If you purposely injure a police dog would you be charged with assault on a police officer?

There are laws which protect all working dogs, but if I were a K-9 Officer and you injured my dog, my weapon would be quite likely to discharge accidentally in the direction of your face.

I’m pretty sure the answer is yes. I want to say I remember hearing a story about someone stabbing a police dog and he was charged with assault on an officer.

is the dog’s name Hooch perchance?

I googled and this terribly sad site came up http://www.policespecial.com/inthelineofduty/K9.htm

:( I would think it was. They call it “killed in the line of duty” Anyone that kills a dog should go to jail.

And in this article it says http://www.germanshepherds.com/articles/shootingsuspectkillsgsd/

Neil is charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, killing a police dog, armed robbery and escape. Alexander is charged with aiding an escape.

So, I think killing a police dog is it’s own thing.

They don’t call it that where there are statues.

For example, Achuck, in your great state, the law reads thusly:

“California

Penal Code 600

(a) Any person who willfully and maliciously and with no legal justification strikes beats, kicks, cuts, stabs, shoots with a firearm, administers any poison or other harmful or stupefying substance to, or throws, hurls, or projects at, or places any rock, object, or other substance which is used in a manner as to be capable of producing injury and likely to produce injury, on or in the path of, any horse being used by, or any dog under the supervision of, any peace officer in the discharge or attempted discharge of his or her duties, is guilty of a public offense. If the injury inflicted is a serious injury, as defined in subdivision©, the person shall be punished by impreisonment in the state prison for 16 months, two or three years, or in a county jail for not exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2000.00), or by both a fine and imprisonment. If the injury inflicted is not a serious injury, the person shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding one thousand $(1000.00), or by both a fine and imprisonment.

(b) Any person who wilfully and maliciously and with no legal justification interferes with or obstructs any horse or dog being used by any peace officer in the discharge or attempted discharge of his or her duties by frightening, teasing, agitating, harassing, or hindering the horse or dog shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding one thousand ($1000.00), or by both a fine and imprisonment.

(c) Any person who, in violation of this section, and with intent to inflict such injury or death, personally causes the death, destruction, or serious physical injury including bone fracture, loss or impairment of function of any bodily member, wounds requiring extensive suturing, or serious crippling, of any horse or dog, shall, upon conviction of a felony under this section, in addition and consecutive to the punishment prescribed for the felony, be punished by an additional term of imprisonment in the state prison for one year.”

Yes it is.

I think you can expect ruff justice if you do.

Yes, I believe so. They’re considered part of the police force.

Yes and I’m in support of punishing those who resist and harm the animal which is being used without consent to lessen the risk of a human.

injuring or harming a police dog is just like the same against a police officer. the canine partner is part of law enforcement and is not your everyday house dog. even when he is chilling in the backyard on off-duty hours at the crib, he is still lawful property of the agency he sniffs and barks for.

Yes, and in some states it can earn you the death penalty if you kill the dog!

I forgot to mention that my fiancee is blind, and has a Seeing Eye dog, and at least in New York State it is a special offense if anyone injures her animal, even in a driving accident.

@BBSDTfamily- I have a hard time believing that. Could you give me an example of that?

In Louisiana you would be charged with “injuring or killing a police animal,” not assault on an officer. You would get a fine from $2500 to $3500 and/or imprisonment for 1 to 3 years, if this is a first offense. If there is a second offense or subsequent offense, the fine will remain the same, but the imprisonment time will increase to 5 to 7 years. You also may have to pay for a replacement animal and its training.

But some places and under some circumstances the punishment is greater. This guy in Washington got his crime classified as his third strike and ended up with life in prison.

Then a guy in Indianapolis got 20 years for shooting a police dog.

Then, according to a discussion on Snopes

Under Texas law, they would be charged with Killing a Police Service Animal, which is a Felony in the Third Degree. Texas Penal Code – Section 38.151. Interference With Police Service Animals

Similar crime in Florida, Florida Crimes Code Section 843.19 – Obstructing Justice – Offenses against police dogs, fire dogs, SAR dogs, or police horses.

And then in New York it is a Class A misdemeanor, New York Penal Law Section 195.06 – Killing Or Injuring A Police Animal

It seems to vary by state law as well as what else someone is charged with at the same time. They get a felony for shooting a police dog, and then have the penalty enhanced for using a gun to commit a felony, for example.

Well, Texas is a let. Dogs are smarter than half the people…~

@eponymoushipster Those people are the ones that moved here from other states thinking Texas was full of cowboys and horses.

@Darwin yeah, i moved to Houston. it was…interesting.

Yeah!! I think anyone who does that should deffinitely go to jail! It would be super bad and sad if somebody did that. :(

Remember the movie Half Baked? The guy ends up in jail for accidentally killing a cop’s horse. I don’t know if that’s telling of the real world, but I always assumed there was some truth behind it.

@AstroChuck Hmmm I cannot find a link to any example, so maybe it isn’t true…. my friend’s husband is over the K-9 unit here and he told me that tidbit of info. I will try to call him and see if he has any legitimate info- I just assumed it was true since he would definitely know!

You should be shot on site.

@ubersiren Har har har harh ar I’m glad someone else thought of Half Baked.