Police dogs gone mad: 73-year-old woman mauled to death by police K9 after she gives permission for officers to search her garden

JEEP

The Living Force
FOTCM Member
73-year-old woman mauled to death by police K9 after she gives permission for officers to search her garden

In the comments to this article on Sott:
This is probably just a consequence of the changes that have taken place in the methods that police have been trained in. It used to be that the police interacted with the general public in a non-adversarial manner unless and until criminal activity/intent became evident. In recent decades (pretty much in concert with the process of the militarization of LEO), police have been/are being trained to look at anyone they interact with as likely criminals and to treat them as such until proven otherwise. I would expect that the manner of training police dogs has also reflected this change in attitude.

It should be noted that the dog is probably NOT the villain here; it is merely a tool of the LEO. The blame rests squarely on the dog trainer and handler - the dog likely deserves little or no blame for this and similar instances. The dog merely responds to the situation that it perceives as it has been trained to do.

Please note that this happened September 1, in Columbus, OH:
Columbus Police: Officer tried to subdue dog before shooting

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Officer Brian Carter of the Columbus, Ohio, police division shot Benzi, his K9 partner, Saturday after the Belgian Malinois attacked him during a training session, police say. Benzi was later euthanized. - Columbus Division of Police

The Columbus Police officer who fatally shot his canine partner this past weekend did everything right, the supervisor of the division’s K9 unit said Tuesday.

Sgt. Mark Cartwright said having a dog attack its handler is nearly unheard of and had never happened in the Columbus Division of Police before Saturday.

Officer Brian Carter and the dog, Benzi, were training near the Columbus Police Academy and were getting ready to wrap up the session when the attack occurred.

Cartwright said Benzi was disobeying commands to remain in the “down” position and was given verbal corrections by Carter.

Benzi, a 3-1/2-year-old Belgian Malinois who had been a police dog for two years, launched at Carter in what Cartwright characterized as “more of a mauling than an attack.”

Carter gave verbal commands for Benzi to release his hold, as police dogs are trained to do if biting a suspect, but the dog did not listen.

Carter also tried to reach his taser in an effort to subdue Benzi, Cartwright said, before shooting the dog once, mortally wounding it. Carter was by himself in the training facility and did not have his body camera turned on at the time.

Cartwright said he arrived soon after Carter radioed for help. Cartwright took Benzi to MedVet, where he was euthanized.

“This was a malicious attack; it’s unheard of,” Cartwright said.

Benzi had no history of aggression while working as a patrol and narcotics dog, he said. He had been used in dozens of community events and demonstrations and was a member of Carter’s family.

“He’s heartsick,” Cartwright said of Carter. “He’s beside himself that he had to do what he had to do.”

An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Carter remains hospitalized, recovering from bite wounds to his upper back and arms.

Columbus Police: Officer tried to subdue dog before shooting - News - The Columbus Dispatch - Columbus, OH
 
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