Ages ago, I was ordered (like the entire unit) to an Army sensitivity class. Can’t recall if it was sex, race, gender identity, panning, bi-ing, questioning status, or too many scruffy looking nerf-herders in the service. After losing an hour of my life which I’ll never get back, I walked out with a completely disgusted look on my face. And fellow AFNN writer, Colonel Mike Ford, said it well, “I can summarize that hour into two words. BE PROFESSIONAL!” I am no fan of the racial/sex complaint/disability industry. Talk about a waste of manpower, money, and time.

 

Well, to give another classic example, I recently finished an excellent book, Concepts of Nonlethal Force: Understanding Force from Shouting to Shooting, by Charles Heal. In Chapter 14, he covers canines, aka dogs or K9s, used in police operations. And Mr. Heal said it well, “You can’t make this up.” A city council person wanted a dog euthanized because he was, ready…racist!

Dog cleared of profiling, back on duty

 

A McKees Rocks police dog accused of racial profiling in an incident that drew national attention is innocent of any wrongdoing, a borough investigation found. 

“Simply stated, there is no evidence that Dolpho (the dog) was dangerous or uncontrollable in the past,” said a 13-page report by borough Solicitor John A. Bacharach…

…The report absolves Dolpho and his owner-handler, Officer Shawn Barger, of any wrongdoing in a June 7 incident when Dolpho attacked Brandon XXXXXXX (name redacted), 9. The dog bit the boy on the thigh to the point where Barger had to lie on the dog to force him to release his grip. 

From experience, if a K9 has a grip on a suspect, don’t try to get in his way, let the handler take care of that. Usually, the dogs are trained in a language other than English (German, French, and Czech are common), so screaming “STOP!” or “OFF!” will have no effect.

The officer had been chasing a drug suspect who is white. Brandon is black.

Livingston’s mother brought the matter to the attention of Councilwoman Wanda Jones Dixon, who suggested the dog attacked Livingston because he is black and should be put down because of that.

Jones Dixon doesn’t entirely agree with Bacharach’s conclusion.

“There was wrongdoing because the dog bit the child,” she said.

She called it an injustice that the dog was returned to duty Wednesday and said she will warn parents.

Warn parents of…what? Stay away from police dogs? That’s good advice for anyone, not just kids. A few more details to put this into view:

The June 7 incident started when (Officer) Barger saw an apparent drug deal and followed a car containing the suspect, later identified as Donald John Wilczak, the report said. Wilczak eventually jumped from the car and ran, and Barger chased him. During a struggle on a porch in 700 block of Boquet Street, the remote release device on Barger’s belt apparently was activated unintentionally, and the door on the police wagon opened, the report said. As Barger radioed for assistance, the suspect got away and ran west.

A common piece of equipment on police K9 units is this remote button, about the size of the garage door opener. The handler presses it, and a door of the patrol vehicle is opened. The dog is trained if that door opens, his handler needs immediate assistance. He jumps out, looks for his two-legged partner, and runs to assist. If you are fighting his partner, your day is about to take a serious turn for the worse.

The report said Barger saw Dolpho standing on the sidewalk next to the police Jeep, looking at Wilczak as the suspect turned onto Margaret Street. Barger yelled “pletz,” the command for “down,” but Dolpho ran to the top of Margaret Street. Barger turned onto Margaret and saw 10 or more children running away, screaming. One was Brandon, whom Dolpho grabbed by the thigh and pulled from the porch steps to the street, the report said. 

Barger ran toward Dolpho yelling for him to stop, but the dog did not release the boy. The report said Barger tackled Dolpho and choked him off Brandon, then lay on Dolpho until the dog calmed down. 

Not intentional, Officer Barger did not want to deploy his K9. And very unfortunate this boy got bit. But the officer (two-legged) took immediate action to stop his K9 from engaging the boy.

At a borough council meeting three days after Brandon was bitten, Brandon’s mother and Jones Dixon charged that the dog had been trained to attack blacks. 

Ms. Dixon, just curious. How can you train a dog to attack black people (or people of color, as opposed to people of pallor) when dogs are, by nature, color blind?

Bacharach’s report said Dolpho’s trainer, Kenneth J. Molen, said the dog might have become confused or overstimulated by the noise and confusion. Molen said he does not train dogs to distinguish or focus on any race and that his training regimen does not use decoys that appear African American, according to the report…

 

K9s can get confused, especially with multiple people in the area. One thing patrol cops are trained to do is never get in front of a K9 pursuing a suspect. Dogs can’t distinguish colors, but they are drawn to the strongest smell. And the strongest smells are put off by humans through stress and adrenaline, like a suspect running from the cops. If the dog confuses you with the bad guy…you will have a bad day. And the bad guy has a better chance of getting away. And yes, an agitated K9 is a bear to control at times. Every K9 handler I’ve known has scars on their arms from controlling his partner. As one friend of mine said, “Occupational hazard.”

As this incident occurred two decades ago, I have no doubt Dolpho has crossed the Rainbow Bridge by now. Hopefully this bulls%^& complaint didn’t adversely affect his service to the public or the rest of his career. And Dolpho enjoyed a long and healthy retirement, sharing this war story with his buddies at the Bark Park over taking a leak on the fire hydrant, and telling his friends, “Remember, if you ain’t getting complained on from time to time…you are likely not doing your job.”

 

Michael A. Thiac is a retired Army intelligence officer, with over 23 years experience, including serving in the Republic of Korea, Japan, and the Middle East. He is also a retired police patrol sergeant, with over 22 years’ service, and over ten year’s experience in field training of newly assigned officers. He has been published at The American Thinker, PoliceOne.com, and on his personal blog, A Cop’s Watch. 

 

Opinions expressed are his alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of current or former employers.

If you enjoyed this article, then please REPOST or SHARE with others; encourage them to follow AFNN

Truth Social: @AFNN_USAF
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/afnnusa
Telegram: https://t.me/joinchat/2_-GAzcXmIRjODNh
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfnnUsa
GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/AFNN_USA
CloutHub: AFNN_USA