Yes again I'm not sure where you're getting your info that Handlers regularly shoot their dogs while trying to shoot suspects and over all looking at the site, death by police accidental gunfire is way down on the list.
But let's go over the list under the above category and see if the majority of these shootings were cops trying to shoot a suspect without caring if they killed the dog in the process.
With "Dogs killed accidentally for other reasons"/ Dogs killed because the police were trying to shoot a suspect.
Ifreann wrote:K9 Bloo was shot and killed by a deputy while members of the Fugitive Unit were attempting to serve a warrant on a rape suspect in an apartment complex on Kimberly Way SW in Atlanta.
Not the Handler. And not fired while trying to shoot a suspect 1-0
Ifreann wrote:K9 Verro was shot and killed after biting a sheriff's deputy in the area of Brooks Road and Trotters Way in Dallas, Georgia.
Not the Handler and not fired while trying to shoot a suspect 2-0
Ifreann wrote:K9 Defender was shot and killed by his handler after being mistaken for a coyote in the area of Bena Road and Neumarkel Road in Kern County, California.
Not killed while trying to shoot a suspect 3-0
Ifreann wrote:K9 Bandit was shot and killed while attempting an apprehension of a double murder suspect in Butte County....K9 Bandit was released for an apprehension after the man exited his vehicle and aggressively approached officers while raising a firearm. As Bandit made the apprehension officers on scene opened fire, fatally wounding the man and striking K9 Bandit in the crossfire.
And he might have lived if it wasn't for the pit bull. 3-1
Ifreann wrote:K9 Kastor was shot and killed after inadvertently biting his handler on the inner thigh during a warrant service in the 2000 block of Seneca Avenue.
And they attempted to resolve it non-fatally, something I doubt would have happened if the dog hadn't been a police dog. Again no suspect was shot. 4-1
Ifreann wrote:K9 Benzi was shot after attacking his handler at the agency's canine facility at 2609 McKinley Avenue.
And was put down afterwards, still no suspect in sight . 5-1
Ifreann wrote:K9 Will was accidentally shot and killed by his handler while defending himself against an attack by a Pitbull while assisting with a search warrant in the town of Greig.
Bad luck that the bullet would hit the pitbull, ricochet off the ground and then hit the dog but technically counts. 5-2
Ifreann wrote:K9 Kyro was shot after he mistook his handler for a suspect while performing a track in a heavily wooded area while assisting the Dooly County Sheriff's Office.
Mistaken Identity no suspect 6-2
Ifreann wrote:K9 Credo was shot and killed while deployed at a barricade situation involving a man wanted in connection with shooting several other people...Officers on scene fire at the subject, fatally wounding him and Credo.
It's the SWAT team, of course they shot the dog. Doesn't say if the Handler was part of the shooting but let's assume they were. 6-3
Let's go on instead.
K9 Trax. Attacked by 3 pitbulls and killed in the crossfire.
Horrible but I guess you can consider the pitbulls to be suspects 6-4
K9 Andy - Killed when he mistook officers from another department for being suspects
7-4
K9 Striker was accidentally shot and killed by his handler
Accidental Discharge is not "Trying to shoot a suspect". 8-4
K9 Oozi was accidentally shot and killed in crossfire as he attempted to apprehend a suspect
Got this one right. 8-5
K9 Gunner was shot and killed in case of friendly-fire while pursuing a suspect.
Killed by a police officer who didn't realize he was a police dog and thought he was simply the suspect's guard dog. 9-5
K9 Marko was accidentally shot and killed while attempting to control a subject.
A suspect. 9-6
K9 Marco was shot and killed after biting an El Dorado County sheriff's deputy during a multi-agency search warrant at a home on Cedar Street.
Shot by another agency, no suspect. 10-6
K9 Fero was shot and killed by an officer while attempting an apprehension of an armed robbery
11-6
K9 Sam was shot and killed by an officer who mistook him for a neighborhood dog.
Wonder if the ATF hired them? 12-6
K9 Zak was accidentally shot and killed by a police officer during a building search for a suspect.
Since it doesn't look like there was any suspect involved 13-6
K9 Blackjack was shot and killed after mistakenly biting a police officer while attempting an apprehension of a murder suspect.
14-6
K9 Smokey was shot and killed after inadvertently biting a Florida Highway Patrol trooper during a foot pursuit in Lantana.
15-6
K9 Art was accidentally shot and killed by his handler during a shootout with two juveniles.
15-7 And considering one of the men had a shotgun and fired it at the dog and officer, who knows if the dog would have lived if he had kept blasting away
K9 Sam was shot and killed by his handler after Sam bit another officer
16-7
So the data clearly shows, that, like I said, the most common reason for a Handler to shoot their dog is when the dog is attacking another officer or themselves, which is a tragedy but usually dogs that attack people without orders don't live very long anyway.
Ifreann wrote:Police dogs are expensive to train, and a police officer trained in dog handling is not going to shoot the dog that could have taken thousands of dollars to train, and would require forcing them to desk duty because they're shot their partner.
Police forces get helicopters and armoured vehicles, what's a few dogs?
Do you really think a police officer that crashes a helicopter or armored vehicle for pointless reasons will have their job?
Same with a dog.
Kind of like if an officer fucks up and gets a partner killed because of their own incompetence no surprise when no one in the department wants to partner up with them.
Ifreann wrote:It's the same reason that, despite what Hollywood movies would like you to believe, cops aren't trained to use their police cars as demolition derby machines.
If a police dog is shot by another cop it's usually by an officer who doesn't have that training and think that the suspect is about to escape.
Or they think the police dog is simply a suspects dog, or the police dog mistakes the other officer as the suspect.
The dogs are trained to attack violent and dangerous people, so it follows that they regularly chomp on cops.
Really would love to see the records of the cops that were chomped on and if their careers were ones where they turned out to be abusive cops. Dog could have simply been trying to warn people.
Ifreann wrote:But from what I've seen, most of the time if a police dog is injured or killed in the line of duty it's either by a suspect, or by a cop that isn't their handler.
The few exceptions I see are if the police dog turns on the handler, which happens and usually reveals that said person isn't fit to be a handler in the first place.
Cold comfort to their slain doggo.
Prognosis for dogs who attack humans isn't usually very good though from what I've read. Even if the cop doesn't shoot them they're usually put down.
Ifreann wrote:Page wrote:Look, I'm an anarchist and honestly most of the time I'm rooting for the criminals but honestly, you can't call it abuse, to the dogs it's just a game. Dogs need stimulation , police dogs might be happier than the dogs of people who just laze around the house all day.
Dogs need stimulation that won't try to fight them in self defence, and owners that won't kill them while trying to kill someone else.
Except according to your own source, that's not what happens usually, of the amount of deaths from Police Dogs, your suggested idea is a minority of a minority.
Really what you should be upset about is the large number of police dogs that have died of heatstroke because they are left in a police car. Far more police dogs have died of that than "Getting in the way of their owners trying to kill someone."