Californians Deserve Real Solutions to Police Dog Violence, not AB 400’s Smoke and Mirrors (AB 400)

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In Senate Cmte

Criminal Justice & Policing · Racial and Economic Justice

Despite what law enforcement tells us, public records from the past few years show that out of the hundreds of Californians who were disfigured by attack dogs, most were unarmed, about half exhibited signs of mental crisis before the dog was released, and many were suspected only of a minor offense, or no offense at all. As one police officer put it, “police dogs are not trained to differentiate between a young child asleep or a burglar standing in a kitchen with a butcher knife, and will simply bite the first person they find”. In Richmond, police dogs caused 60% of all use of force incidents resulting in great bodily injury or death over a six-year period.

With this record in mind, the Legislature rejected AB 3241 last year because it failed to reform the use of police dogs in any way. Instead of listening to community input and lawmaker concerns, POST quietly updated its police dog standards to match the exact language the Legislature refused to enact in AB 3241. Following this, AB 3241’s author, Assemblymember Pacheco, is now advancing a bill to make these standards, written by the police lobby, state law. 

These standards would replicate policies from agencies with documented incidents of abuse of police canines.  For example, Bakersfield Police Department’s canine policy, written by Lexipol, is nearly identical to POST’s latest guidelines. And their results are abysmal:

  • 89% of dog bites resulting in severe injuries were against Black or Brown residents
  • a federal DOJ investigation concluded that Bakersfield PD used police dogs “primarily” on people who were intoxicated or mentally ill
  • And an alarming 97% of dog deployments were not to “defend another or self.”

AB 400 is an attempt to bypass the legislative processes to rubber stamp these flawed standards with limited public input. Californians deserve better, the Legislature must reject AB 400. 

Principal Bill Author:

Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco (D-Downey)

Bill sponsor:
  • Peace Officer Research Association of California
  • California Police Chiefs Association
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