Camera footage obtained by the press has shown a California police officer punching a police dog which was part of the force's K9 unit.
Those who have seen the footage and witnessed it first-hand say that the dog was crying in pain and was in fear, but the California police have claimed that it was all part of 'routine training'. This was later contradicted by a statement made by an officer who said that the officer punching the dog was responding to bad behaviour by the dog, who became angry when a toy was taken away from him and then tried to bite an officer.
Roberto Palomino, who witnessed the scene and captured the footage on his phone, said the dog seemed to be in pain and that the scene was highly disturbing. He told reporters:
"I hear the crying and it caught my attention. As I looked over, I see an officer punching over and over a dog. The dog was crying like somebody was running him over or something like that. It was bad crying."
He said that before he started filming, he saw the officer punch the dog around 10 times. He added:
"Unfortunately, I only record the one punch. But the reason I pulled my phone is because of the hard beating the dog was taking from the officer. Before I pulled my phone, I saw the officer … (punch the dog) around 10 times and that's the reason why it made me pull my phone."
The Vacaville Police Department responded to the footage saying the dog had been looked at by a vet and showed no sign of injuries and that it has now been removed from its handler's care and placed with a third party.
Vacaville Police Capt. Matt Lydon told ABC7 News that the officer was establishing dominance and that after the officer took the dog's toy away:
"The dog, in turn, lunged at the officer and attempted to bite the officer. It's important is the handler has to have complete control over that K-9 to ensure public safety."
A Facebook post from the police department later said:
"Although our canines appear to be pets, just like the ones we all have at home; they are quite different in many ways. If left unguided by a handler, the decisions they make could lead to the injury of the dog, an officer or an innocent community member. All training programs are not alike and need to be tailored to the needs of the specific dog and handler. This is generally achieved by a careful balance of physical discipline and reward based training."
[h/t: The Mind Unleashed]
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