HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-25-2000 Articlesa •
Opinion
Iowa City Press -Citizen
Our view
New policy
needed for
police dog
Accept it: A police dog
is not a family pet.
Gallo, the Iowa City
Police Department's fast
police dog, found himself
the center of attention
recently when he grabbed
a 9-year-old boy's arm
with his mouth.
It all apparently was in
play, while the two and
other children were rac-
ing.
And the boy wasn't
hurt. He had marks on his
arm, but no punctures.
Thank God.
But there's more to
this:
■ Officer Ron Gist, the
3-year-old German
Shepherd's handler,
works a night shift and
was home asleep.
■ Gallo was being
walked by Gist's girlfriend
and her two children,
along with the couple's
other dog. The group had
gone to a baseball game
at Hoover Elementary.
Under department pol-
icy, there was nothing
particularly wrong with
that. The policy says Gist
is responsible for Gallo,
but it doesn't specifically
say he'd the only person
who can take the dog out
in public.
It should be changed
immediately to say so.
The issue:
■ Iowa City Police dog
latches onto boy's arm.
We suggest:
■ It apparently was dur-
ing play, but it never
should have happened.
Police dogs aren't pets,
they're trained officers.
Police dogs have
proven themselves
invaluable to many
departments. That's
because of their fearless-
ness and their training.
A part of that training
involves a handler, who
knows the dog's capabili-
ties and is experienced in
working with his partner.
That's the key: Partner.
They're both police offi-
cers. One has two legs,
the other four.
Police dogs aren't fam-
ily pets to be walked by
people other than the
trained, experienced han-
dler.
Police dogs aren't fam-
ily pets to join in games
with children.
Gist didn't violate
department policy. He did
violate common sense.
Now, the policy should
catch up.
Page 9A
Wednesday,
April 12,
2000