A Vacaville Police officer was recently filmed punching his K-9 partner.
You can watch the video below. (Warning, video may be disturbing to watch.)
According to reports, the K-9 officer was given a toy and not returning it, then became aggressive. This is what prompted the officer's response.
After the video circulated, protesters have started calling for the department to take action against that officer.
According to a statement from one of the protesters:
"Police dogs are police officers. If one cop is beating up another cop, he should be fired. Any other time an officer would have been put on leave right away."
And investigation is in progress. Kris Concepcion, Interim Vacaville public information officer, released the following statement:
"The city of Vacaville is not making any excuses. We're not justifying any behavior. But we are investigating the incident thoroughly to make sure that whatever changes are necessary -- that we're going to make those changes to make sure nothing like this happens again."
The City of Vacaville also released a statement:
"Once the review is complete, the city will take appropriate action - including any necessary discipline and/or training, as well as any needed changes to policies and procedures to ensure the police department's canine program is in line with the industry best practices."
What do you think-- was this behavior warranted or excessive?