It turns out that Wiley the police service dog didn't have a spotless deputy-biting record after all.
Wiley, a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois, bit Douglas County Sheriff's Deputy David Heins on the arm and leg Wednesday during a struggle with a man at a southeast Omaha home.
Wiley bit Heins on an arm and a leg as deputies tried to subdue David Cermak. Heins was stitched up at a hospital and released.
Capt. Steve Glandt, who oversees the sheriff's K-9 unit, said last week that it was the first time Wiley had bitten a deputy. He said Monday, however, that he was “focused more on service-related bites” when asked on Thursday about Wiley's record.
During a training exercise last year, Glandt said, the dog bit another deputy in the back of the head. “It was investigated and we didn't see anything unusual with the dog.”
Chief Deputy Sheriff Marty Bilek said the exercise was conducted in October.
The deputy who was bitten on the head was a K-9 officer who was back to work soon afterward, he said.
It's not uncommon for officers to be bitten by police dogs during training, Bilek said. Wiley has been muzzled during subsequent training, he said. Wiley's actions Wednesday will be reviewed with the October training attack in mind, Bilek said.
“We're going to have to take the totality of the circumstances into account,” he said. “The dog has a training file like deputies do. Now we have a second incident that we have to consider.”
Wiley has been with his handler, Deputy Jay Wineinger, since 2008. Glandt said last week that Wineinger would keep Wiley away from other dogs for 10 days.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1109, bob.glissmann@owh.com
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