Police Officer Tasered By Colleague and Bit by Police Dog Chasing a Suspect

Most of us have had days at work that went from bad to worse. That is exactly what happened to one police officer last week while attempting to arrest a suspect in Northwest Minnesota. At about 1:45 a.m. Wednesday morning, Officer Brad Browning pulled over 27-year-old Stephen J. Hietala in Dilworth, Minnesota because he had a headlight out on his vehicle. While checking up on Hietala’s record, he discovered that Hietala had an active warrant for his arrest from Otter Tail County for allegedly assaulting a peace officer. Officer Browning called for backup and a Moorhead police officer arrived. When the two officers attempted to arrest Hietala, he resisted. The Moorhead officer attempted to taser the suspect, but instead tasered Officer Browning, his colleague. Hietala then fled and both Browning and the other officer gave chase. They lost sight of him and called for a Clay County police dog. The officers found Hietala in an alley between two garages. He refused to to follow any orders to put his hands up or submit. As a result, the dog was deployed. However, instead of going after Hietala, the dog bit Officer Browning in his upper leg. That's friendly fire on two accounts from the same call. Ultimately, the suspect was arrested and charged with multiple misdemeanor charges including: resisting a peace officer, possession of marijuana, Xanax and Methamphetamine and obstructing the legal process. As for Officer Browning, he needed six staples to close the dog bite and is taking time to recover. This is one of these stories that you just have to laugh at. It’s not often that an officer would both be tasered and bitten by a police doing while doing his job. I’m sure that this story will be laughed about for years to come.