VACAVILLE, Calif. — Dec. 30 update:
The Vacaville police officer caught on camera punching his K-9 partner is no longer the dog's handler, police officials said.
Vacaville city officials said a veterinarian evaluated the K-9 officer and that it did not suffer any physical injuries. The dog is under the care of a third party outside of the Vacaville Police Department.
Officials said police are investigating the incident and will be working with a third party trainer as part of the evaluation process.
Original story:
A Vacaville police officer was caught on camera punching his K-9 partner in what the department is calling a training exercise.
A Vacaville resident recorded the video and shared it on his Facebook page on Monday. The 25-second video clip shows the officer pinning the dog on the ground and punching it once.
On his Facebook post about the incident, Roberto Palomino said, in part, “I heard a dog crying, when I looked, the officer was punching the dog over and over…only thing I could think was recording.” Palomino said he was too afraid to confront the officer.
Hundreds of comments, interactions, and shares of Palomino’s video prompted a response from the Vacaville Police Department.
Of the incident, the department issued the following statement on its Facebook page:
“Yesterday evening a video surfaced of an interaction between one of our officers and his canine partner during training. We understand how disturbing the video appears to many who view it and the range of emotions it creates. What the video doesn’t show is the moments prior, when the canine became aggressive towards his handler. We want to assure the public this incident is being evaluated in its entirety and will be investigated appropriately.”
