There’s a widely held theory that in K-9, it is not a matter of if you get bitten, but simply a matter of when. As handlers and trainers, we spend a great deal of time concentrating on preventing unintentional bites. However, equipment fails, decoys make mistakes, and dogs have minds of their own — and sometimes they differ with us in our approach to training and how a particular scenario or exercise will unfold. The intent of this article is not to discuss the accidental “tag” that comes from a nip or a wayward tooth during play. What I am talking about is a full-out bite-and-hold that seems to occur for no reason.

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Not every confrontation you face as a K-9 handler will occur on the streets. Some of you will have the distinct misfortune of being named as a defendant in a civil lawsuit. The personal safety tactics that served you on the street will not apply in the mahogany offices of attorneys or in marble courtrooms filled with judges and juries. You will be entering an arena where you are no longer in charge and someone else will be calling the shots. How can you best survive that experience and come out on top? An in-depth discussion of the components that influence the outcome of a civil lawsuit is beyond the scope of this article, but I will highlight the most important factors for a successful defense.

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It’s time to review and refresh our memory of the key legality issues that affect a patrol K-9 and handler. The courts typically do not reinvent the wheel; therefore, this article will discuss the relevant historic legal decisions that affect your daily work as a K-9 handler or supervisor.

Potential Loss of the Law-Enforcement Canine

There are three legal issues that can result in canine units being terminated or reduced in size. The first issue concerns deployment protocols; that is, failing to deploy the dog properly, leading to litigation that results in either an out-of-court settlement or a jury verdict against the agency.

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In the part of North London that I patrolled as a police dog handler is located a huge graveyard known as Highgate Cemetery. The cemetery is famous for two things: the tomb of Karl Marx and the main entrance, which was featured in the opening scenes of some of the old “Hammer Horror” films. The cemetery dates to 1839 and contains hundreds of tombs, crypts, and gravestones — many of which have an eternal flame.

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An alternative approach to minimizing equipment fixation.

Talk to anyone who has worked in K-9 for any significant amount of time and you will learn that the image of a dog that goes into a frenzy at the mere sight of a bite suit is a common one. In other words, the moment the dog sees someone in a bite suit, his eyes roll back and he becomes a shark on four paws. Control is significantly diminished, and the handler spends the next part of the training session trying to get the dog dialed back down to a level at which he can be controlled.

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Recently, I met with a law-enforcement agency I’m representing in a K-9 civil litigation lawsuit. During the meeting with the attorney, the K-9 handler, his back-up officers, and the K-9 supervisor, we agreed the deployment was textbook. But when we looked further, we discovered a number of potential problems that could be used against the agency in court. This article discusses what to look for in your K-9 policies and procedures in order to bulletproof your agency’s K-9 unit.

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