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A Christchurch mother claims her 12-year-old son was not given proper medical care after a police dog bite during an alleged attempted robbery, – but police said their duty of care was met.

The boy was one of two young people arrested after an attempted aggravated robbery in Sockburn on Monday night.

At 9.40pm, police were called to Kumai Place after two youths threatened a person in an attempt to rob them. The victim was able to escape without injury, and the offenders fled with a group of other people in two vehicles, both stolen.

Police saw one of the vehicles a short time later on Lincoln Road. The driver was signalled to stop, failed to do so. A tyre deflation device was deployed and the two occupants fled on foot. They were located nearby by a police dog unit.

The boy, who Chris Lynch Media cannot name for legal reasons, was held overnight in a police cell. He appeared in the Youth Court on Tuesday morning and was granted bail shortly after 10am, at which point his mother drove him directly to Christchurch Hospital. His mother told chrislynchmedia.com hospital staff spent the day assessing his injuries before recommending surgery.

He underwent surgery for an injury to his foot on Wednesday afternoon. She said her son was a passenger in the stolen car, alongside a young girl, when police began pursuing the vehicle. The boy alleged officers rammed the car five times during a short pursuit before deploying road spikes. He then jumped out and ran, his mother said, but was quickly tracked down by a police dog.

“He said he surrendered and the dog was still let off the chain and attacked him,” she said. The young girl in the car was taken home by police, while her son was placed in custody. The mother claimed her son was not taken for proper medical assessment. “I’m just angry and upset my son had to sit in the cells overnight without proper treatment and was made out to be a ‘little dog bite,'” she said.

However, Canterbury District Operations Manager Inspector Craig Scott said “police have a duty of care to anyone in their custody and exercised that duty of care appropriately in this instance.”

Inspector Scott said “The driver failed to comply with an officer’s instructions and was subsequently apprehended by a police dog, being bitten in the process.”

“Officers immediately provided first aid, prior to transporting the youth to the Christchurch Central police station.

“Upon arrival in the custody unit, a police duty doctor saw the youth and provided further treatment. The doctor also advised the youth to seek further medical assessment as required following his release from custody. The youth remained in custody overnight and appeared in court on 21 April.”

Inspector Scott confirmed the Independent Police Conduct Authority had been notified, as is standard in matters of this kind.