By CODE 4 K9 | SWAT/K9 Integration & Advanced Police K9 Training

This video shows SDPD working a vehicle barricade with a non-compliant suspect in a stolen vehicle. Although the vehicle is not contained (pinned in), it is disabled. Pepperball was deployed, but it did not have the desired effects they had hoped for. SDPD then developed a plan to deploy a PSD through the back window of the vehicle.

K9, along with a team of officers, approaches the vehicle and breaks the back window to deploy the dog through. I don’t necessarily have a problem with this tactic as long as, after the dog is deployed, the handler and contact team return to their position of cover or push back and away from the vehicle and let the dog work. Instead, the team remains at the back of the vehicle watching the dog work. The dog appears to be unsure of what to do and overly reliant on its handler. The handler then gives the dog multiple commands to search for the suspect, and it turns out to be more like a training scenario rather than a real-world street deployment.

It takes approximately 15 seconds for the dog to locate the suspect in the vehicle. Set your iPhone on a 15-second timer and tell me if it feels like a really long time for a dog to find the only person in the vehicle. Watching this video, I believe this is a training problem/exposure issue. The dog didn’t seem to understand that he could jump over the seats to search, which is why the handler remained at the back window. I want you to think about this for a minute. If the reason to deploy your dog is because you believe the suspect may be armed and dangerous, and the threat level to officers is high, why would you remain in a world that the suspect controls? That’s a dangerous place to be. Now imagine if the suspect fires back at the dog while he’s trying to figure things out and you’re at the back window; would that constitute officer-induced jeopardy?

The handler and contact team had the right idea; it just went sideways when there was a failure by the dog. Don’t ever place the bite above officer safety. Yes, you have to give your dog a chance to work through a problem, but if it compromises the mission, you must recall your dog and proceed with Plan B. There is no exigency in taking the suspect into custody; take your time. Stay safe.