A partygoer claims she was mauled by a police dog at an illegal rave - with a watchdog having subsequently launched an investigation.
Jessica Mae Andrew, 28, claims she suffered a broken bone and required skin and muscle grafts to her leg after the dog allegedly attacked her without warning.
Avon and Somerset Police are investigating the claim she was left with "life-changing" injuries after the illegal rave in Yate, South Gloucestershire, on Halloween.
Jessica, who was attending the party with around 700 other people, is taking legal action against police, reports BristolLive.
She told the Independent: "The dog came out of nowhere, grabbed me by the thigh and pulled me to the floor."
She said she was "screaming in pain" and the bite left her with "a gaping hole in my calf bigger than my fist with the bone exposed".
Images published by the news platform show a woman on the floor surrounded by police with riot shields, and the blur of a police dog appearing to lunge towards her leg.
In a subsequent interview with the Guardian, Ms Andrew added: "I know partying is not the thing to do during a pandemic but it was beautiful until the dog attacked me."
She reportedly suffered a fractured bone and injuries requiring skin grafts, muscle grafts and reconstructive surgery, and is now seeking action against the force.
Iain Gould, a solicitor who specialises in claims against the police, has now taken on her case, describing the dog as "out-of-control" after it started "ripping open holes in her leg".
"My client has effectively been maimed for life, for the 'crime' of attending a dance party. The police should be held accountable for this," he wrote on his blog.
Mr Gould called for the force's chief constable Andy Marsh to issue a public apology to his client, and said there was "no justification" for deploying the dog on her.
He added: "While the event was illegal, it was a dance party filled with young people having a good time, yet a small army of police officers and dogs was deployed against them.
"This heavy-handed approach by the police appears to have risked turning the situation into a battlefield."
Police arrived at the incident in a disused warehouse on Stover Trading Estate at around 10.30pm on Saturday, October 31.
Officers closed off roads and prevented around 300 people attending the event, but between 500 and 700 had already got in.
The constabulary referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
A police spokesperson said: "We referred a dog bite incident involving a member of the public that occurred in Yate on Sunday 1 November to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
"The IOPC adjudged the matter was suitable to be investigated locally by Avon and Somerset police.
"That process is ongoing and will include reviewing body-worn footage.
"Our final report will be provided to the IOPC."
In a statement, Ch Cons Marsh said: "There were missiles thrown, bottles, punches, kicks, fireworks fired at officers. All sorts of really, significant violence.
"Anyone who used violence towards police, wherever they come from, we will hunt them down, arrest them and bring them to justice."
Eight people were arrested on the day and a further four people have been arrested since the incident.
