Police getting 'dog encounter' training

The Press just received this from Sgt. Christie Wood of the Cd'A Police Department:

Recently in Kootenai County there have been law enforcement related dog shooting incidents. Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Ron Clark looked into training for officers who encounter dogs while on duty. He found no training is available through the Idaho Peace Officer Standards Academy (POST). In his effort to seek out specialized training he discovered the U.S. Department of Justice has video based training available, which was found to be very informative and useful for police officers in dog encounters.

Every officer in the Coeur d’Alene Police Department is currently receiving this mandatory training. “Training law enforcement in dog encounters is crucial” said Chief Clark. “I am not saying officers should compromise safety, but understanding dog behavior and having nonlethal options will reduce the number of lethal incidents that are a tragedy for all involved” Clark said.

In the program, officers learn to read a dog’s body language and recognize a scared dog verses a dangerous dog. The videos teach officers how their approach can affect a dog’s behavior. Officers learn to assess their surroundings, the risk to themselves and the dog’s body language. The Police Department is committed to this education effort.

Sergeant Christie Wood

Public Information Officer

Coeur d’Alene Police Department

The videos can be viewed by clicking on the training links at this website: Community Policing Learning Portal.

Here are a few of the videos: