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 Copyright © 2018 by the author. For reprint permission, contact the publisher: www.plaintiffmagazine.com 1 www.plaintiffmagazine.com JULY 2018 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 Copyright © 2018 by the author. For reprint permission, contact the publisher: www.plaintiffmagazine.com 2 www.plaintiffmagazine.com JULY 2018 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.