# Let's talk about banning police dogs **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 22, 2023, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-banning-police-dogs/981487 "2023-03-22T12:19:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-banning-police-dogs/981487/41 "2023-03-22T17:16:48Z")
As noted by others, police dogs are tools, and like other tools they can be used for many purposes. Specifically, they are deadly tools, with the potential to kill or maim. Unlike other deadly tools, police dogs have a mind of their own, which makes their use perilous. A dog may bite in a situation where a human officer would have excercised restraint. As noted by others, they are also useful for intimidation, but intimidating is something that police officers already do too much of. All in all, I’d agree that dogs are not useful in the scenarios under discussion of the goal is deescalation and a bloodless resolution. For this reason, I’d agree with this ban. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-banning-police-dogs/981487/42 "2023-03-22T18:11:55Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Unlike other deadly tools, police dogs have a mind of their own, which makes their use perilous. A dog may bite in a situation where a human officer would have excercised restraint. And I beleive this is a key point, dogs bite and bites can get infected and flesh ripped apart. It’s not like a baton or stun gun that is under a humans control. Granted, humans can lose control but at least they can be held accountable. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-banning-police-dogs/981487/43 "2023-03-22T18:34:34Z")
Dogs should not be used as weapons, period. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-banning-police-dogs/981487/44 "2023-03-22T18:39:55Z")
I think it’s time we got rid of police dogs as attack/compliance tools for sure. They bite down on someone with their teeth and if that person defends themself it’s treated as an attack on a police officer. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-banning-police-dogs/981487/45 "2023-03-22T18:59:08Z")
And I’d like to see anyone get chomped by a dog and not try to fight back. Well, actually I wouldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-banning-police-dogs/981487/46 "2023-03-22T19:15:34Z")
Well not just anyone. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-banning-police-dogs/981487/47 "2023-03-22T19:17:01Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Well, actually I wouldn’t. Do you know this because you’ve been seriously chewed on by a dog, and you were able to hold still? I have no idea whether I’d be able to do that. (And remember that it isn’t only punching or knifing the dog that would count. Struggling is very often also considered to be illegal resistance, and can bring on further punishment.) ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-banning-police-dogs/981487/48 "2023-03-22T19:20:42Z")
Yes, and are human officers allowed to chomp suspects? I don’t see how dogs are considered officers. I think the k9 = officer thing just exploits that many people love dogs and covers up the fact that these dogs are being used as weapons. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-banning-police-dogs/981487/49 "2023-03-22T19:23:38Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Do you know this because you’ve been seriously chewed on by a dog, and you were able to hold still? I think he’s just saying that he wouldn’t like to see someone get attacked by a dog. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-banning-police-dogs/981487/50 "2023-03-22T19:24:38Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Do you know this because you’ve been seriously chewed on by a dog, and you were able to hold still? No, I mean I wouldn’t want to _see_ that. I realize that I badly worded that. Though my experience would probably give me a bit less panic than most, I’d still be struggling against it quite a bit. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-banning-police-dogs/981487/51 "2023-03-22T19:25:11Z")
Whoops, you’re probably [ETA: no, definitely] right! Sorry for misreading. I should try not to reply in a hurry. Off to be late for some errands now – ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-banning-police-dogs/981487/52 "2023-03-22T19:37:30Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > And that anyone being mauled by one in any situation has the moral right to kill it in self-defense. … and go to jail for a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of five years. In most jurisdictions police dogs are accorded special protections and are sometimes actually classified as police officers for purposes of those protections. The cite below is not some ancient archaic law – it’s one that was enacted in 2015 to strengthen protections for law enforcement animals. > **445.01** (1) Every one commits an offence who, wilfully and without lawful excuse, kills, maims, wounds, poisons or injures a law enforcement animal while it is aiding a law enforcement officer in carrying out that officer’s duties > > (2) Every one who commits an offence under subsection (1) is guilty of > > (a) an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years and, if a law enforcement animal is killed in the commission of the offence, to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of six months; or > > (b) an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine of not more than $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than 18 months or to both. > [Justice for Animals in Service Act (Quanto’s Law)](https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/annualstatutes/2015_34/page-1.html) ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-banning-police-dogs/981487/53 "2023-03-22T19:42:27Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > In most jurisdictions police dogs are accorded special protections and are sometimes actually classified as police officers for purposes of those protections. @Darren_Garrison didn’t say legal right, he said moral right. And I 100% agree with him on that. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-banning-police-dogs/981487/54 "2023-03-22T19:46:25Z")
If there’s a big disconnect between presumed moral rights and legal rights, then one of them is seriously wrong. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-banning-police-dogs/981487/55 "2023-03-22T19:49:52Z")
Agreed. Dogs shouldn’t be used as weapons. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-banning-police-dogs/981487/56 "2023-03-22T19:56:00Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > In most jurisdictions police dogs are accorded special protections and are sometimes actually classified as police officers for purposes of those protections. You misunderstand. I’m saying that is how things _should_ be, on top of a blanket national ban on using attack dogs. (They aren’t “policing”, they are attacking, maiming, and sometimes killing.) ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-banning-police-dogs/981487/57 "2023-03-22T19:58:17Z")
It’s generally illegal to kill humans, but if one is mauling you, I’d say you have the right to kill them, too. Why should dogs get _more_ protection? Problem solved if they _do_ stop using them as attack dogs. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-banning-police-dogs/981487/58 "2023-03-22T19:58:38Z")
I would rather be bitten by a police dog, than shot by a police human. If you take away one of the less-lethal options, then the more-lethal options will be used more often. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-banning-police-dogs/981487/59 "2023-03-22T20:00:26Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > I think dogs serve a bunch of uses in police work that can’t really be replaced. Many based on their fabulous noses: they sniff out drugs, can track criminals and lost kids, find cadavers or unconscious injured victims and so forth. It does appear CA legislation will not ban this sort of thing. I can understand banning the use of police dogs to be used as weapons. Using them for their amazing honkers is a very different thing. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-banning-police-dogs/981487/60 "2023-03-22T20:00:27Z")
Ah, the police will invoke violence wherever they go, so give them more options for “non-lethal” violence to reduce the body count argument. Wouldn’t you rather not be shot _or_ mauled? What kind of police state do we live in that those are considered to be reasonable options? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-banning-police-dogs/981487.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-banning-police-dogs/981487.md?page=4)