CA Bill Would Prohibit Use of Police K9s for Arrests and Crowd Control

A new effort is underway to ban police from using police dogs to arrest or apprehend suspects. If passed, it would also ban police from using them for crowd control.

The lawmaker behind the bill, newly-elected Assemblymember Corey Jackson, said that the use of police canines, or K9s, has been the backbone of this country’s history of racial bias and violence against Black Americans.

Jackson said police canines were first used by slave catchers and are a violent carryover from America’s dark past.

“That is a vicious and unforgiving part of our history that has created nightmares that has institutionalized and created generational trauma in the Black community for centuries,” said Jackson.

It’s why he wants to ban police from using them for arrest, apprehension or any form of crowd control.

“Police canines remain a gross misuse of force, victimizing Black and Brown people disproportionately,” said Jackson.

He cited data from the California Department of Justice that shows nearly two-thirds of people injured by canines are Black or Latino.

“Many of these bites can create lifelong injuries,” said Jackson. “So let’s make this clear, lifelong injuries – before you’re proven guilty.”

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