Dogs shot dead and man tasered by Met Police following reports of ‘attack’ in East London street

Met Police officers Tasered a man and shot two dogs dead as horrified neighbours watched on. The incident, which was caught on camera, took place on Sunday evening (May 7) in East London.

In the footage,  a man is seen holding both dogs on a lead as he walks by a canal. An officer tells the man they “need to assess your dogs and assess you” while the dogs bark. The incident escalates before both dogs are shot dead.

The Met police have said they had responded to reports of a woman being attacked by a dog in Commercial Road. While at the location they witnessed “the aggressive behaviour of two dogs” which was of “considerable concern and posed a significant threat to them”.

The incident, which took place at 5.30pm, was filmed by onlookers in surrounding buildings. A 25-year-old woman who recorded the incident and posted it on Twitter, said: "It didn't seem proportionate. It is beyond belief. It was so shocking. I didn't realise it was a proper gun until the dogs were just lying completely out on the ground.”

She said she saw the dogs bleeding and that she’d “never seen anything like that”.

“You hear of these things happening in America but not here. Whatever had happened, it's not an excuse for it to end like that,” she continued. “Some of the other neighbours were shouting 'it's disgusting' and 'we're not in America'."

Met Police statement

A spokesperson for the Met Police said: "Police were called just after 17.00hrs on Sunday May 7, to a woman being attacked by a dog in Commercial Road.

"Officers attended the location where the aggressive behaviour of two dogs was of considerable concern and posed a significant threat to them. A man was arrested in connection with the incident for having a dog dangerously out of control and assault offences. He has been taken into police custody. A Taser was discharged by police.

"No person was taken to hospital. Both dogs were destroyed by police at the scene. 

“This is never an easy decision for any officer to take, but police have a duty to act where necessary before any further injury is caused. The Met's Directorate of Professional Standards will review the circumstances of the incident."