A video of police K9 attack on an suspect who had already surrendered exemplifies the difficulty handlers have in controlling their K9s during suspect apprehension.
The incident, which happened in Florida, started shortly after the K9 was removed from the patrol car. The K9 was not leashed, and in the absence of a command from its handler, the K9 charged and attacked the suspect who was already face down on the ground.
Why did the K9 attack in the absence of the command to apprehend the suspect? The suspect was not brandishing a weapon nor was he a threat to flee. Hence, the only reasonable explanation is that the handler lost control of his dog, a very common occurrence in circumstances similar to what happened in the current instance.
Common features of police K9 attacks
What is seen in this video exemplifies many of the features of a police K9 attacks. Namely:
- The suspect had already surrendered;
- The dog had to be pulled-off the suspect to stop the attack. [1]The K9 obviously did not want to release its hold on the victim’s leg. One was forcibly removed, the shoe came off of the suspect and the K9 carried the shoe in its mouth as it was being led … Continue reading
- The K9 shook the victim during the attack.
- The K9 dragged the victim.
- The victim was a male African-American.
- As the victim was being attacked, the officer is heard saying to the suspect “just relax, just relax.” [2]This police officer apparently does not understand that no human is capable of relaxing while being attacked by a Police K9! In fact, during an attack, many K-9 handlers unrealistically expect the … Continue reading
Other sections on dogexpert.com discuss the inherently dangerous nature of attack-trained police K9s.
Footnotes
| ↑1 | The K9 obviously did not want to release its hold on the victim’s leg. One was forcibly removed, the shoe came off of the suspect and the K9 carried the shoe in its mouth as it was being led away. |
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| ↑2 | This police officer apparently does not understand that no human is capable of relaxing while being attacked by a Police K9! In fact, during an attack, many K-9 handlers unrealistically expect the suspect to surrender. Rather, the natural reaction any human would be to continue to resist rather than surrender. Such resistance will likely cause the K9 to continue its attack, which results in more bodily injury to the victim. |