5 Very Short and Entertaining Police Dog Stories

Police canine units can be a great source of entertainment.

“Racist” Police Dog Attacks Hispanic Officer in Uniform

 One of my Santa Ana, California police officer witnesses showed up at my DA’s Office with bandages and multiple puncture wounds on his forearm. I asked him what happened. 

 He explained that there was a break-in at a large warehouse.  He had gone inside and was searching for the suspect. He quickly located and arrested the burglar in the far end of the building. Unfortunately, he did not hear the warning that the other officers were going to release the German Shepard police dog. 

 Officer Perez was escorting the handcuffed suspect toward the front of the building.  All of a sudden, the police dog attacked. But instead of going after the white suspect, the police dog attacked Officer Perez, who was in full uniform. 

 Officer Perez said that the only thing the police could figure out was that since Santa Ana has a Hispanic majority, and since a large number of criminal suspects are Hispanic, the “racist” police dog engaged in “racial profiling.” The dog attacked the uniformed Hispanic officer, instead of the white criminal suspect. 

The “Perfect” Police Dog Was not so Perfect After All

 A local police department in Orange County, California, bragged that their German Shepherd police dog “Borris” was the “perfect” dog for apprehending suspects. They boasted that just as soon as a suspect stopped resisting, Borris immediately stopped biting and let go even without command. 

 One night, a silent alarm was triggered at a gun store not far from the police department. This was a very dangerous situation. The police sent Borris into the building to search. Suddenly, there was a big commotion. Borris had found and was attacking a suspect. 

The police rushed in.  To their surprise, Borris was tearing apart a manikin dressed in hunting gear. It is doubtful that the manikin was resisting. Borris’s reputation was never the same after that.

The Stupid Young Man Attacks the Police German Shepherd

One summer there was a major riot at the Huntington Beach pier. Police cars were overturned and burned. Life guard towers and cars were trashed. The rioters threw beer bottles at the police, lifeguards, and firefighters. A tactical alert was sent to every police agency in Orange County requesting immediate backup.

As the riot ran out of steam, a Huntington Beach officer stood at the base of the pier keeping an eye on things with his German Shepherd canine partner on a leash.

 A young man walked up to the officer and announced, “Your dog doesn’t scare me.” He suddenly bent down, grabbed the dog by both ears, went nose-to-nose with the dog and growled loudly.  Not surprisingly, the dog tried to rip the man’s face off.  The defendant spent a long time in the hospital and was left with permanent scars. He later sued the Huntington Beach Police Department.  He lost.

The Moody Drug Sniffing Dog

 While reviewing a search warrant request for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, I learned that police dogs have moods, just like people. This Labrador Retriever drug sniffing canine initially alerted on a storage unit suspected of containing drugs. When the handler tried to get the Labrador to confirm the alert, the canine wandered away and laid down. The dog was bored and tired.  He lost interest in playing the “find the drugs.”  He just wasn’t in the mood.

The narcotics officers had to summon a canine from another department which did, in fact, confirm the presence of drugs in the storage locker.  The affidavit in support of the warrant contained detailed information about dog psychology and explained why the first dog’s failure to confirm the presence of drugs did not undermine the second dog’s opinion.

Police Dog Attacks Undercover Sergeant

A local Orange County police department responded to a call of a nighttime residential burglary in progress. The police confirmed that there was indeed a burglar inside the house. The canine handler released the police dog into the back yard. At the same time a plain clothes sergeant hurdled the back wall and landed on all fours in the bushes. The canine immediately attacked the sergeant from behind, chomping on his rear end. 

The sergeant was taken to the hospital where he received dozens of stitches.  It was a while before the sergeant could sit down again. Fellow officers retrieved the torn bloody boxer shorts from the hospital and mounted them on a plague, which they prominently displayed in the briefing room. Thereafter, the sergeant regularly found dog treats left on his desk.