As briefly as possible, here is my description of an incident (as I understand it from the news reports) that happened in my little city a few months ago: local police were in pursuit of a fleeing suspect -- suspect's vehicle becomes disabled and he barricades himself inside with a shotgun. The suspect is repeatedly asked, warned, implored, etc... to drop the weapon and come out of the vehicle -- he does not comply. Eventually the K9 is sent in and is shot and killed. The police end up having to shoot the guy in order to apprehend him.

My question is why would a K9 unit be sent in under these circumstances? If the guy is armed and refuses to comply why not just shoot him or at least use some type of non-lethal weapon to incapacitate him instead of sending a PSD to his death? Does this sound more like a department policy or an officer's personal decision? Any thoughts?

It’s hard to Monday morning quarterback a situation without being there and having whatever information was available at the time the decision to send the dog was made.

K9’s are often used in SWAT operations…. And an armed barricade in a vehicle is a SWAT operation.

Time to get on the soap box….. Often K9’s are improperly used for SWAT operations. Often non-SWAT trained dogs are asked to perform SWAT dog functions. Teams that do this are asking for problems. It takes VERY SPECIAL dogs to work with tactical teams. You can’t just pull any patrol dog out of a car and say, “Go with the SWAT guys and…..get that suspect or search that building.”…. ok, off the soap box.

Could a dog be used under the circumstances listed….yes. Dog’s are often used in a layered approach to SWAT operations. Would my team send a dog alone against an armed suspect, no. Would we use the dog in combination with other less lethal alternatives against an armed suspect, yes.

One question, since you are an officer:

Why don't PSD's wear kevlar vests?

Kristen,

Check out the thread under K9 Bullet Proof Vests

http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/103301/page/0/fpart/1/vc/1

It pretty much covers the pros and cons of vests.

Matthew,

I'm not a SWAT guy but, if a guy is holding a shotgun and has the opportunity to readily use it, there is no reason at all to use less-lethal means as a primary defense. The dog team should be out of range but ready to deploy if the situation de-escalates some and warrants less-lethal action.

I agree with the other things you stated but disagree with having the dog within range of any situation where a firearm is an immediate threat. Even if the dog is wearing a ballistic vest (right!) he only has a 25-50% chance of being saved by it. Best to meet a deadly force threat with deadly force. The handlers who think they're dogs are bullet proof are the ones that provide fodder for these threads.

BTW, Saw Airus in Police K9 magazine....Nice bunny ears! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Howard... I thought the photo really showed the shame my dog felt in having to wear those bunny ears for his Easter picture! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I agree with you that a dog is not an appropriate response to a situation where deadly force is warranted. However, deadly force isn’t warranted in every case involving a suspect armed with a weapon either. A properly trained K9 team used IN CONJUNCTION with properly trained tactical officers CAN BE an appropriate response to this situation. Every situation is different so there are no absolutes. Unfortunately, most of the time that’s not what happens…. And that’s where dogs get killed needlessly.

I remember an incident where one of our former handlers was asked to deploy his dog with SWAT to search a residence for an armed suspect barricaded inside a house. That particular SWAT team had never worked with a K9 team before. The handler knew that the task put before him was well beyond the scope of his training and possibly the ability of the dog….correctly, he refused the assignment.

I’ve met plenty of handlers who have put their dogs into plenty of bad situations where but by the grace of God their dog would have been killed. You are right, the “bullet proof mentality” has gotten dogs needlessly killed all around the world….. I can’t argue with you there.

Howard and Matthew - thanks for the input.

 Quote:

I agree with the other things you stated but disagree with having the dog within range of any situation where a firearm is an immediate threat.

I 100% agree with this statement. I cannot envision any scenario in which a K9 would be an appropriate response to an armed suspect (am I overlooking something here?).

I am curious as to whether any departments have a stated policy regarding K9 use (or other non-lethals) with armed suspects -- or would that always be a handler judgement call?

 Quote:

I am curious as to whether any departments have a stated policy regarding K9 use (or other non-lethals) with armed suspects -- or would that always be a handler judgement call?

Our policy is pretty standard to most..... in our general K9 policy, the handler has final say regarding the deployment of the dog and cannot be disciplined for refusing to deploy the dog in a given situation. The handler has to justify his response in a letter to the unit supervisor.

That said, when you are using a dog in a SWAT capacity, the training changes, the mission changes, the use of the dog changes, and so does the policy.

Being not only the dog trainer, but the primary hostage negotiator I certainly agree the dog, in this instance, and knowing what is only posted here, should not have been sent in. As a negotiator, I'd be curious as to why the vehicle was not disabled, then let negotiations take over. Of course that could have been done and the situation went to hell in a hand basket. Negotiators never want to see force used. Of course we are realistic about it, but it has to be the mindset going in.

DFrost

David is correct. Deploying a service dog on a suicide mission is stupid. Gods gave us trained negotatiors and GAS for fools like this. With that said - many supervisors have zero experience and training in K9. Many make stupid decisions.

Thread closed.