Handler Accused Of Beating K9 Officer In Training After Video Sent To Media

Training to be a K9 cop is a long and repetitive process. K9 police officers are meant to track, assist, and apprehend criminals in the daily course of duty with their human officers.

A recent K9 training session in Salisbury, North Carolina, however, has many dog lovers outraged and a community in disbelief.

A police officer is seen training a K9 on surveillance video, but his methods and what he does to the dog are being called into question.

The video was anonymously sent to a local news station, FOX 46, who viewed the footage and contacted the Salisbury Police Chief, Jerry Stokes.

In the video, the dog exits a police vehicle and lays on the ground. The handler walks over to the animal, yells, and places a leash on his neck. Suddenly, the handler picks the dog up by the leash and forces the dog over his shoulder.

He walks over to the vehicle and slams the helpless dog inside. Once inside the vehicle, the handler appears to hit the dog.

Chief Stokes claimed the K9 handler must “have complete control of the animal at all times” and when the dog is not compliant, the handler must “correct the dog.”

However, Stokes said he is aware of the video and is unable to comment at this time since it is an “ongoing personnel matter.”

“SPD can confirm that as a matter of course, the officer has been administratively separated from the K-9 while SPD conducts its review,” Stokes stated.

He went on to say the dog is doing well, was not harmed, and is being “well cared for.” He also reported any claims that the K9 was tased are completely false.

For more about this story and to see actual footage of the handler engage with the dog, press play on the video below. 

Warning: Contents of the video contain the above-mentioned scenes and may be disturbing to some viewers.

H/T: FOX 46

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