Ohio police: Suspect tossed police dog over embankment

BRIDGEPORT, Ohio (AP) — Police in eastern Ohio say a burglary and assault suspect being tracked by a police dog tried to kill it by repeatedly hitting it on a rock and throwing it over a 20- to 30-foot embankment.

WTOV-TV in Steubenville reports the Bridgeport police dog, named Santos, is bruised and scratched but is expected to fully recover.

Sgt. Tom DeVaul of the Belmont County sheriff’s office says the young man is accused of forcing his way into an apartment and trying to assault a woman in Bridgeport, along the Ohio River. Police say he then attacked the dog Monday when the police dog found him in the woods.

Police say he’s being charged with aggravated burglary, domestic violence, assaulting a police dog, resisting arrest and cruelty to animals.