Man bites police dog during standoff with deputies

SAN JOSE, Calif. — 

A man was hospitalized after stabbing himself in the chest multiple times and fighting with a police dog during a confrontation with Santa Clara County Sheriff's deputies Monday evening.

The incident began around 7:45 p.m., when a deputy responded to a report of a family disturbance at a house on Raymond Avenue, near San Jose City College, according to the sheriff’s office.

The deputy arrived to find a man in his 30s standing outside, holding a kitchen knife, which he began waving at the deputy before charging him while he was still in his patrol car.

The attacker proceeded to go berserk on the patrol vehicle, smashing multiple windows and slashing a tire, a sheriff’s spokesperson said.

The deputy called for backup and several officers arrived, including a K-9 unit.

The man continued to be confrontational with authorities, and during this standoff, he stabbed himself three times, causing non-life threatening injuries.

Deputies deployed the police dog named Ski at the suspect, who began attacking the dog when it reached him by punching and choking it, and at one point the man reportedly bit the dog.

During the scuffle, deputies managed to grab the attacker’s weapon and detain him.

After being taken into custody, the suspect was hospitalized for his injuries, where he remained Tuesday evening. When released, he was expected to be charged with brandishing a weapon at an officer, injuring a police dog and vandalism.

Investigators said they believe the suspect, who has not been identified as of Wednesday morning, was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the incident.

As for the dog Ski, he “had some minor bumps and bruises but is expected to return to work soon,” according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Facebook page.

Both the man and the police dog were expected to recover.

Deputies reported later that a crowd had gathered during the incident, prompting authorities to ask that anyone who had information or video footage of the incident to call sheriff's investigators at (408) 808-4500 or the anonymous tip line at (408) 808-4431.