The best way to resolve this untested issue is to have the new SWAT dog and handler respond to patrol K-9 calls until the dog is tested and performs how he is supposed to. But if a dog is going to fail, have him fail on the street during a patrol deployment, just like rookie patrol officers. You never want a dog or a person to fail. Even some of the busiest SWAT teams in the country - like the Los Angeles County (Calif.) Sheriff’s Office and Las Vegas (Nev.) Metro PD - don’t have a dedicated SWAT dog. Most SWAT teams that integrate dogs into SWAT utilize their patrol dogs because of the dog’s experience and street reliability.

As long as a department is busy enough to justify a dedicated SWAT dog, there’s no problem with this, but selecting an experienced patrol dog instead of a brand new, untested dog is strongly encouraged. Here, let’s focus on the pros and cons of utilizing a brand new dog dedicated to SWAT verses integrating an experienced patrol dog onto the team.įrom time to time, departments ask about having a dedicated SWAT dog that only deploys with SWAT, not patrol. Other departments don’t have any K-9s, but want to jump right into the K-9 SWAT world. Some agencies already have an established patrol K-9 unit but have never integrated dogs into SWAT. Those selected to the team have astonishing skills and abilities that only come with years of training and real world experience.Īs the National Tactical Officers Association’s (NTOA) K-9 Chairman, I interact with many departments who inquire about K-9 SWAT integration. A SWAT team is a highly specialized and trained unit within a law enforcement agency that handles high-risk situations beyond the capability of conventional police officers.

Swat team hand signals dog killing