No shots fired in apprehension of man who attacked officers with dog and reached for gun

Despite a suspect sending his dog to attack them and pulling a gun from his waistband, officers didn’t fire a shot in a dangerous confrontation early Thursday.

Officers patrolling the area of St. John and Belmont at about 2:45 a.m. May 23 came across a man on a bicycle with no light. City ordinance requires cyclists to have a light during night hours. The man also was pulling a large dog along. When police tried to stop him, he took off on the bike, pulling the dog with him.

Assisting officers caught up to the man at Anderson and Bellaire, forcing him to get off his bike. He refused to do what the officers told him, and then he told his large dog to “sic” the officers. The dog then bit one of the officers on her arm. During the struggle to get the suspect into custody, he tried to pulled a gun from his waistband. It fell to the ground, however, before he could get a grip on it. Officers were able to get him into custody without further incident.

The suspect had a felony warrant and is under investigation for assault on an officer. The officer bitten by the dog suffered only minor injuries.