The grandson of a former West Bromwich chief superintendent is threatening to sue after a police dog bit him in the groin on his way to last Friday’s WBA match against Walsall.
Baggies fan Chris Wooding, aged 30, from Great Barr was bitten by an Alsatian as he reboarded a Metro tram after a police stop-and-search at West Bromwich’s town centre station.
“We were told to get off the tram to be searched, which we were happy to do, but as I turned around to get back on I was pushed from behind,” said Mr Wooding.
“I stumbled badly and next thing I knew, a police dog had bitten me in the groin and torn my t-shirt and jumper,” he said.
The attack, which Mr Wooding claims was completely unprovoked, took him and his friends by surprise.
He carefully stepped towards the dog-handler with his hands up, only to be chased back again.
He was shocked discover that the dog’s teeth had punctured his skin in two places, leaving him bleeding and bruised. Police at the scene advised him to miss the match and visit the surgeon at West Bromwich police station.
Mr Wooding then suffered an agonising wait for medical attention.
Arriving at the police station at 7.30pm, he was not seen by a doctor until a quarter to midnight.
Mr Wooding, a businessman and life-long fan of the Albion, was appalled by the treatment he received. Mr Wooding normally attends the match with his grandfather Harvey Birch, an ex-West Bromwich police chief superintendent.
“I need an apology at the very least, but I have already been in touch with my solicitor.
“We are hoping to find all the evidence we need to proceed on the CCTV cameras at the station,” he said.
Last night no one from West Midlands Police was available to comment.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. NoNonsense English offers this material non-commercially for research and educational purposes. I believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner, i.e. the media service or newspaper which first published the article online and which is indicated at the top of the article unless otherwise specified.