Ask any officer and they’ll tell you that police dogs are absolutely part of the force.
GAINESVILLE (CBSMiami/AP) — Ask any officer and they’ll tell you that police dogs are absolutely part of the force.
A new proposed senate bill could help keep them safe.
On a winter morning, Ace hopped into the squad car with handler Edward Ratliff. This was no ordinary patrol.
Ratliff and Ace drove to the Florida Capitol for the hearing on a piece of legislation of great import to canine lovers.
Senate Bill 96 increases the penalty for intentionally injuring or killing search-and-rescue dogs and horses employed by police and fire departments.
Ace came to support the bill.
The 3-year-old German Shepherd is lucky. He’s never been hurt on the job during his year with Gainesville Police Department’s K-9 Unit.
Many dogs like Ace do suffer in the line of duty – 43 Florida K-9s have died in duty over the years, according to Officers Down Memorial Page records.
One such dog was Fang.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office got a call for an armed carjacking last September. The suspect, Jhamel Paskel, fled into the woods off Interstate 10. Law enforcement released Fan to chase down the 17-year-old.
Debbie Johnson, founder of the nonprofit, K9s United, heard about Fang and then called the local senator, Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, who agreed to sponsor the bill.
Bean tells lawmakers the story of Fang’s brutal end at the senate criminal justice committee meeting. Ace sits next to Bean, panting while he speaks.
Currently, it’s a third-degree felony to hurt or kill a police search-and-rescue or fire dog or horse.
