Police apologise to Bafta-winning actress Juliet Aubrey over Alsatian attack
"Middlemarch" actress left "drenched in blood" after being bitten three times
A Bafta-winning actress who was mauled by an Alsatian let loose by a police officer while she was hiding from armed burglars in her home, has won an apology from Scotland Yard after an investigation lasting 18 months.
Juliet Aubrey, who has appeared in the BBC’s Middlemarch and the film The Constant Gardener, was left “drenched in blood” after she was bitten three times. She later suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The 47-year-old was alone in her London home in March 2012 when burglars broke in. She heard one of them shout “Get the gun” and ran to hide under her daughter’s bed, fearing she might be shot. She called the police and 30 minutes later heard someone shout “firearms, police”. She started sobbing and laughing in relief, but then the Alsatian came in the room.
“He just came for me. He sank his teeth into my leg through my skin, muscles and down to the bone,” she told The Guardian. “It was pain like I had never known. I was thinking at the time to not let it get my throat or I would be dead.” She then saw three police officers but despite screaming “get it off me” they “just stared”.
In a statement, Scotland Yard said: “The investigation has concluded that a serving police constable dog handler face misconduct proceedings,” adding that it had offered the victim “a formal and sincere apology”.