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Bear with NYPD officer Vincent Tieniber MTA
ruff justice

Police dog breaks four teeth after being kicked in the mouth catching an attacker

The NYPD dog called Bear is nursing his canines after the attack.

A NEW YORK Police Department dog is nursing his canines after he suffered four broken teeth when a woman kicked him in the mouth as he tried to break up a fight at a subway station.

Bear, a 6-year-old German Shepherd who polices New York City’s public transport, was called to assist a violent dispute which broke out in a Manhattan station earlier this week.

Police were called after a fight involving four women began at the 59th Street station. One police officer intervened to stop a 19-year-old woman from choking another teenager but was pushed away by the two other women involved in the fight.

Bear and his trainer, 36-year-old officer Vincent Tieniber, arrived on the scene and tried to break up the women, but one reportedly kicked the dog twice in his mouth, cracking two of his teeth and chipping two others. Bear also sustained scuff marks on his snout and a cut to his tongue as the officer tried to handcuff the woman.

Tieniber said the dog kept the woman’s foot in his mouth and held on until the officer could handcuff her. Bear’s damaged teeth did not penetrate the woman’s footwear, Tieniber said. The officer sustained a sprained wrist as he handcuffed the woman.

Bear was treated for his injuries and has returned to full duty.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said that Bear displayed the “poise, courage and training” associated with the K-9 unit.

“Officer Tieniber and Bear are part of the reason why the New York City mass transit is the safest it’s been in memory,” said NYPD Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.

They’re a dynamic duo in the subways.

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