The purpose of this page is have a single location on www.dogexpert.com where the visitor 
can find news stories, appellate decisions, and related information regarding excessive force caused by police K9.
Also summarized are a few topics that frequently arise rise in dog bite lawsuits filed against the police.
- What is a bite ratio
The bite ratio is a statistic reflecting a dog’s willingness to bite a person. It is an important statistic and has significant inferences about a dog’s tendency to use excessive force in the apprehension of a criminal suspect. A bite ratio is calculated from the number of instances in which the dog inflicted a bite to a suspect divided by the number of times the dog was involved in an apprehension. Bite ratios above 25% are deemed unacceptable. High bite ratios indicate that a dog is difficult to control and suggestive of the dog who is likely to bite with excessive force. It is important to note that bite ratios did not take into account attacks on innocent bystanders or attacks on people that happened in contexts in which the dog has not been deployed. Hence, the bite ratio does not present a complete picture of the dog’s willingness to bite. - Does a police K-9 constitute a deadly force?
The appellate decision usually referenced as the matter of Robinette v. Barnes (1988), which ruled police canines do not carry “a substantial risk of causing death or serious bodily injury.” This ruling favors the police. Namely, because it is not classified as a deadly force then when it is used to apprehend a suspect then it will less likely be held unreasonable according to or excessive according to Graham v. Connor. In other words, when the police use K-9 force it is less likely to cause fourth amendment constitutional issues. In short, a wider range of circumstances may justify its use because of its position on the use of force continuum. What the court missed in this ruling is the fact that there is a substantial risk that the force of a K-9 bite will cause serious and often permanent bodily injury and profound psychological harm. This ruling is therefore flawed and needs to be challenged in future police K-9 lawsuits.
- A brutal attack by police K-9 in Atlantic City New Jersey
- St. Paul Minnesota questions use of attack-trained police canines
- A vicious attack by police K-9 in 2017 incident in San Diego CA. captured on video
- Throw a dog a suspect: When using police dogs becomes an unreasonable use of force
- Website summarizing older but not necessarily irrelevant appellate decisions
- Reno man mauled by a police dog to get $17,500 settlement
- Legal analysis of a well-publicized excessive force appellate decision
- Woman Bitten By Police Dog As She Slept Is Challenging How Cops Use Dogs
- When Police Dogs Grow Too Vicious
- Palo Alto to pay $250,000 to black teen bitten by police K9
- A bite by a San Diego police dog could be a severe use of force, appeals court rules
- Greenville police dog accused of mauling the handcuffed man
- Colorado man sues after police dog bites him after he repeatedly ran from police
- Los Angeles attorney on police K-9 attacks discusses the value of videos for K9 excessive force lawsuits
