Officer bitten by dog while writing ticket

A Costa Mesa police officer was bitten on the hand Sunday evening while writing a ticket, police said.

At 5:53 p.m., Officer Erika Smith was making a traffic stop in the 200 block of Elden Avenue when a dog in the back of the vehicle bit her. She suffered three puncture wounds to her left hand, Sgt. Matt Grimmond said.

“She was making a stop, walks up, gives the guy a citation, and the dog bit her in the hand,” Grimmond said. Smith was taken to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian where she was treated and released, hospital staff said.

Smith has been a police officer for six years — four of those with the Costa Mesa Police Department, Grimmond said.