After reading the article in todays Oakland Tribune I have become concerned that Larura Menard was misinformed about the dog proposal. The dogs considered are NOT search and rescue dogs, The dogs are ATTACK DOGS.
According to the Chief?©?ˆs proposal, the (2) dogs would have many purposes.
They would be used to apprehend criminal suspects, locate missing persons,
drugs, explosives, and even participate in exhibitions at local schools and
businesses. These dogs will be trained to ?©?¯find and bark?©?˜ when they locate a
suspect. However, these dogs are trained to attack a suspect if they move.
These dogs are trained to and will bite!
James Steward, owner of the Oakland based business, Protectors K-9 Service,
has 33 years of experience working with dogs and is licensed by the state of
California. Steward clarified that the training that ?©?¯find and bark?©?˜ dogs
receive is incompatible with simply locating missing persons due to the
possibility that the dog will bite the missing person at the end of the
search. In fact, Berkeley Fire department already has a ?©?¯search and rescue?©?˜
dog. The Berkeley Police have made it clear; they want to acquire German
Shepherds or Rottweilers not simply Labradors or other ?©?¯sniffy?©?˜ dogs.
Several residents who attended the PRC meetings spoke of their associations
with attack dogs being used by racist police against, mostly, African
Americans during civil rights demonstrators in the 1960?©?ˆs. While deployment
during protests is forbidden by the proposal, the Chief is seeking
authorization to use these dogs in the following situations:
(From ?©?¯ Proposal for Canine Program?©?˜ by Roy L. Meisner, Chief of Police,
Sept. 23, 2004)
Deployment Situations:
8.b: (When) the suspect in any crime is believed to be hiding in an area
where entry by regular officers would pose a threat to their safety (crawl
spaces, under porches, etc.)
8.c: (When) the suspect is physically resisting arrest and the use of a
police canine reasonably appears to be necessary to overcome such
resistance.
8.d: In searching warehouses or buildings where burglar alarms and other
factors lead officers to believe a suspect may be hiding on the premises.
According to provisions in the proposal, a suspect does not have to be armed
or have committed a violent crime in order to be involved in a
canine-citizen contact. Each contact involves the possibility of serious
bodily harm depending on how the suspect relates to the dog.
According to the Chief?©?ˆs proposal, the (2) dogs would have many purposes.
They would be used to apprehend criminal suspects, locate missing persons,
drugs, explosives, and even participate in exhibitions at local schools and
businesses. These dogs will be trained to ?©?¯find and bark?©?˜ when they locate a
suspect. However, these dogs are trained to attack a suspect if they move.
These dogs are trained to and will bite!
James Steward, owner of the Oakland based business, Protectors K-9 Service,
has 33 years of experience working with dogs and is licensed by the state of
California. Steward clarified that the training that ?©?¯find and bark?©?˜ dogs
receive is incompatible with simply locating missing persons due to the
possibility that the dog will bite the missing person at the end of the
search. In fact, Berkeley Fire department already has a ?©?¯search and rescue?©?˜
dog. The Berkeley Police have made it clear; they want to acquire German
Shepherds or Rottweilers not simply Labradors or other ?©?¯sniffy?©?˜ dogs.
Several residents who attended the PRC meetings spoke of their associations
with attack dogs being used by racist police against, mostly, African
Americans during civil rights demonstrators in the 1960?©?ˆs. While deployment
during protests is forbidden by the proposal, the Chief is seeking
authorization to use these dogs in the following situations:
(From ?©?¯ Proposal for Canine Program?©?˜ by Roy L. Meisner, Chief of Police,
Sept. 23, 2004)
Deployment Situations:
8.b: (When) the suspect in any crime is believed to be hiding in an area
where entry by regular officers would pose a threat to their safety (crawl
spaces, under porches, etc.)
8.c: (When) the suspect is physically resisting arrest and the use of a
police canine reasonably appears to be necessary to overcome such
resistance.
8.d: In searching warehouses or buildings where burglar alarms and other
factors lead officers to believe a suspect may be hiding on the premises.
According to provisions in the proposal, a suspect does not have to be armed
or have committed a violent crime in order to be involved in a
canine-citizen contact. Each contact involves the possibility of serious
bodily harm depending on how the suspect relates to the dog.
