Calif. Bill Would Ban Use of Police K-9s for Arrests, Crowd Control

"It's a tool and it's something that, if we take it away, you're just eliminating one more non-lethal weapon for law enforcement," said a retired Modesto police officer about the proposed legislation.

Feb. 15, 2023

A new California bill to prohibit the use of police K-9s during arrests and crowd control was introduced Monday.

“This bill seeks to end a deeply racialized, traumatic and harmful practice by prohibiting of police K-9s for arrests, apprehension and crowd control,” said Assemblymember Corey Jackson (D-Riverside) at a press conference, according to KCRA-TV.

Supporters of the proposed legislation—Assembly Bill 742—include the ACLU and NAACP. They contend that K-9s represent the history of racial violence against people of color, with nearly two-thirds of incidents involving police K-9s targeted Blacks or Latinos.

“From the brutal attempts to quell the civil rights movement, Black Lives Matter protests, and their day-to-day use in law enforcement, police K-9s remain a gross misuse of force, victimizing Black and Brown people disproportionally,” Jackson said.

But a retired Modesto police lieutenant told KCRA that the legislation was misguided and would strip police departments and other law enforcement agencies of a valuable asset in the field.

"It's a tool and it's something that, if we take it away, you're just eliminating one more non-lethal weapon for law enforcement," said Ron Cloward, who also owns and runs a K-9 training and consulting business.