An observer took a video on his phone of a police officer straddling and punching his dog near a fire station in Vacaville, California, KTVU reported.
A @VacavillePolice officer seen on video straddling & hitting his K-9 was “correcting” the dog after it had lunged at & almost bit the officer, dept says. Man who took the video says the officer went too far – and had hit the dog about 10 times before the recording began pic.twitter.com/M8gPVmTAzD
— Henry K. Lee (@henrykleeKTVU) December 30, 2020
“I started hearing a dog crying, kind of like in pain,” Robert Palomino told KTVU on Tuesday. “That’s when I saw the officer constantly beating the dog, over and over. I saw at least 10 punches to the dog.”
Palomino then started recording because he “couldn’t believe” the sight in front of him, KTVU reported. Out of fear for his safety, he did not approach the officer, KTVU reported.
“I was wondering myself what the dog could have done to deserve that kind of punishment,” Robert Palomino, the videographer, said. (RELATED: Hidden Camera Catches Colorado Man Abusing Roommate’s Dog)
Police Captain Matt Lydon told KTVU that the officer, an unidentified five-year department veteran, was training the shepherd-Belgian Malinois mix so that he could become a K-9 handler, KTVU reported. The K-9 had found the dogs as part of a training exercise but would not give the officer the toy he received that was his reward, according to KTVU.
“This angered the dog, and the dog reacted to this,” Lydon told KTVU. “The dog lunged at the handler and attempted to bite the handler. It’s important in K-9 training that the handler take swift action to correct the dog’s behavior.”
Because Lydon said his department did not know about the other punches before the video began, officials will investigate the matter to decide if the officer’s actions were appropriate, KTVU reported.
“That was way too much abuse,” Palomino said.