Video Shows Trainee K9 Being Repeatedly Punched By Vacaville Police Officer

Disturbing video footage appears to show a Trainee German shepherd being beaten by its handling officer. 

"I hear the crying and it caught my attention" said Roberto Palomino.

"As I looked over, I see an officer punching over and over a dog. Disturbing to watch."

Palomino only recorded one punch however he claims that he saw the unnamed officer punching the K-9 multiple times and described seeing the dog receive a ‘hard beating.’

Although the video does not have sound Palomino insists he heard the dog cry which made him record the video.

Vacaville Police Captain Matt Lydon has since backed the officer involved, and said the incident took place while training the dog to find drugs.

During the training, he said the dog had been rewarded with a toy for finding the drugs but when the handler removed the toy it angered the dog and attacked the handler.

Speaking to Fox40:

“I hear the crying and it caught my attention. As I looked over, I see an officer punching over and over a dog,” said Roberto Palomino. “Disturbing to watch.”

Palomino said he was near his workplace along Vaca Valley Parkway when he saw the officer punch the dog several times.

“Unfortunately, I only record the one punch. But the reason I pulled my phone is because of the hard beating the dog was taking from the officer,”

“Before I pulled my phone, I saw the officer (punch the K-9) sometime around 10 times and that’s the reason why it made me pull my phone.”

According to Vacaville Police Capt. Matt Lydon, it’s important to give context to the video. 

He said the dog was doing an exercise to find narcotics and was rewarded with a toy. But when his handler took the toy away from him, Capt. Lydon said “that angered the dog.”

“And then the dog, in turn, lunged at the officer and attempted to bite the officer,” Lydon said.

Although the officer was not bitten, the mere attempt to bite had to be addressed by establishing his dominance said Lydon.

Lydon said: “And why it’s important is the handler has to have complete control over that K-9 to ensure public safety,”

Blair Diamond of Primal Needs Behavioral Solutions in Mount Shasta has trained police handlers and their K-9s up and down the state for more than 15 years.

He said if the dog showed his teeth or gums to the handler “being physical with the dog is OK.”

But he and Capt. Lydon acknowledged the public will not be OK with that. He said people do not understand the unique relationship between an officer and his K-9 partner.

“These dogs are not your normal pet dog,” Diamond said.

The video has no audio, so Diamond could not hear if the dog was crying.

“If that dog was submissive and it was actually crying and he was doing those punches, yes, that’s inappropriate,” he said. “If that dog was growling and trying to bite him, the physicality was appropriate.”

“The thing is once a dog goes submissive to you, it’s not OK to be physical anymore,” Diamond continued.

The officer has been on the force for about seven years and is new to the K-9 program, according to the Vacaville Police Department. He and the dog have been training together for three or four months and are not currently on patrol.