County Cleans Up Dog Act

Police dogs were once widely used in the south during the
early civil rights movement. Recently however these dogs
were used on people for petty and non-violent crimes.
Only federal intervention brought a solution to the problem.
The end results are told in the article below. Why is it that
so many law enforcement agencies have to have the feds
intervene in order to rectify a situation they themselves
should correct?



The Prince George's County police canine unit, which in recent years operated under a Justice Department consent decree because of allegations of excessive force and lack of accountability, has improved to the point that the oversight is no longer necessary, a federal judge in Maryland has ruled.

U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus on Monday granted a motion filed jointly by the Justice Department, the county and the police department to end the federal oversight that began in 2004, Prince George's officials said.

'The Prince George's County police canine unit, which in recent years operated under a Justice Department consent decree because of allegations of excessive force and lack of accountability, has improved to the point that the oversight is no longer necessary, a federal judge in Maryland has ruled.', The judge's order means the department has succeeded in reforming the canine unit by dramatically reducing the number of bites inflicted by police dogs, beefing up supervision of canine teams, instituting reviews of biting incidents and improving documentation of such encounters, county officials said.

"Something must be working, because I haven't heard any complaints about dogs biting," Titus said in court Monday.
The oversight will formally end March 11.

A separate agreement between county officials and the Justice Department, which was negotiated to end a Justice investigation into allegations of excessive force by county police, is still operative. The department is in substantial compliance with the terms of that agreement, which calls for broad reforms regarding use of force, training and other issues, said Sharon Taylor, a spokeswoman for the police department.

The end of the canine consent decree "is absolutely good news. This department has worked really hard to get to this place," said Police Chief Melvin C. High. "I am very proud of the members of our canine unit and the efforts they have made."
County resident Redmond Barnes, a member of a group that advocates for police accountability, said he hopes the positive changes in the canine unit signal the beginning of broader police reforms.

"Federal intervention seems to be having an impact, and we can only hope it will have a greater impact," said Barnes, a member of the People's Coalition for Police Accountability.
On a practical level, the end of the consent decree means police officials will no longer undergo periodic Justice Department reviews and will no longer be required to file detailed reports to Justice officials.

However, the canine unit reforms will continue, Taylor said.
The county police department has 11 canine teams, each consisting of a police dog and its officer handler. The unit includes Labrador retrievers as well as Belgian Malinois canines, which resemble German shepherds but are slightly smaller. Both sniff out bombs and drugs; the Belgian Malinois dogs also chase suspects.



This Article Continues Here:






Get your copy of the award winning King:
"From Atlanta to the Mountain top.
"It's the 3-Hour Docudrama that
tells the story of the Civil Rights
movement and the life of its
Drum Major for Peace,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
To learn more and hear
excerpts from this treasured
program,click here:
http://www.kingprogram.net/