A London man says he was an innocent bystander when he was attacked by a London police dog Wednesday night.



Dave Flaro says he was watching police activity on Emery Street when he turned to go back to his house, fell, and that's when the dog bit him.



"I thought I was dead. I thought I was going to be a dead man. I mean, I was screaming at the top of my lungs for help."



Flaro says he was outside his house watching police look for a vehicle theft suspect and that's when a police dog was unleashed.



He says the dog came up Emery Street, running toward himself and his younger brother.



"But he was on the other side of the road. But my brother, he turned and ran into the house. I turned around to come in and I slipped right on the steps," says Flaro.



He says he heard the officer telling him not to move so he lay still. He also heard an officer trying to control the dog.



"The officer was not too far behind him yelling stop, get back here, to the dog, and the dog was not listening to him," he says.



Flaro has bite marks and bruises just underneath his left shoulder and on part of his back.



The shirt he was wearing that night is torn and bloodstained.



Flaro's neighbour Trevor Braam tells a similar story.



"When he came back out all the way from down there, he saw Dave and just bolted. And then the officer was screaming at him to stand, at least three times, and the dog was already here. I think the officer realized it was too late, and then told Dave to stop moving and it was way too late by that time."



Braam says he didn't see the dog bite Flaro, as a vehicle was blocking his vision.



But one part of the story does worry him.



"The fact that the dog didn't listen to his handler is what bothered me," says Braam.



London police say the dog in question is a senior member of the force and is still on active duty.



They are conducting what police call a review of the incident.



"So the whole incident will be reviewed to see what happened in this case, and whether it was appropriate circumstances. Obviously if it wasn't the right circumstances for the dog, or the incident we'll try to fix it so it doesn't happen again," says Deputy Chief John Pare.



Pare calls the situation unfortunate but adds it wouldn't be the first time a police dog bit the wrong person.



Flaro is glad it didn't happen to someone more vulnerable.



"It could have been a child, it could have been my sister, God rest her soul. She never could have gotten away from a dog, or it could have been a senior," says Flaro.



After the ordeal, Flaro is still in pain, having trouble moving his arm, and is now nervous around dogs.



"I've been shaking constantly. I hear a dog bark, even my own dog, I shake," he says.



Flaro is considering seeking compensation.