A Florida Keys deputy was bitten several times by a dog described by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office as a pit bull after the animal’s owner reached for a machete while being questioned Thursday morning, the agency said.
Deputies and Key West police officers were at a boat ramp in Key Haven in the Lower Keys assisting animal control officers in an investigation into the emaciated dog and its puppies, said sheriff’s office spokesman Adam Linhardt.
The owner, named by the sheriff’s office as Crucito Serrano Solano, 32, lived in a tent at the boat ramp and became agitated when questioned by the officers, Linhardt said. He told the officers he wouldn’t give up the dogs.
The deputies and officers told him several times to get out of the tent. Instead, they say, he reached for the machete.
As the officers and deputies were struggling with Solano, the adult dog bit one of the deputies multiple times, Linhardt said.
Solano also hit and kicked the cops, according to the sheriff’s office. They were able to subdue him after shocking him with a stun gun, Linhardt said.
The deputy did not require hospitalization, Linhardt said.
The dogs were turned over to the local SPCA, he said.
Solano remained in county jail Friday with no bond information immediately available. He faces multiple charges, including resisting arrest with violence and aggravated assault on a police officer.