Crawley Down man convicted following dog attack on policeman

Adrian Charles Kirkpatrick, 44, of Sandhill Lane, Crawley Down, was sentenced at Brighton Magistrates’ Court yesterday (November 3) for owning a dog which was ‘dangerously out of control’ and ‘caused injury’.

Sussex Police Dog Legislation officer Colin Richardson attended Mr Kirkpatrick’s home on October 9, last year, to assess his Polish Tatra Sheepdog, after it was alleged to have entered a neighbouring property and mauled the occupant’s pet cat to death on a previous occasion, Sussex Police said.

During the assessment, the dog twice jumped up at and bit Mr Richardson; once on the elbow and once on the back, causing reddening, bruising and soreness.

The West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service employee pleaded guilty to the offence at Horsham Magistrates’ Court on September 12.

He was sentenced yesterday (November 3) to a community order, and ordered to pay a £550 fine, £85 costs, a £55 victim surcharge and £100 compensation to Mr Richardson.

Magistrates also imposed a contingent destruction order on the dog, which will not be implemented for the lifetime of the dog, if it is either confined to a secure kennel or a secure enclosure (or when not so confined or enclosed is in his home), provided that on any occasion when a child of the age of 15 years or under is present at the defendant’s address, the dog is confined to a secure kennel or a secure enclosure or muzzled.

He was also told the dog must be kept on a lead of a fixed maximum length of 1.5 metres, muzzled and under the effective control of a person of 18 years of age or over.

Police will be visiting Mr Kirkpatrick’s address to ensure appropriate measures have been taken to secure the site robustly before the dog is returned to him.

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