Vacaville police say dog no longer with officer who punched it
(Graphic by Solano News Update)
A dog who was punched by a Vacaville police officer earlier this week has been placed in the care of a third party outside of the agency, a spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The move comes after an eyewitness captured video of an unidentified officer punching the dog once during a training session, though the man who filmed the video said the officer dealt as many as 10 blows to the dog before he began filming the incident.
On Tuesday, a police spokesperson defended the officer, saying the use of force was necessary to provide “corrective” discipline after the dog allegedly lunged at the officer during the training session near a firehouse on Vaca Valley Road.
The man who filmed the video, Roberto Palomino, disputed this account, and several individuals who train and work with police K-9s have since said the officer’s actions appeared excessive.
On Wednesday, the police department said the K-9 had been evaluated by a veterinarian and “shows no sign of distress or injury.”
As a precaution, the officer and the K-9 have been separated pending the outcome of what the agency said would be a “complete investigation in the incident.” In the meantime, the dog has been taken into the custody of a “third party outside the Vacaville Police Department,” where it will remain until the investigation is complete.
The investigation will be carried out in consultation with a “third party trainer” who was not identified by the agency as of Wednesday evening.
(Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story misidentified several days of the week in which certain events took place. The agency defended the officer on Tuesday, not on Monday; the agency offered additional details on the incident on Wednesday, not on Tuesday.)
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