Jules, a dog that works with Southern Connecticut University police, padded her way through the halls of the state Capitol Thursday on her way to a public hearing in support of S.B. No. 339 — a bill that would require restitution when a police dog is injured or killed on duty and would make intentionally harming a K9 a felony.
Jules, a black lab, joined her handler, Sgt. Cynthia Torres, fellow police dog Hodges — Jules’ brother is a K9 in Waterford — and K9 Clifton, and multiple law enforcement officers and lawmakers who gathered to support the proposed legislation.
The bill, called “Broko’s Bill” in honor of state police K9 Broko, a dog killed in the line of duty in Stonington in December, would up the charges someone faces if they hurt or kill an animal that is working with a peace officer, raising potential fines and jail time, and provide compensation to replace them.
Introduced by the Public Safety and Security Committee, the proposed legislation would require restitution be paid to towns or cities, law enforcement agencies, or owners when a police animal or volunteer search and rescue dog is hurt or killed.
The restitution that would be required under the bill may include paying for veterinary care or the cost of training a replacement animal.
State Sen. Heather Somers, who represents the area where Broko was killed, is one of the bill’s supporters.
She said it’s a cause that is close to home.
“Broko was killed in Stonington saving an officer’s life,” said Somers. And in the wake of the dog’s death, she said, other police dogs should be more supported.
“We support law enforcement and we should be supporting these officers. Even though its a K9 officer, it’s still an officer,” Somers said.
Somers said that she supports the bill because K9 officers “should be treated with the same respect that our officers are and that towns should be able to seek restitution and it should be done at the court level.”
Under the proposed law, anyone who kills an on-duty canine could be charged with a Class D felony and face up to a $10,000 fine or 10 years in prison.
The restitution, she said, would help municipalities carry on their K9 programs even if the dog they have already paid to train and care for were killed.
Training and caring for a police dog, she said, can be an expensive task — sometimes upwards of $20,0000 to train, and lawmakers supporting the legislation feel that investment should not just be lost if a dog were killed.
“If a town has a dog it’s very expensive and that doesn’t even take into account the emotional aspect of it,” she said.
Torres, Jules’ handler, said that Jules lives with her and her family in Deep River, where they raise chickens. He is a part of her family, which includes two daughters, she said.
At work, Jules responds to “critical incidents,” like officer involved shootings, for peer support.
His role, she said, is to step into the most traumatic moments.
“Jules is our partner for navigating traumatic events,” Torres said.
Though they primarily support the community at SCSU, the duo is on call statewide, 24 hours a day, visiting hospitals and responding to domestic violence calls. Jules’ presence, Torres said, helps them deescalate, engage in safe transports and connect folks with counseling services.
Jules was trained inside a prison, through the Puppies Behind Bars program, and Torres said “he really can tell when someone is experience stress or trauma.”
He’ll respond in different ways, indicating that someone is stress or traumatized by sitting with them or “grounding” — meaning he sits or lays on their feet.
Torres said he has helped her, too. The sergeant just finished her master’s degree while working full time in the police force and Jules was there to ground her, too.
“On the days the challenges get to be a little bit heavy it’s a little tough, he was always at my side he was always at my feet,” she said.
Officer Eric Fredricks, from the Waterford Police Department, is the human counterpart to police dog Hodges. He said Hodges is a part of his family, too.
“These dogs are like our families, they’re not just tools,” he said. He is hopeful that having a harsher penalty would deter people from harming K9 officers.
“Having that felony [charge] would hopefully prevent people from killing them,” he said.
For dogs like Hodges, he said, responding to the most dangerous scenes is not always their job — but that doesn’t mean they don’t put themselves in harm’s way.
“Our dogs aren’t necessarily chasing bad guys with a gun, but sometimes they’re working with emotionally disturbed individuals so they could be hurt. This [bill] protects them as well,” he said.
Officer Jamie Ball, community relations officer for the Simsbury Police Department, said police dog Clifton provides peer support and interacts with folks in the community.
He said their department has had Clifton for about a year and a half, and they’ve dedicated a lot of resources to the program that would be lost were something to happen to Clifton without this bill.
“I think it’s good to support the K9 community and all the work that they’re doing,” he said. “It’s a lot of resources dedicated to these dogs, their training and upkeep.
“I think it’s beneficial to have that money reimbursed to the towns so they can continue to fund these programs. It doesn’t bring the love of these dogs back but it allows them to continue to support these programs.”
State Rep. Greg Howard, a Stonington police officer, said during the public hearing Thursday that the bill centers on that financial piece of the K9 programs.
“This bill focuses specifically on restitution,” he said, noting that it was an important component to highlight in the legislation.
“We can’t lose track of the cost to the municipality,” he said.
“These dogs have a tremendous cost to us emotionally but also a tremendous cost fiscally to the municipalities.”
During the public hearing, Connecticut resident and broadcaster Renee DiNino spoke alongside three police officers, and said that she hopes police dogs are viewed as an essential part of public safety teams. She said that specialized K9s can undergo training that costs as much as $45,0000 and they should be valued for their work and partnership.
“Treating these dogs as equal partners in law enforcement should be instituted and they should receive the same attention and treatment when hurt in the line of duty as any other law enforcement officer.”
She said she supported the increased felony charge and advocated for even more legislation that would allow hurt police dogs to be transported in ambulances.
Having harsher consequences for those who intentionally harm or injure the police dogs, she said, would show the communities they serve that the K9s “are not just a dog, not just a tool but also seen as an equal when working with their handler.”
Somers said that after the public hearing, the bill will hopefully go for a vote out of committee, then head to the floor for both chambers to vote on.
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