ORLANDO, Fla. -- An Orlando police K-9 handler had to shoot and kill his own dog after accidentally running it over with his car during a chase. Once critically injured, the dog bit the officer and refused to let go.

Police said the chase began when police saw someone driving a stolen car on Conway Road around 11 a.m. Monday. The car had two passengers.

When the car was cornered, the driver rammed into two police cars with K-9s inside, police said.

Witness Rudy Villalona said he saw the entire incident while stopped at a traffic light.

"When (the light) turned green, I saw a whole bunch of officers blow by me and had I taken that green light, that car they were chasing would have T-boned me," Villalona said.

After fleeing again, the stolen car crashed into a ditch on East Colonial Drive.

A K-9 named Viper was deployed to apprehend the suspects, but because the police car was stopped in a ditch, it began to slide and ran over the dog.

Viper survived, but was critically injured. The dog bit his handler, Danny Sidders. After several minutes of trying to remove the dog from his arm, Sidders was forced to shoot the dog, police said.

Sgt. Barb Jones said that Sidders was alone and actively trying to control and arrest someone.

"He was extremely emotional. It was emotional for me just to watch it," Villalona said.

Three people were taken into custody and will face several charges.

The 3-year-old K-9 had worked with the Orlando Police Department for a year and a half.