The dramatic arrest of a man who previously assaulted a police dog is making its rounds on social media.

The member of the public who provided Chris Lynch Media with the Snapchat video said, “I don’t know who it is or what happened but just the arrest very much looked over the top and I feel police definitely get away with a lot as no one ever records it.”

However, in statement to Chris Lynch Media, Canterbury Metro Area Commander Superintendent Lane Todd provided context to the video.

The one-minute video depicts the arrest of a 32-year-old Christchurch man on Heathcote Street, Woolston.

Police had a warrant for his arrest and initially observed a vehicle linked to the man parked at a residential address at around 5.40pm yesterday.

“The man was found to be at the address, but refused to come out of the house when told he was under arrest, and made a number of threats,” Superintendent Lane Todd said in the statement.

“The man had been assessed as presenting a risk to police staff due to previous assaults on police, being known to carry weapons (including firearms), and a previous incident where he had assaulted a police dog with a hammer,” Todd said.

“Police therefore cordoned the address and continued attempting to engage with the man for around 30 minutes, while awaiting the arrival of the Armed Offenders Squad (AOS) and Police Negotiation Team (PNT). However prior to AOS and PNT arrival, the man suddenly ran from the house towards officers on the cordon,” the statement said.

“The man’s intent was unclear and therefore a sponge round and police dog were deployed to prevent him causing any harm to the officers.

“While on the ground the man put his arm around the police dog’s neck, in an attempt to strangle the dog. To protect the dog, the dog handler kicked the man’s arm so that he would release the police dog.

“The man received a minor dog bite and bruising from the sponge round and was treated by a police doctor,” Superintendent Lane said.