Take Action: Urge Fayetteville to End Use of K-9s After Officer Punched Dog

Update (September 18, 2024): After the Fayetteville City Council voted in favor of petitioning the court to release police department footage of an officer punching his K-9 multiple times, a superior court judge denied the city’s petition and will not allow the release of the body-worn and vehicle-mounted camera footage.

During the council meeting on August 12, a PETA representative stated that resistance to releasing the body-camera footage can only mean that there’s something to hide. A local dog behavior expert also spoke in favor of releasing the footage, which she said ought to be used as a “learning tool” to address what happens when an officer loses control.

PETA continues to push for an independent investigation, immediate removal of the dog from the officer’s custody, and an end to the use of K-9s unless the department can commit to using only humane training and handling methods. If you agree with us, please send a message to Fayetteville’s mayor, city manager, and city council. Be sure to keep your message polite and respectful.

Original post:

Video footage recorded by a bystander shows what appears to be a Fayetteville, North Carolina, police officer abusing a K-9 in public on a Saturday afternoon in late June. In the footage, the handler is seen holding the dog by the collar so that the animal’s front legs are off the ground while the officer punches him in the face at least three times with a closed fist. The handler then drags the dog by the collar toward a police car, and the K-9 turns his head and nips at the handler but doesn’t appear to make contact. The handler grabs the dog by the muzzle, forcing his mouth shut, then swings him around by the collar while still holding his mouth closed.

After this news broke, the Fayetteville Police Department claimed that the incident “is being investigated by [its] internal affairs office.” On July 5, the department released a statement indicating that the handler had punched the dog in the face at least seven times. The statement includes a claim that the dog had bitten the handler and wouldn’t let go—something K-9s are trained to do. When no further action was publicly taken, PETA sent a letter to city officials asking them to intervene in order to ensure the safety of the K-9 and the community.

PETA is calling for the following:

• The K-9 must be removed from the abusive handler’s custody immediately. The officer should be reassigned to duties that don’t involve interaction with animals.
• The agency should review and revise its policies to use only humane training methods for K-9s.
• The department must release all footage of the incident, which demonstrates why the use of bite-trained K-9s should be phased out for everyone’s safety. An independent investigation by a nonbiased third-party agency should be conducted for the sake of transparency and accountability.

If the department can’t commit to handling its K-9s without abusing them, it should stop using dogs altogether.

If you agree with us, please send a message to Fayetteville’s mayor, city manager, and city council. Be sure to keep your message polite and respectful.

To contact them with one message, just copy and paste this block of e-mail addresses in the “To” field of your e-mail:

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Then contact the Fayetteville Police Department:

Please feel free to use our sample letter, but remember that using your own words is always more effective.