http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/28/justice/indiana-shootout/index.html?c=weekend-homepage-t

I was shocked when I read that the k9 got confused and turned his aggression onto fellow officers

Very sad, too bad they couldn't have calmed the dog down. Stress under fire...Man!

The dog was doing what he was trained to do...protect his handler from ANY immediate danger when he was 'down' from a confrontation.

I'd like to hear what Will, Kevin or David might have to say about this kind of situation & how K9s are trained in the even of their handler 'down' & other officers close by as opposed to the assailant close by.

Sad story, sad outcome.

Very sad!

Without knowing the full circumstances, personally, I really can't comment. However, a tazer should have been utilized first if one was available at the time. If one wasn't, then they did what they had to do. IMO

The police officers on the scene were engaged with a perp who was firing at them. It is highly unlikely, IMHO, that they could afford to deal exclusively with the canine at that time. I don't think that it was possible for them to put away their firearms and pull out a taser while they were taking fire.

As Anne said, the dog was protecting his downed partner, as trained; I don't believe that he "turned his aggression" on them.

One thing is for certain...with bullets flying, confusion was the order of the day and everyone's life was in imminent danger.

Even if the officers had time to pull the taser and got close enough to fire it so that the probes didn't spread too far and have one miss, and the long-hair on the dog didn't block or affect contact, the full ride is 5 seconds long! After a 5 second disturbance, the dog is now extra-panicked and extra-upset. The dog will either redouble its efforts now that it is extra amped, or it will run away to regroup and still be loose in this mess with no one able to predict which way the dog will re-enter from.

I love dogs, but a taser is a woefully poor tool on a dog who really means business. It may work on a dog that's just posing, but it's just going to drive the dog off. The dog is still out in the world and still a huge liability to someone.

If a dog (or person) really means you harm, use your gun. A taser gives you ONE shot. If you miss, you have to reload to get ONE MORE shot. Then you are out. If you have a gun, you get as many tries as your clip allows. Also, a taser requires that you sink TWO probes. The second probe drops and spreads to maximize muscle distrubance. The angle of the drop was designed for use on a human whose center mass is significantly larger than a dog's.

Tasers are one of the best tools out there, but they are so misunderstood. They have real limitations. Really, about the only time you should use a taser (in broad terms) is when you are standing next to a partner who is holding a gun.

Police trainers do try and replicate scenarios that may be encountered when working. It is difficult however to replicate a down human and doing what is felt necessary, that the time, to attempt saving the down human. I often get a chuckle out of way people would handle a situation. Particularly when they are able to make those decisions over a cup of coffee, in the safety of the chair they sit in while typing on their computer. I can only tell you the process gets a bit muddled decisions become a little more difficult when there are real bullets flying. It's even difficult to read how everyone else would have handled a situation that they for all intents and purposes, will never be in.

To that end, It was indeed a sad ending for a trained dog. while there is a cost involved and of course time involved, it is less time, less money and certainly less consequences of life, than having to replace a son, husband, father, friend and collegue.

DFrost