Furry lives matter: What punishment for K-9 killers?

By Michael Walsh / Yahoo News

The lives of police dogs are on the line every day, 

but in many states their killers face 

relatively light penalties

Officer Ryan Davis with police K-9 Jethro, who was shot three times 

while attempting to apprehend a burglar

Should killing a police dog be punished more severely than killing another animal? There’s a movement underway by animal welfare advocates to increase the penalties for K-9 murders: 

Last month alone, five police dogs died at the hands of criminals around the country.

“We’re only in February and we’re already equal to all of 2015. There’s really been a troubling increase in canine officers being killed. It’s a spike. It’s very unusual to see so many K-9s killed in such a short period of time,” Steve Weiss, a New York police lieutenant and director of research for the Officer Down Memorial Page, said in an interview with Yahoo News.

On Sunday, a 5-year-old German shepherd named Aren was stabbed to death while trying to apprehend a suspect for the Port Authority of Allegheny County Police Department in Wilkinsburg, Pa.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with K-9 Aren's partner, Port Authority police officer Brian O'Malley and the entire Port Authority Police Department,” the Pittsburgh Police K-9 Unit said in a Facebook post.

On January 9, a 3-year-old German shepherd named Jethro was shot three times while attempting to apprehend a burglar inside a grocery store in Canton, Ohio. He was rushed to Stark County Veterinary Emergency Clinic and underwent surgery but succumbed to the gunshot wounds the following day.

Outraged by the death, several people, including Kristy Arvin of Massillon, Ohio, launched petitions calling for harsher consequences for K-9 killers. As of Wednesday, her change.org petition had garnered 14,993 supporters. Thomas Fuehrer of Bethlehem, Pa., initiated a similar petition, arguing that charges against K-9 killers should carry greater weight.

Aren’s killer was shot dead during his confrontation with law enforcement but Jethro’s suspected killer was captured and arrested. Some animal-rights advocates are concerned that, even if convicted, his penalty may be too light.

Police K-9 Jethro. (Photo: Canton Police Department via Facebook)

Under Ohio Revised Code 2921.321, killing a police dog is considered a third-degree felony and could result in a maximum of five years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines.

David Lou Ferland, executive director of the United States Police Canine Association, the oldest and largest police-dog organization in the country, explains that the penalty for killing a police dog differs based on its affiliation.

“It depends on the dog. Federal law will protect the federal dogs. State law protects the other dogs. Not all states have the same laws to protect dogs. If it was a city dog that was killed, it depends on the state in which the dog was working,” Ferland said in an interview with Yahoo News.

For federal cases, killing a law enforcement dog is considered a class B felony — carrying a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. This would apply to K-9s with agencies like the FBI or U.S. Marshals.

“Whoever willfully harms any police animal, or attempts to conspire to do so, shall be fined under this title and imprisoned not more than one year. If the offense disables or disfigures the animal, or causes the death of the animal, the maximum term of imprisonment shall be 10 years,” reads the Federal Law Enforcement Animal Protection Act of 2000.

Leighann Lassiter, the animal cruelty policy director for the Humane Society, said that most states consider animals, including police dogs, personal property. Therefore, she said, penalties are typically assessed in terms of the value of the property lost — taking into account various costs such as purchasing and training the K-9.

In Massachusetts, anyone who “willfully tortures, torments, beats, kicks, strikes, mutilates, injures, disables or otherwise mistreats, a dog or horse owned by a police department” will face a maximum fine of $500 and/or up to 1½ years in prison.

Police K-9 Aren with Port Authority police officer Brian O'Malley. 

Aren was stabbed to death on Jan. 31, 2016, …

Last year, Tennessee passed House Bill 1291, known as Aron’s Law, which upgraded killing a police dog, fire dog, search and rescue dog or police horse to a minimum Class E felony.

A source told Yahoo News that legislators in Ohio are considering increasing protections for police dogs and police horses, and we will most likely see a bill to address this issue in the next week.

Lassiter said the Humane Society would welcome any bill that provides “meaningful penalties” for harming or killing a K-9.

“These dogs are on the frontlines for law enforcement and protecting their human partners, protecting the community, searching for missing persons. They’re not just involved in getting criminals and sniffing for drugs,” Lassiter told Yahoo News.

“They are a huge part of the these police departments and other officers look at them as one of [their own] even if the law doesn’t see it that way. They deserve to be recognized for that under the law.”

According to Weiss, the Officer Down Memorial Page started a separate section on K-9 deaths after receiving numerous requests.

“The bond is probably not that dissimilar from the bond that an officer has with a human partner except there just isn’t that social aspect,” he said. “Any pet owner knows they can sense when you have fear or happiness — the dogs feed off that. The bond is a strong one.”