The Inherently Dangerous Nature of Attack-Trained

www.plaintiffmagazine.com JULY 2018

The inherently dangerous nature of attack-trained police K-9s While valuable to police work, these animals can pose a real danger to innocent bystanders, or lead to claims of excessive force when ordered to bite-and-hold a suspect

BY RICHARD POLSKY Nonetheless, little is known about the fre- period. It is likely that thousands of quency of dog bites inflicted on people by people in the United States are attacked Approximately 4.5 million people are police dogs. The costs to municipalities to annually by police canines based on these bitten by dogs each year in the United settle police dog bite claims are consider- statistics. States. The literature contains a vast able, however. Another example of the high cost to amount of information about costs associ- A story published by in the Seattle municipalities for police dog bite claims ated with dog bite injury, hospitalizations, Times in March 2013 reported on this comes from an incident that happened emergency room visits, breed of dog, issue. For example, over $1 million in in Hayward, California in May 2011. characteristics of dog bite victims damages was paid to 17 plaintiffs in west- The event began when police used their and other epidemiological statistics. ern Washington state during a five-year German Shepherd to search for the

perpetrator of a robbery at a 7-Eleven handler. The training of the dog contin- An animal behavior perspective store. The dog led police to an 8-foot wall ues with the handler. Frequently the dog on police dog behavior abutting a trailer park. The handler lifted is trained as a “multitasker”; that is, Animal behavior is a scientific disci- the dog over the wall. He then commanded trained for different jobs such as drug pline which studies observable patterns of the dog to continue the search, and shortly and bomb detection and suspect appre- behavior. Animal behavior science aims to after that, the dog found a man sleeping hension. The handler is required to keep understand how patterns of behavior are under a bush. The dog viciously attacked records of all activities undertaken with affected by an animal’s genotype, envi- the man. The dog’s handler had difficulty the dog. The handler aims to have his ca- ronmental circumstances, contextual vari- stopping the attack. The police immedi- nine partner certified for police work. ables and the experiences of the animal. ately realized that this person was not the Dogs used for suspect apprehension Analysis of the causation and motivation suspect they were seeking. The man died are Schutzhund trained. Schutzhund is Ger- of behavioral patterns are made using the two months later from complications result- man for protection dog. There are three principals from the fields of learning, ge- ing from the incident. Records showed the main components to Schutzhund training: netics, physiology, and neurobiology. dog had made previous mistakes, similar to obedience, searching, and protection. Most major universities offer advanced what happened in this incident. This case Schutzhund methods teach the dog to vi- degrees and training in the science of settled for $1.5 million. ciously bite, shake and hold the arm or animal behavior. This article adds to the scant litera- leg of an “agitator.” The agitator wears The principles and mechanisms ture about the character and behavioral heavy padding for protection. which govern the behavior and motiva- tendencies of the attack-trained police Schutzhund methods also teach the tion of the attack-trained police K-9 are K-9. The purpose of this article is twofold. K-9 to alert its handler (e.g., tail wagging, no different from those which govern all First, to explain why attack-trained police barking) after finding a suspect during a domestic dogs. These principles can be canines are inherently dangerous. Sec- search. The K-9 then bites the suspect or applied to the police K-9 much in the ond, to identify the kind of information waits for a command from the handler same way as they would for a Rottweiler, plaintiff attorneys needs to collect to pre- before starting an apprehension. The Labrador, Yorkshire Terrier or for that vail in lawsuits brought against the police dog’s bite rate is a remarkable statistic. matter any other mammal. because of a canine mauling. It refers to how often the dog bites a sus- Animal behavior analysis focuses on pect. Not all apprehensions necessitate “why” questions about behavior. For ex- Overview or involve bites from the dog. High bite ample, why are police dogs inherently The vast majority of dogs used by rates indicate that the dog has a short la- dangerous? Why do police dogs attack in- police for suspect apprehension are Ger- tency to attack and a low threshold for nocent bystanders? Why are police dogs man Shepherds and Belgian Malinoises. biting. This is suggestive of a dog that is unpredictable? Why are police dogs diffi- The dogs are derived from lineages bred difficult to control. cult to control? In contrast, the police for protection and heightened aggressive Police departments have written dog handler asks “how” questions about reactivity. They are purchased in Europe policies and procedures. There are rules police dog behavior. That is, how to teach by privately owned businesses in the about deploying the K-9 to apprehend a a police K-9 to bite and hold, how to de- United States (usually a training facility). suspect. For example, the handler must tect narcotics, how to follow a scent trail, At the time of purchase, the American announce the presence of the dog to and how to start and stop the attack on buyer evaluates the temperament of the civilians, and that the dog will be re- command, etc. dog to ensure the dog will be a suitable leased unless surrender is forthcoming One can easily understand why at- candidate for police work. For example, from the suspect. The handler must tack-trained police K-9s are dangerous as a narcotic detection dog or as a dog follow department policy regarding using an animal behavior perspective. used to help in the apprehension of crim- whether the circumstances warranted Namely, these are carefully chosen indi- inal suspects. The dog is then purchased using a K-9 to bite and apprehend a viduals from breeding lines developed (for about $8,000 - $10,000) and trans- suspect. Was a force like this necessary? to produce dogs with innate aggressive ported back to the United States for sub- This topic is outside the scope of this ar- tendencies. Subsequently, training tech- sequent sale to the police. ticle, however. I refer the reader to niques are used to raise the dog’s arousal The police department assigns the the many California appellate rulings and enhance its inherent aggressive ten- dog to a designated dog handler. The on the use of force by police canines dencies. A highly aroused aggressive handler assumes full responsibility for the (e.g., Grant v. City of Los Angeles (1994); dog has a short latency to attack and less dog. For example, the newly adopted “ca- Quintanilla v. City of Downey, (1996); inhibition to attack, which makes the nine partner” lives in the home of the Vera Cruz v. City of Escondido, (1998).) dog prone to committing behavioral

mistakes. Police dogs with relatively little The study compared the medical in- neighbors. The neighbors arrived, but attack inhibition and short latencies to tervention needed for bite injuries in- they had to knock down the backyard attack are difficult to control. In sum, the flicted by a police dog with bite injuries fence to gain access to the dog. Jango genotype of the dog and its experience caused by a domestic dog. An inner-city had the leg of the boy in its mouth and create a dog eager to attack. The act of public hospital in Los Angeles, the King- was shaking it. One of the neighbors attacking in itself is a reward for the dog. Drew Medical Center, was the source of started kicking the dog, but this did not the data. Results focused on the differ- stop Jango. One neighbor pried open the Seven reasons why attack- ence in the severity of injury between 595 mouth of Jango, and he released the boy. trained police dogs are victims of police dog attack and the in- The father came to the scene and placed inherently dangerous juries of 1109 people attacked by a dog Jango back in his kennel. The boy was 1. Attack-trained police dogs have innate not used for police work. airlifted to a local hospital. His leg was tendencies for aggression, and training en- Meade concluded that the severity of amputated just below the knee because of hances these tendencies a bite from a police dog was more signifi- severe vascular damage. The Belgian Malinois and German cant than the severity of a bite from a 4. Attack-trained police dogs act impulsively Shepherd are dogs that have been devel- non-police dog. Police dog bite victims Attack-trained police dogs possess an oped explicitly for protection. For exam- were bitten multiple times and more eagerness to attack. This eagerness causes ple, German Shepherds are the often bitten in the head, neck, chest, and the dog to act impulsively. Impulsivity prototypical guard dog, and the Belgian flank. Also, police dog bites more often lowers the dog’s attack latency and its Malinois was the breed used in the cap- resulted in hospitalization, operations, threshold for an attack. Moreover, it in- ture of Osama bin Laden. Moreover, as and invasive diagnostic tests. Meade ar- terferes with the dog’s decision-making previously mentioned, those German gues that the types of dogs selected to be abilities and its ability to comply with Shepherds and Belgian Malinois selected police dogs, as well as their specialized vocal commands from the handler. Im- for police work are derived from lineages training, were the cause for these differ- pulsivity is a well-recognized psychologi- selectively bred for protection and height- ences. cal trait associated with attacks on people ened aggressive reactivity. In fact, individ- 3. Attack-trained police dogs are unpredictable in many different breeds of dog. uals that do not show strong, aggressive The vicious, unprovoked attack on a 5. Attack-trained police dogs attack the wrong propensities at the time of sale are usually four-year-old boy in Hesperia, California, people not chosen. Finally, the dog’s inborn ag- in February 2015 shows the unpredictable There are many documented ac- gressive tendencies are enhanced and fur- and inherently dangerous nature of the counts in which attack-trained police ther developed through hundreds of attack-trained K-9. The context in which dogs have viciously attacked the wrong training sessions and with the use of this incident happened was somewhat people. For example, in a study presented shock collars. In short, genetics and expe- shocking. at a conference on animal behavior, I rience produce an exceptionally aggres- In this incident, a six-year-old Bel- showed data on 30 instances involving at- sive dog. gian Malinois, named Jango, nearly tacks on innocent bystanders. I found 2. Attack-trained police K-9s inflict severe dog killed the son of the dog’s handler (a po- that in all cases the police K-9 was in the bite injuries lice officer with the Rialto Police Depart- midst of searching for a suspect. In one When an attack-trained police dog ment). Jango was born and initially example, the dog attacked a senior on a attacks a person, the dog bite injuries in- trained in Holland before being brought swing in the yard of a convalescent home. flicted to the victim are usually severe. to the United States. The fact pattern of And in another incident, a dog attacked a Research has shown that when compared the incident was as follows: The father re- taco vendor on a city street in Denver. with the bite injuries inflicted to a person turned home after being absent for about The reason innocent bystanders are from a similar size domestic dog, wounds two days, released Jango from his kennel attacked by police dogs is understood inflicted on people by an attack-trained and then placed Jango in the backyard to best through animal behavior analysis. police dog require greater medical relieve himself. After releasing Jango into Namely, when these dogs are in the midst intervention. the yard, he went to shower, leaving his of searching for a suspect, they are highly Peter C. Meade addressed this issue four-year-old son unattended downstairs. motivated to find a person to attack. Usu- in a 2006 paper entitled “Police and Do- The mother was not home because ally, the dog finds the suspect, but all too mestic Dog Bite Injuries: What are the Differ- she had gone shopping. The boy gained often the wrong person is attacked. These ences? What are the Implications for Police access to the backyard by opening the dogs are on a mission and are goal Dog Use?” This study analyzed medical sliding glass door. Speculation is that he driven. The act of searching for the sus- information related to dog bite injury in- went looking for his mother. Jango at- pect and the anticipation of biting a sus- flicted on people by police dogs. tacked the child. His screams alerted the pect is a reward in itself. Hence, it is not

surprising that at times these dogs make the plaintiff repeatedly. Throughout knowledge that the dog has a history of mistakes and attack a person other than Xena’s attack on the plaintiff, the handler inappropriately biting people. An exam- the suspect they were seeking. could be heard telling his dog “good girl, ple is an incident that happened in Co- 6. Often the attack of an attack-trained police good girl.” The attack ended when conut Creek, Florida in February 2015. dog cannot be quickly stopped Xena’s handler pulled her away from the The handler of a four-year-old Belgian The attack-trained police dog fre- plaintiff. Malinois named Renzo met with several quently will not stop its attack despite Did Xena excessively bite the plain- other police officers in a parking lot at being told to do so by the handler. Conse- tiff? The defense argued that the plain- Dunkin’ Donuts. The handler left Renzo quently, the dog excessively bites the vic- tiff ’s kicking prevented Xena from in the squad car. One of the officers ap- tim. The dog’s failure to stop its attack is holding the plaintiff. This argument proached the car to pet Renzo, and this contrary to its training. That is, cease an made no sense. For example, pit bulls caused Renzo to lunge at the officer. attack on verbal command. A handler and mastiffs can easily bite and hold a Renzo then leaped out of the vehicle and may choose to terminate the attack by person, even without specific bite-and- viciously attacked a donut shop worker forcibly pulling the dog from the suspect. hold training. Another disturbing fact was present in the vicinity. However, removing the dog may be diffi- the police version of events. Namely, the This was not the first mistake com- cult and if used, the dog’s teeth will likely plaintiff was face down on the ground mitted by Renzo. Renzo attacked another rip through the suspect’s flesh, causing while he was kicking Xena. One wonders person several months earlier. In this in- additional damage. how the plaintiff ’s kicking could deter a stance, Renzo was searching for a suspect, Attack-trained police canines are dog supposedly proficient in the bite- and his handler tripped. Renzo then vi- taught to apprehend suspects with the and-hold technique. ciously attack a nearby officer, inflicting “bite and hold” technique. The use of this There are two plausible reasons multiple puncture wounds on the officer’s technique is controversial because of the why the attack lasted as long as it did: leg. severity of injury inflicted on a person by (1) Either the handler intentionally let Police departments are often reluc- the dog. The method calls for the dog to Xena continue to attack the plaintiff for tant to remove a dog from service. The bite and shake the arm or leg of a suspect the duration of time beyond what was high cost of buying police dogs and the and then hold the suspect with its mouth needed to make a successful apprehen- efforts already invested in training and for as long as needed until called-off by sion. Note that the police may have caring for the dog are the likely reasons the handler. This technique usually re- formed a dislike for the plaintiff due to why repeat offenders do not have early sults in severe injury because, as men- previous encounters; or (2) the handler retirements. tioned above, the dog will not release lost control of Xena after the attack when commanded to do so or because the started because of the dog’s highly Discovery to win a lawsuit dog regrips and then continues to bite. aroused aggressive state. If this is the against the police Excessively biting or failure to release on case, then the handler lost control over Proving a claim of excessive force de- command are examples his canine partner. pends in part on establishing the handler of the behavioral mistakes these highly This example suggests that attack- did not have control over his dog. aroused dogs often make. trained police canines may excessively If the dog was not under control, then it A lawsuit was made against the police bite when they attempt to use the bite- becomes easier for a jury to believe the in Pittsburg, California alleging excessive and-hold technique. This excessive biting attack by the dog was excessive or that it force. A female Belgian Malinois named may stem from the dog’s inexperience in was not warranted. Xena viciously bit the plaintiff in this May using the bite-and-hold in field situations You stand a greater chance of win- 2011 incident. The police alleged that (discovery showed that this was the case ning a lawsuit against the police by (a) the suspect resisted arrest. They at- for Xena), or the dog’s eagerness to at- Finding evidence which indicates that the tempted to subdue the suspect with a tack, the dog’s heightened level of dog was difficult to control or out of con- Taser gun, but this was ineffective. There- arousal, and the dog’s desire to “get the trol at the time of the incident, and (b) fore, the police deployed Xena to assist in job done.” The case settled for $145,000 Buttressing these findings with explana- the apprehension. Xena attacked the at the insistence of the plaintiff; it likely tions about why attack-trained police plaintiff and continued to bite the plain- would have brought far more at trial. K-9s are inherently dangerous. tiff for about 30-40 seconds. The police 7. Attack-trained police dogs are repeat offend- The collection of discovery should pro- did not dispute this duration but alleged ers ceed as follows: that the plaintiff ’s kicking behavior was Police departments may choose 1. Depose the handler, his supervisor and the impetus which caused Xena to bite to keep a K-9 in service despite their anyone familiar with the dog.

First, determine if any medical or be- of training, and the “error rate” of the No matter how well trained the dog havioral problems existed before the inci- dog. The error rate is the percentage of is or how experienced the handler, con- dent (e.g., excessive barking, thyroid time the dog fails in a training exercise siderable risk always exists in that the levels, skin problems, arthritis, separation (e.g., obedience). Another important handler will lose control of the dog, anxiety, etc.), or if the dog required reme- metric is the dog’s bite rate. Bite rate is thereby making it foreseeable that han- dial work for certification. Moreover, find the number of apprehensions with bites dler will be unable to quickly stop an at- out about previous aggressive displays divided by the total number of apprehen- tack or prevent the dog from attacking and the circumstances when the dog sions. High bite rates indicate a difficult- the wrong person or attacking in inap- growled, snarled, chased, barked, lunged to-control dog or a dog that has poor bite propriate contexts. These risks must be at, jumped on, or bit a fellow officer, inhibition. minimized to ensure the safety of the an innocent bystander, or any human 3. Obtain documentation about policies and public and the suspects these dogs are or dog. procedures trained to attack. Second, ask questions about: These records might be of signifi- Further reading • The background of the handler and cance because a police K-9 is prone to when he started working with this dog; making mistakes if the handler failed to Hickey, E, Hoffman, P., To bite or not • Previous K-9s the handler may have follow the protocol concerning the train- to bite: Canine apprehensions in a large, sub- worked with; ing or management of the dog. urban police department. Journal of Crimi- • Any instance in which the K-9 was re- 4. Conduct a behavioral examination of the nal Justice. 2003, 31, 147-154. moved or retired from service; dog Meade, P., Police and domestic dog bite • Educational activities and continuing This assumes the dog is still in serv- injuries: What are the differences? What are education courses; ice. An examination shows how much ver- the implications for police dog use? Injury, • The relationships the dog had with the bal control the handler has over the dog 2006, 37, 395-401. handler and others when not on duty; for the various activities associated with Mesloh, C., Barks or Bites? The Impact • All training activities inclusive of their suspect apprehension. For example, does of Training on Police Canine Force Outcomes. frequency, when and where training took the dog comply with obedience com- Police Practice and Research, 2006, 7, place, with whom it took place and if any mands; does the handler have good ver- 323-335. videos are available for training sessions; bal control over the dog; and how much • The commands taught to the dog. Why difficulty does the handler have in stop- Richard Polsky, Ph.D. the commands used? ping an attack on an agitator? is the President of Animal • Nature of the supervision the handler Behavior Counseling Serv- Summary and conclusions received from others, including the im- ices, Inc. Dr. Polsky is an mediate supervisor; One should not disregard the bene- academically trained animal • How the incident happened including fits to police work of an attack-trained behaviorist with over 30 events immediately before and those police K-9. These dogs are a tremendous years’ experience working leading up to the episode. Work back- help in the detection and deterrence of Polsky with dogs in applied set- ward in time for at least 24 hours; crime. Nonetheless, the use of these dogs tings. He is well-published • A typical day in the life of the dog; carries substantial risk. These dogs fre- in peer-reviewed journals and has extensive • Previous deployments of the dog and quently attack the wrong people; they are experience of testifying in court as a dog bite the usual protocol followed during these impulsive and unpredictable, they attack expert. Dr. Polsky has helped hundreds of attor- deployments. people out of context; and once they start neys gain favorable outcomes for their clients. 2. Subpoena all records about the dog an attack, they will not readily stop. More information about his background, These include the dog’s veterinary These dogs are not the robotic machines qualifications, and resources for attorneys records, proof of certification, records of the police would like others to believe. handling dog bite cases can be found at purchase and lineage, records of all train- They make mistakes. A dog of this nature http://www.dogexpert.com. Email ing sessions and logs of all deployments. cannot be fully trusted. Attack-trained [email protected]. Training records must be examined in police dogs have an eagerness to attack. great detail to determine how the dog They welcome the opportunity to attack. was taught to apprehend (e.g., bark and From the dog’s perspective, it has a job hold versus bite and hold), the frequency to get done.