A disturbing video of a San Diego police dog biting a man in handcuffs for at least 30 seconds prompted the same question from a lot of viewers.

Why didn’t the officer tell the dog to let go?

It’s a good question. Here’s what we learned: Most departments in the county train their officers to use a verbal command in conjunction with a physical maneuver to get a dog to release.

San Diego’s department doesn’t. Instead, their officers are trained to physically remove a dog from a suspect without verbal cues.


Officer Larry Adair, who has been a canine handler for 15 years, said the policy is intended to decrease the chances of a second bite, which can be a “tremendous liabilty.”

For example, in certain circumstances a second bite could be considered an excessive use of force.

The department didn’t always employ a physical release only policy, but Adair didn’t know when the change was made.

“This is what our training sergeant and his staff, after looking at other agencies and what other people are doing, and evaluating what we’re doing and what we want to do - this is the protocol they developed,” Adair said.


Although officers don’t use a verbal release after a bite, San Diego’s canines are taught one, Adair said. Officers may use it if a canine is on it’s way, but has not yet bitten a suspect.

The California Highway Patrol employs a similar method. Although officers are taught both a verbal and physical release, they don’t use them together.

That’s because trainers who work with the agency believe police canines may become less responsive to a lone verbal order to let go if they constantly expect a physical command to follow, said CHP Officer Aaron Vargas.

Most other departments said their officers are taught both techniques and that it’s up to officers to choose which to use.


For example, a canine handler may use a verbal release if a dog runs to a place that an officer cannot follow. Or perhaps the dog has bitten someone on a life-threatening spot on the body.

However, if a hands-on approach is more appropriate, it’s nearly always accompanied by a verbal command.

“They’re trained to come off when we tell them to come off,” Carlsbad police Sgt. Steve Thomas said. “The only difference is whether we have our hands on the dog or we don’t.”

Agencies that use the physical and verbal command together include: Carlsbad, Chula Vista, El Cajon, Escondido, Oceanside and the Sheriff’s Department.


Coronado doesn’t use canines and the Harbor Police Department doesn’t use its dogs to subdue suspects. National City’s department didn’t get back to us.

People who saw the video also questioned the length of the dog bite. How long does the average dog bite last? Another good question we will look into.


Twitter: @LAWinkley

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lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com