San Diego

Benno, a San Diego police dog, is in the dog house after he bit a fellow member of the force in the calf and thumb Thursday, authorities said.

“It was really nobody’s fault,” police spokesman Bill Robinson said. “But we’re going to have to dock his pay or take away his bones, or something.”

The German shepherd, which responds only to commands in German, bit Officer Rick Powell after Powell opened the passenger door of the canine patrol car to use it for cover in staking out a suspect. The mishap occurred shortly after midnight when Benno and his handler, Rick Widner, responded to a report that a suspect in a stabbing had been seen near Harbor Street and 5th Avenue. Widner had stopped the suspect’s car and was preparing to arrest him when Powell arrived in another vehicle. With his shotgun, Powell covered Widner from behind Widner’s car door.

Widner ordered the dog back into the patrol car after the suspect’s car began to move forward, unaware that Powell was behind the passenger door.

The dog, trained to respond to guns, not uniforms, perceived Powell as a threat and bit him, Robinson said. Powell was treated at Mercy Hospital and will be on medical leave for about three weeks. The suspect is in custody.