Video Of Hammond Officer's Treatment Of K-9 Prompts Investigation
(CBS) – A Hammond, Ind. K-9 police officer is under investigation because of how he handled his dog after an incident was caught on video.
It happened Wednesday during a traffic stop. The officer and his dog were called in to search the vehicle for possible drugs.
A resident from an apartment complex above the stop at 169th Street and Olcott Ave. shot video of the officer abusing the dog — striking it with a leash while hanging the dog in the air by the collar around its neck.
"This kind of behavior, that's probably not the very first time that this happened. Look at the way that he's moving that dog around, smacking him," said one resident who says she has relatives who train and handle K9s.
"The Department has observed behavior by the K-9 handler that appears to be inconsistent with acceptable training guidelines," the department said in a written statement.
The officer has been placed on administrative leave.
"As soon as we saw the video there was literally only 150 views of the video at the time I saw it and I realized it was a serious situation right from the start, so we started preparing for the onslaught that eventually came," said Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott.
WBBM-TV is told that police officers' cruisers are equipped with cameras and their video would be uncut. Sources say that the officer in question had a good record and that the dog would be OK.