A taser was used by police for the first time in Central Otago early yesterday during a violent struggle with an Alexandra man.
The man's dog joined in the scuffle and was pepper-sprayed after it bit a policewoman so badly she will be off work for several days.
After being pepper-sprayed and then subdued by a Taser, the 22-year-old man was arrested and remanded in custody, Detective Sergeant Derek Shaw said. The man was "jolted with a one-second burst" of the Taser, he said.
The man will appear in the Dunedin District Court today to face charges, which include resisting police and threatening to kill, owning a dog that attacked a person and breaching the conditions of his home detention.
Two police officers were called to a fight, involving five or six people, in an Alexandra street at 12.15am, Det Sgt Shaw said.
"When they arrived at the scene ... there was just one person there - a 22-year-old bare-chested male, lying in his own vomit and accompanied by a Neapolitan bull mastiff cross dog."
The man, who police believed had breached home detention, was arrested.
During the struggle that followed, the dog bit both the alleged offender and the policewoman on their legs, he said.
"The dog had a good chomp right through her boot. She... will be off work for several days but is expected to make a full recovery, " Det Sgt Shaw said.
Another constable used pepper spray on the dog, which then ran off.
The alleged offender's family surrendered the dog to the Central Otago District Council dog control officers later yesterday. The dog's fate had yet to be decided.
