Politics & Government

New Legislation, Born in Rockland, Would Protect Police Dogs

A tentative law pieced together by local Rockland politicians is aiming to protect police dogs in the event of the canines biting a suspect.

The bill—created by Senator David Carlucci and Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski—would exempt police dogs from current confinement laws if and when they rightfully bite a suspect while on the job.

New York State law mandates any dog who bites a person must be confined for 10-days in order to check for rabies. But K-9 units often bite a suspect while rightfully subduing him or her, and are regularly pre-screened for rabies, as well.

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"This is a common sense change that will aid local law enforcement units throughout the state so that they can carry out their official duty without one hand tied behind their back," Carlucci said. "Our K-9 dogs provide a valuable service to the public at large, especially our officers in the field."

“Police departments increasingly rely on the use of K-9 officers and invest a great deal of resources into their training," Zebrowski said. "The quarantine mandate, in most cases, is unnecessary and places a burden on police operations especially in police departments that only have one K-9 police dog. 

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"I would like to commend both Senator Carlucci and Assemblyman ZebrowskI for there assistance in getting this important bill passed," said Clarkstown Police Chief Michael Sullivan. "Thanks to their efforts police K-9s will be allowed to remain on the job and of service to the community, instead of being removed from service for a 10 day period because of a law that should not apply to them in the first place"

The bill—introduced about one year ago—will next make its way to Governor Andrew Cuomo.


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