The North Carolina Highway Patrol is disbanding its canine program and plans a new unit limited to the use of Labrador retrievers for drug searches, reports the Raleigh News & Observer. The patrol reviewed its use of police dogs after patrol Sgt. Charles Jones was captured on video kicking his canine partner, a Belgian Malinois.
Now, the patrol will discontinue use of aggressive canines and change the mission of its canine program from multiple tasks to narcotics detection only. Labradors are non-aggressive and have a well-respected reputation for narcotics detection. Video clips of Jones suspending his dog Ricoh so that his hind legs barely touched the ground and kicking him drew tens of thousands of hits on YouTube and news Web sites.
Link: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/local/story/402190.html