Ignore for a moment the fact that he was a dog. Thor, a stoic German Shepherd, the first in the city's new canine unit, was "taking" the oath, just like any other new officer, to become a part of the Mentor, Ohio, police force. The last step was a signature. Lacking an opposing thumb and forefinger, Thor put his best leg forward and stamped the certificate with his paw.

That was back in 1981. The "oath," says his former handler, Jim Watson, was merely ceremonial, but it was at least some acknowledgment of the work — the danger — the dog was getting into.

The four-legged swearing in occurred long before a raft of new laws was etched in state and federal books across the U.S., most of them over the last decade, protecting police animals from harm and rendering such ceremonies unnecessary.

Dozens of U.S. states have enacted laws to tackle the problem. Most, such as Virginia and Minnesota, now make it a felony to kill a police animal. Others, such as Ohio and Florida, even make harassing or interfering with a police animal a crime. In 2000, the U.S. congress also enacted laws protecting animals in federal law enforcement.

"Sorry for the pun," says Watson, secretary for the North American Police Work Dog Association, "but we finally have laws on the books that have teeth in them to protect our dogs."

Nothing untoward happened to Thor, but Watson maintains the laws have "decreased the assaults on the police animals."

North of the border, however, it's a much different story.

Like their human counterparts, police animals around the world continue to be severely injured or killed in the line of duty. On Jan. 23, Vancouver police service dog Nitro got caught beneath the unforgiving wheels of a cargo train as he chased a suspect who jumped into a boxcar. No charges were laid that related to the dog's death. Not two weeks after Nitro's death, police dog Dakota was killed by a car while chasing a burglary suspect in Washington State.

And lest we forget Rusty, the Phoenix police department's Belgian Malinois that was last year run over by a suspect. Or Titan, stabbed in Sydney, Australia. Or Gero, shot in South Carolina. Or the many horses that died in the 1982 Hyde Park bombing in London.

Last year the RCMP paid tribute to 17 of its dogs that have died while serving Canadians over the last 70 years.

In spite of the carnage, in Canada, a horse, though mounted by a uniformed police officer, is still just a horse. And a dog, though handled by an officer, is still just a dog.

"A common misconception is that police dogs or horses are police officers for the purposes of the (Criminal) Code," says Vincent Paris, assistant crown attorney for Toronto, who has an expertise in public order laws and police animals.

"The misconception," explains Paris, a lead prosecutor for the 2000 Queen's Park riots, when mounted police clashed with protesters, "is that because they've been specially assigned or trained, they're going to be treated as people. That's not the case."

This, even though dogs in Vancouver have badges and badge numbers, and horses in Toronto wear breastplates embossed with the service logo.

In spite of the dangers that a police animal — particularly a dog — encounters on a daily basis, from drugs to dark alleys to crazed knife-wielding criminals, they have no more legal protection than any other animal in a barn or on the front stoop.

The reason is that, from the perspective of the Criminal Code, while there is a difference between civilian and police officer, there is no difference between pet and police animal.

A "peace officer" is defined by the criminal code to include an array of officials including police officers, bailiffs, corrections officers, wardens, and even pilots in command of an aircraft.

Peace officers carry special responsibilities to enforce the law and may use force if necessary. Recognizing their special status, the Code allows for separate charges, for instance, of assaulting a peace officer, which Paris says is considered more serious in sentencing than assault on a civilian. As well, anyone who kills a police officer is automatically charged with first degree murder — premeditated or not.

With a police animal, the most they can hope to charge an assailant with, police say, is cruelty to animals, considered a lesser charge under the Code.

Mar. 5, 2006. 07:29 AM
ANDREW CHUNG
STAFF REPORTER