CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio — With a weekend protest planned, and the firing of a Circleville police officer for unleashing his police dog on a surrendering truck driver, Spectrum News wanted to know what goes into training K-9 officers and their dogs.

What You Need To Know

  • A Circleville police officer was fired for unleashing his police dog on a surrendering truck driver

  • The event raises questions among other K-9 trainers who weighed in

  • Trainer Mitchell Christian said if a suspect isn’t violent or endangering others, a K-9 handler is there to remain on standby

  • The Circleville Police Dept. said in a statement its K-9s and their handlers meet the state’s laws and standards

The incident took place on Tuesday, July 4 when a K-9 attacked a surrendering semi-truck driver.

Police body-camera footage captured a police chase after officers said a semi-truck driver would not stop for an inspection for a missing mud flap.

The chase ended near Circleville, with the driver surrendering with his hands up, and a trooper telling a responding K-9 officer not to release his dog.

That K-9 officer is now fired, but the event raises questions among K-9 trainers. 

"I thought it was a bad decision on the handler's part,” said certified police K-9 instructor Mitchell Christian.

Christian trains dogs to track narcotics, explosives or people. 

Deploying a K-9 can be a safer tactic than involving an officer, he said. 

"If you're not having a suspect that's being violent or endangering himself, the other officers or the public, you're really just there on standby until you actually need to escalate the force,” Christian said.

It's up to the handler to deploy the dog, but Christian said that's not always the answer, especially in Circleville's case when the suspect appears to be surrendering. 

"I think it was either a training or a lack of decision-making skills because if the handler did feel he was right in that,” said Christian, “I would take a look at the training, certification and where the dog was trained at." 

The Circleville Police Department released a statement after announcing the K-9 officer’s termination, saying the officer "did not meet the standards and expectations we hold for our police officers.'' 

The department also said Circleville's canine team of dogs and officers "meet all current Ohio laws and standards for police training for canines.”

The Circleville Police Department declined an interview. Black Lives Matter plans to rally outside the police department on Saturday, demanding further action, including the firing of the police chief.

Related Stories