K9s killed in the line of duty

ABSTRACT

While police work comes with a slew of dangers, little research has focused on deaths of police dogs in the line of duty. The purpose of this paper is to begin a conversation about violence toward police dogs and the treatment of animals working with the police.

To do so, a database of 96 police dogs that died in the line of duty in the United States between 2011 and 2015 was compiled, drawn from the Officer Down Memorial Page. More police dog deaths were reported in 2014 and 2015, during summer months, with half clustering in the Southern US. The victim police dogs were mostly younger and recently employed by the policing agency. The most frequent cause of death was heat exhaustion, followed by gunfire and automobiles. Most offenders were apprehended by police or shot.

Policymakers and researchers should encourage systematic data collection for a better understanding of the extent of the issue.

KEYWORDS:

• K9 officers
• violence against police
• animal cruelty
• police dog

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The other two breeds have other crucial functions. Labrador Retrievers are one purpose dogs, but their strongest asset is that they are ‘people friendly’ (Lanoue, n.d.; Mesloh, 2003). Their friendliness makes them suitable for departments whose goal in using the dog is community education. Retrievers can attract the attention of children, but also adults, making them an easy-access tool to show policing as a closer and friendly community service. Finally, Bloodhounds are recognized by their unsurpassed and incomparable olfactory abilities. Therefore, their primary task is to help locate missing people, cadavers or criminals on the run (Lanoue, n.d.).

2. Accidental deaths were typically deaths considered due to accidents or neglect, such as heat exhaustion, automobile accidents, falls, duty-related illnesses, exposure to toxins, drowning, fire, training accidents and asphyxiation. Intentional deaths are those resulting from gunfire, stabbing, animal-related and poison.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Daniela Barberi

Daniela Barberi is a doctoral student in the Criminology, Law and Society program at George Mason University. Her research interests include corrections, prisoner treatment, reentry programs, prison gangs, and prison minority populations, such as women or inmates with mental health disorders.

Jennifer C. Gibbs

Jennifer C. Gibbs is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice in the School of Public Affairs at Penn State Harrisburg, where she studies policing topics. Her work on social distance and attitudes toward police, co-authored with Dr. Jonathan Lee, was recognized in the 2016 Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence.

Jennifer L. Schally

Jennifer L. Schally joined the faculty at Penn State Harrisburg in 2014 as a Lecturer in Criminal Justice. Her research interests include animal harm, green criminology, corporate violence, and victimization. Her work has appeared in journals such as Journal of Interpersonal Violence and Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare.