An Oak Harbor man is accused of using his dog to assault a police officer, according to Island County Superior Court documents.
Prosecutors charged Anthony Herrmann, 52, in Superior Court Oct. 16 with third-degree assault.
Officer Patrick Horn with the Oak Harbor Police Department responded to a report Oct. 13 that Herrmann was trespassing on a Southeast Maylor Street property.
Herrmann stepped out of bushes in front of the police car. He was carrying a guitar and was holding the leash of a German shepherd.
Horn said in his report that he was familiar with Hermann, and that Hermann had previously allowed his dog to lunge at the officer.
Horn said he warned Herrmann to stop and control his dog, but Hermann smiled and walked closer with the dog. He started “snapping the leash tight” and then letting it go slack, which “appeared to cause the dog to become very agitated and aggressive,” the police report said.
Horn wrote that he warned Herrmann he would shoot the dog if he let it bite him. Herrmann smiled and loosened his grip on the leash, allowing the dog to come forward about 10 feet and bite the officer on the side of the knee, Horn wrote in his report.
Horn pulled out his gun and again told Herrmann to pull the dog away. Herrmann eventually complied; he sat on the grass and played the guitar while another officer responded to the scene.
The officer brought the dog to the city’s animal shelter.