Five Met Police officers hurt in dog attack in Stratford
Five Metropolitan Police officers were injured when a dog attacked them in east London.
Officers from Newham had gone to an address in Albert Square, Stratford, to make an arrest when they were attacked, at about 09:00 GMT.
Four of the officers suffered serious injuries and the fifth PC has minor injuries.
The animal, described as a pitbull-type dog, was shot dead. A 25-year-old man has been arrested.
He remains in custody in an east London police station.
Three of the officers, who suffered leg and hand wounds, are in a stable condition at the Royal London Hospital and one may require skin grafts. Two of their colleagues have been released.
A dog unit and armed officers from CO19 Specialist Firearms Command were called to the scene following the attack.
The animal was contained before being shot.
Commander Stephen Watson said the officers came under "sustained attack".
"All five were hospitalised," he said.
"Of the five, two might be described as walking wounded whereas three sustained serious injuries which will necessitate further medical intervention."
'Screaming and yelling'
Witnesses said one officer jumped on the bonnet of a car to kick the dog away while another was left with blood pouring from his hand.
Neighbours said they had raised concerns about the animal in the past.
One resident, Dennis Clarke, said he had warned Newham Council the pet was dangerous, after it attacked another dog.
"That was a dangerous dog," the 72-year-old said.
"The owner never had it on a muzzle or a lead, but he did after the previous attack. He didn't take it out a lot."
He said that during the attack the dog held on to one of the the officer's leg.
"He managed to get to the wall but the dog got over the wall and was trying to attack him again," Mr Clarke said.
"He scrambled on to the car, stayed there for a minute. He got down when another officer was screaming and yelling."
Hundreds of arrests
The Met said it was now known an allegation was made that a dog bit a man in Albert Square, in April 2011.
Newham officers investigated at the time and no arrests were made.
Commander Watson said: "This allegation was not picked up in the intelligence assessment prior to today's operation, and this now forms part of my review of today's events."
The raid on the property was part of Operation Big Wing, a 48-hour measure aimed at catching suspects across the capital.
Hundreds of officers made more than 1,600 "visits", searching for people wanted by police or who had failed to appear at court.
More than 924 people have been arrested as part of the operation, which began on Wednesday morning.