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Met apologises to actor mauled by police dog Met apologises to actor mauled by police dog
(about 3 hours later)
The Metropolitan police have apologised to the actor Juliet Aubrey after she was mauled by a police dog following a terrifying ordeal in which she hid beneath her daughter's bed as burglars searched her house. The Metropolitan police have apologised to the actor Juliet Aubrey after she was mauled by a police dog following what she described as a terrifying ordeal in which she hid beneath her daughter's bed as burglars searched her house.
The Bafta-winning actor, who appeared last year in the BBC historical drama The White Queen, had been hiding for more than half an hour fearing she would be shot by the burglars who appeared to be armed. The Bafta-winning actor, who appeared last year in the BBC historical drama The White Queen, had been hiding for more than half an hour fearing she would be shot by the burglars.
In her first interview about the incident, Aubrey told how her relief when the police arrived quickly turned to fresh terror as the alsatian dragged her from her hiding place and bit her three times on her leg and arm down to the bone, leaving her "drenched in blood". She alleged that police officers did nothing as she was attacked. In her first interview about the incident Aubrey told how her relief when the police arrived turned quickly to fresh terror as the alsatian dragged her from her hiding place and bit her three times on her leg and arm down to the bone, leaving her "drenched in blood".
Aubrey was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and the mauling has also left her with visible scars, including a deep groove on her forearm, after she had to wear bandages for months. She alleged that police officers did nothing as she was attacked.
Aubrey was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and the mauling left her with visible scars, including a deep groove on her forearm. She had to wear bandages for months.
The incident happened in March 2012 when Aubrey, 47, heard burglars inside the London home she shares with her husband and two young children. She heard one of the intruders shout: "Get the gun, get the gun!"The incident happened in March 2012 when Aubrey, 47, heard burglars inside the London home she shares with her husband and two young children. She heard one of the intruders shout: "Get the gun, get the gun!"
As she was alone in the house in the middle of the afternoon, she ran to the top of the house and hid under her daughter's bed. As she was alone in the house in the middle of the afternoon she ran to the top floor and hid under her daughter's bed. "I thought I was going to die. I was expecting to be shot," she recalled. "I was thinking about my children, my husband and my parents. Things flash through your mind."
"I thought I was going to die. I was expecting to be shot," she recalled. "I was thinking about my children, my husband and my parents. Things flash through your mind." Petrified, she tried to "stay rigid" with the bed just inches above her nose.
Petrified, she tried to "stay rigid" with the bed just inches above her nose. "I was trying very hard to keep quiet. I was trying to stifle my sobbing, trying to stifle everything. My whole body was shaking." "I was trying very hard to keep quiet. I was trying to stifle my sobbing, trying to stifle everything. My whole body was shaking."
She heard the burglars on the floor below in her own bedroom stealing her laptop. She had managed to ring 999 on her mobile and the line remained open for about 15 minutes.She heard the burglars on the floor below in her own bedroom stealing her laptop. She had managed to ring 999 on her mobile and the line remained open for about 15 minutes.
Worried that the operator was speaking too loudly and would alert the burglars to her hiding-place, she tried to turn down the volume on her phone, but cut off the call. She then frantically texted her husband and friends for help, before managing to reconnect her call with the 999 operator, who told her – mistakenly – that the police had been to her house earlier and had left. Worried that the operator was speaking too loudly and that that would alert the burglars to her hiding-place, she tried to turn down the volume on her phone, but cut off the call.
According to an internal police investigation, officers had been outside her house within minutes of her emergency call and were deciding how best to tackle the intruders. She then frantically texted her husband and friends for help, before managing to reconnect her call with the 999 operator, who told her, mistakenly, that the police had been to her house earlier and had left.
After more than 30 minutes, Aubrey heard the police entering her house shouting: "Firearms. police." She heard footsteps coming up the stairs and thought the ordeal had ended. According to an internal police investigation officers had been outside her house within minutes of her emergency call and were deciding how best to tackle the intruders.
"My relief was so total – just totally relaxed. I was sobbing, crying, relieved, and then laughing. I thought that everything was going to be OK." After more than 30 minutes Aubrey heard the police entering her house shouting "firearms, police". She heard footsteps coming up the stairs and thought that the ordeal had ended.
But the alsatian came into the bedroom and spotted her under the bed. "He just came for me. He sank his teeth into my leg through my skin, muscles and down to the bone. His jaw was locked right down to the bone," says Aubrey, who had been wearing thin clothes. "My relief was so total, just totally relaxed. I was sobbing, crying, relieved, and then laughing. I thought that everything was going to be OK."
She was screaming as the dog dragged her from under the bed. It then let go before biting her again on the calf of her left leg. "It was pain like I had never known." But the alsatian came into the bedroom and spotted her under the bed.
As she tried to stand up, the dog bit into her right forearm, pulling her down to the carpet. I was thinking at the time to not let it get my throat or I would be dead." She turned around and saw three police officers "dressed in black staring at me". "He just came for me. He sank his teeth into my leg through my skin, muscles and down to the bone. His jaw was locked right down to the bone," said Aubrey, who had been wearing thin clothes.
"I was screaming: 'Get it off me, get it off me.' I was looking into their eyes. They stood there and they did not move. They were frozen. They did not say a word, they just stared." She was screaming as the dog dragged her from under the bed. The dog then let go before biting her again on the calf of her left leg. "It was pain like I had never known," she said.
The attack lasted about 40 seconds before the handler came into the room and called off the dog. Police have since apologised, with the internal investigation finding that the dog handler had not been "diligent" when the alsatian went out of his sight and to another floor of the house. As she tried to stand up the dog bit into her right forearm, pulling her down to the carpet. "I was thinking at the time to not let it get my throat or I would be dead." She turned around and saw three police officers "dressed in black staring at me".
"It was extraordinary," Aubrey said. "I could not understand why no one was helping, that there was no command to stop it while he was biting more and more." "I was screaming 'get it off me, get it off me'. I was looking into their eyes. They stood there and they did not move. They were frozen. They did not say a word, they just stared."
Aubrey, who wants control of police dogs to be improved, added: "The dog was vicious and out of control and should not have been off its leash. Thank god, my children were not there. Imagine if it had an old lady, someone who was disabled, or a baby in a cot, they would not have stood a chance." The attack lasted about 40 seconds before the handler came into the room and then called off the dog. Police have since apologised.
During a career spanning more than two decades, Aubrey has won a Bafta for her role as Dorothea in a BBC production of Middlemarch and acted in films such as the Constant Gardener and Iris. The internal investigation found that the dog handler had not been "diligent" when the alsatian went out of his sight and went to another floor of the house.
After an 18-month investigation, the Metropolitan police concluded that the force had "let her down" when the dog bit her, although officers gave conflicting accounts of what had happened. "It was extraordinary," Aubrey said. "I could not understand why no one was helping, that there was no command to stop [the dog] while he was biting more and more."
The handler, who said he had not been told that Aubrey was under the bed at the time of the police search and was instructed by other officers to release the dog in the house, faces a disciplinary hearing. The dog has been "retired" from the Met after being injured in another incident. Aubrey, who now wants control of police dogs to be improved, added: "The dog was vicious and out of control and should not have been off its leash. Thank god my children were not there.
"Imagine if it had an old lady, someone who was disabled, or a baby in a cot. They would not have stood a chance."
During a career spanning more than two decades Aubrey won a Bafta for her role as Dorothea in a BBC production of Middlemarch and has appeared in films including The Constant Gardener and Iris, and several TV series including Primeval, the science fiction drama produced for ITV.
After an 18-month investigation the Metropolitan police concluded that the police force had "let her down" when the dog bit her, although officers gave conflicting accounts of what had happened.
The handler, who said he had not been told that Aubrey was under the bed at the time of the police search and was instructed by other officers to release the dog within the house, faces a disciplinary hearing.
The dog has been "retired" from the Met after being injured in another incident.
The Met said: "The investigation report also highlights a number of recommendations and learning points that have come about from this incident."The Met said: "The investigation report also highlights a number of recommendations and learning points that have come about from this incident."
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