Colorado Senate Bill 13-226 was signed into law on May 13th, 2013. Created and sponsored by a bipartisan group of legislators. The legislation was designed to help provide additional skills for officers who encounter dogs in the field and assists them in resolving those situations quickly and safely.
This was accomplished by the formation of a taskforce composed of law enforcement officers, animal behavior experts, animal control officers, training experts, and lawyers.
The Colorado Canine Encounter Handbook was the result.
Law enforcement officers that are untrained in properly handling dog encounters face risks of injury to themselves and others even including the potential for loss of life. In other cases when the animal they encounter becomes injured or killed they open themselves and their departments up to lawsuits as well as a loss of trust in the public eye.
Colorado is not the only state with programs and legislator in place to help train officers.
Many additional resources and organizations exist that can help to extend education in the realm of properly handling dog encounters on the job.
