pet.
On Friday, Scotland Yard said the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) had concluded its investigation into the incident, finding that the incident had been handled correctly.
Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway, who leads policing in the area, said: “The IOPC investigation has been extensive, examining every aspect of what happened that day and scrutinising body worn video, mobile phone footage and CCTV of the incident as well as consulting dangerous dog experts.
“The investigation found the officers faced a really challenging situation and made numerous attempts to get the owner of the aggressive animals – after they had attacked a woman and her dog – to surrender them to prevent further injury to anyone.
“The officers demonstrated impressive restraint and bravery in trying to resolve the situation in the face of the owner repeatedly refusing to comply, and only took further action when they were left with no choice after the dogs came free of the man’s grip.
“Parts of the incident were filmed and posted on social media and we know how much distress this matter caused. None of us would wish to see injury to any animal and that includes our officers who only acted to ensure the safety of everyone involved.
“Police officers are highly trained to deal with situations involving dogs that are dangerously out of control and their overriding concern will always be to ensure the safety of the public.”
The video of the incident went viral on social media, and more than a million people signed a petition calling for the Met officers to be held “criminally accountable”.
But it was Turnbull who ended up in the dock, where he pleaded guilty to owning two dangerously out of control dogs, it emerged he had previously been banned for 20 years from owning dogs, and he had been convicted in 2019 of another dog attack.
In the attack on the woman, she suffered leg injuries when Turnbull’s dogs – which were not on a leash as she passed by – suddenly came at her.
Her dog was left with chunks of missing fur, a bleeding nose, and a long scratch.
Scotland Yard said the IOPC probe had “found no evidence of misconduct or that officers discriminated against the man because he was homeless”.
“They found officers communicated with the man in a calm, but firm, manner for a prolonged period of time to try to convince him to surrender both dogs.”