That dog is an officer

The behavior of the Vacaville police officer beating the police dog is upsetting and unacceptable. Beating any animal is not the way you gain its trust and obedience — this officer displayed a complete lack of understanding of this simple fact.

However, there is another, more pressing issue here that needs to be addressed. That police dog, as are most police dogs, is a sworn officer of the Vacaville Police Department. What that means is, if a civilian, or any person, were to attack and/or injure any police dog, they would suffer the same consequence as if they had done the same offense against a fellow human police officer.

This means that what you have here is not simply a “man beats dog” story, but a “fellow officer assaults a fellow officer” story, and such actions require the same and immediate consequence as if the offending officer had brutally attacked a fellow human officer. This is a much more serious issue and must be considered a core element of the current investigation. That police dog has the same rights to protection as his/her fellow officers — and those rights must be protected, supported and enforced.

I am also appalled and very concerned that Chief Carli allows this type of abuse to exist within his ranks. This makes me question his ability — or lack thereof — to control his officers and his stance on his officers’ interactions with the community at large. Does this mean he would also turn a blind eye to claims of police brutality upon a civilian? And what if such a claim involved a person of color?

Chief Carli needs to resign and an acting chief be appointed until a permanent chief is found who understands and can instill in his officers that police violence and brutality can never be an acceptable “business as usual” policy within the Vacaville Police Department.

— Paul Kephart/Concord