State lawmaker introduces bill to ban the use of police dogs for arrests, crowd control
A state lawmaker from Perris has introduced a bill to ban the use of police dogs in certain situations claiming it disproportionately affects people of color.
"When you look at the data it's apparent there's a problem," said Assemblymember Corey Jackson.
Jackson added that the new data in California's Use of Force report shows an alarming trend. According to the data, 12% of all use-of-force incidents that led to serious injury or death involved law enforcement K-9s.
"Nearly two-thirds of all people seriously injured or killed by police K-9s in California were Black or Latino," said Jackson.
To address this issue, Jackson co-authored legislation to limit the use of police dogs.
"We're starting to see that using them for arrest apprehension and crowd control might be a step too far," he said.
However, the bill has received criticism, especially from those training the dogs.
"What's the alternative? Someone laying in a morgue with a gunshot wound?" said retired police lieutenant Ron Cloward, who now operates a K-9 training business.
He added that police dogs are a less-than-lethal tool.
"Once you deploy pepper spray — it's been deployed. Once you use your gun — it's gone," said Cloward. "The only thing you can stop is a K-9."
Jackson believes that dogs shouldn't be used as a weapon.
"I agree they are very good at what they're trained to do," the assemblymember said. "But the issue is, from a moral standpoint, is that what we should be using them for?"
According to the state use of force incident report for 2021, there were 628 incidents that resulted in a serious injury or death, 77 of which involved a K-9.
"Whether they be nerve damage — some cases people are losing an eyeball or a testicle or something else right," said Jackson. "A lifelong injury and you still have yet to be proven guilty of anything yet."
Jackson added the United States has a history with K-9s that cannot be ignored.
"We've seen it clearly on Bloody Sunday and other places in the Civil Rights Movement where dogs were used to suppress civil rights achievements," said Jackson. "We have to understand that it has had a traumatic effect on millions of people."
