Samara Man Sentenced for Commanding Dog to Attack Police

The Samara Regional Court has upheld the sentence of a local resident who used his dog as a weapon. The man will be sent to a strict-regime penal colony for 2.5 years. Judges rejected the appeal filed by his defense attorney.

The conflict that led to the trial flared up last year in the village of Krasny Yar. A group of intoxicated men were drinking alcohol on the embankment. A quarrel broke out between the men over a large cane corso dog belonging to one of them, which was without a muzzle or leash.

After a verbal altercation, the owner of the dog, named Thor, commanded it to «attack» one of the other men. The dog bit the man at least nine times.

Police officers arrived at the scene. The dog owner ignored their demand to muzzle the dog. Instead, he again commanded «attack». The dog bit a district police officer on the hand, creating a real threat to the other officers.

The court of first instance found the man guilty on three counts: evasion of administrative supervision, hooliganism using an object as a weapon (the dog), and use of violence against a police officer.

The court«s decision has now finally entered into legal force. The man who set his dog on people will go to a strict-regime penal colony.