At least 6 US states are considering tougher penalties for killing police dogs

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Lawmakers in at least six states, including Hawaii, are considering longer prison sentences or bigger fines for harming or killing police dogs, and the idea has bipartisan support despite questions about how the animals are used and a fraught history.

In Kansas on Wednesday, the Republican-controlled House voted 107-4 to pass a bill sponsored by its top leader to allow judges to sentence first-time offenders to five years in prison and mandate a fine of at least $10,000 for killing dogs used by police, arson investigators, game wardens or search and rescue teams, and for killing police horses. Those crimes already are felonies, but the maximum prison sentence is one year; the maximum fine is $5,000, and the law does not specifically cover horses.

Two days ago, Colorado’s Democratic-dominated House voted 52-12 for a measure that would require people convicted of aggravated cruelty to a law enforcement animal to also pay a minimum fine of $2,000 and reimburse an agency for its costs in caring for the animal or replacing it. They already face a prison sentence of up to six years.

And Monday, the GOP-controlled Missouri House gave its initial approval to legislation that would increase the penalties for harming dogs and horses used by law enforcement, with a final vote expected next week. The penalty for severely injuring or killing an animal is up to four years in prison, and the bill would make it up to seven years.

Similar bills have been filed this year in Democratic-led Hawaii and in GOP-leaning South Carolina and West Virginia.

The federal government and other states have acted on the issue. Under a 2000 federal law, a person who kills a police dog can be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison. In 2019, the possible penalty in Florida increased from up to five years in prison to up to 15 years. Tennessee increased its penalties in 2022, and Kentucky did so last year.