Telegraph Herald
DUBUQUE, Ia. — While accountability is a must, police dogs help law-enforcement officers do their jobs and protect the community.
Dubuque Police are facing a lawsuit over use of the department’s K-9 unit, and the dog has bitten suspects three times more often than K-9 units in some similar-sized Iowa cities, the Times Herald reported on Sunday.
But one should not conclude from those facts that the dog is a danger or being improperly used.
Most of the Dubuque K-9’s work is in narcotics detection, though sniffing drugs isn’t the animal’s only use. In some cases, a dog is a valuable tool for police to have in tracking suspects. Whether it be searching for a suspect in hiding or running down a fleeing suspect, a dog often can do what a human officer cannot.
Two weeks ago, an officer was stabbed in the leg after he chased down a suspect. The suspect escaped. The officer injured was the K-9 handler - though the dog is out of service, recovering from an injury. There’s a good chance the suspect wouldn’t have eluded police initially or inflicted stab wounds had the officer been accompanied by the dog.
Police need discretion in choosing the tools available to them. The dog represents a level of force that, in many cases, enables police to do their jobs better and to protect public safety.
Editorials reflect the consensus of the Telegraph Herald Editorial Board.
Copyright 2010 Woodward Communications, Inc.