Kansas legislators on Tuesday, Apr. 2, approved a bill that seeks to impose harsher penalties for anyone who kills a police dog, police horse, search-and-rescue dog, arson dog, or game warden’s canine.
This approval comes several weeks after the bill — House Bill 2583 — was introduced to the Kansas House for debate following the killing of a Belgian Malinois K-9 named Bane. Bane died a few months ago while pursuing a suspect who had hidden in a storm drain. Reports say the suspect strangled the K-9 to death.
Senate approves bill to increase the penalty for killing police dogs
According to AP News, the proposed bill received a 115-6 vote. Now, all that remains is for Democratic Governor Laura Kelly to sign it into law.
If the proposed bill becomes law, first-time offenders who harm or kill a police animal will face over three years behind bars. Furthermore, a suspect who kills a K-9 while evading law enforcement will face up to five years imprisonment. To add to that, anyone found guilty of breaking this law will receive a fine of up to $10,000.
At the moment, the killing of a Kansas police dog only attracts a one-year prison sentence and a $500 to $5,000 fine. Also, the current law hasn’t laid out penalties for killing police horses.
House Speaker Dan Hawkins — who has been at the forefront of championing the bill — told the news outlet: “There is a lot of time and money put into those animals. They have to continually train all the time, and so to have one killed, there’s got to be a pretty harsh penalty.”
Hawkins also expressed his satisfaction after the bill garnered a majority of the votes on Tuesday, in honor of their fallen K-9 Bane. As per The Wichita Eagle reporting, Hawkins stated: “When I learned of the penalties for harming or killing a police dog were so minimal, I knew we had to do better for these heroic animals.” Continuing, he added: “Police service dogs, like K-9 Bane, are members of the police department and truly serve as a partner to their officer/handler.”
