Kansas takes a stand: Tougher penalties for attacks on police dogs

Kansas lawmakers made the first step to increase the protection of dogs, helping police and emergency services. If the proposal is passed, killing a K9 will be punishable by up to 5 years in prison.

House Speaker Dan Hawkins and Rep. Stephen Owens, chair of the House Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee, are both Republicans who sponsored the bill. This idea, supported by Democratic Party representatives, will be voted on in the state House on Wednesday.

It assumes that killing animals and helping services, such as police dogs and horses or rescue dogs, will result in a penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of at least $10,000. As highlighted by media outlet U.S. News, Killing a dog is already a crime in Kansas, but it is only punishable by one year in prison, and current law does not protect horses either.

The aforementioned media states that these legal actions were taken after the loud death of Bane, an eight-year-old police dog who was strangled in November by a wanted man suspected of domestic violence. Bane was sent into a storm drain to scare the criminal away, but unfortunately, he died after confronting him.

Source: U.S. News