(KTXL) — A man said he witnessed a Vacaville police officer “beating” a police dog during training Monday.
“I hear the crying and it caught my attention. As I looked over, I see an officer punching over and over a dog,” said Roberto Palomino. “Disturbing to watch.”
Palomino said he was near his workplace along Vaca Valley Parkway when he saw the officer punch the dog several times.
“Unfortunately, I only record the one punch. But the reason I pulled my phone is because of the hard beating the dog was taking from the officer,” he told FOX40. “Before I pulled my phone, I saw the officer (punch the K-9) sometime around 10 times and that’s the reason why it made me pull my phone.”
Vacaville Police Capt. Matt Lydon said it’s important to give context to the video.
He said the dog was doing an exercise to find narcotics and was rewarded with a toy. But when his handler took the toy away from him, Capt. Lydon said “that angered the dog.”
“And then the dog, in turn, lunged at the officer and attempted to bite the officer,” Lydon said.
The officer was not bitten by the K-9 but Lydon said the mere attempt to bite had to be addressed by the officer by establishing his dominance.
“And why it’s important is the handler has to have complete control over that K-9 to ensure public safety,” Lydon said.
