Police investigating Vacaville officer filmed punching his K-9

Vacaville police are investigating one of their own after video surfaced on Facebook of an officer punching his K-9 partner during a training exercise.

A short clip posted on Facebook on Monday shows an officer with the dog pinned between his legs near a warehouse on Vaca Valley Parkway. At one point, he reaches back and strikes the dog. According to witness Robert Palomino, the officer punched the dog repeatedly before he caught the incident on camera.

"I heard a dog crying, when I looked, the officer was punching the dog over and over and got shocked about it," Palomino wrote. "... I'm sure he saw me, he stopped beating the dog when he saw me and went behind those trailers in the video."

The Vacaville Police Department is now investigating the incident, which it says occurred during training. They are not identifying the officer or dog involved.

"We understand how disturbing the video appears to many who view it and the range of emotions it creates. What the video doesn't show is the moments prior, when the canine became aggressive towards his handler," the department said in a statement. "We want to assure the public this incident is being evaluated in its entirety and will be investigated appropriately."

Police Capt. Matt Lydon told the Vacaville Reporter the officer, who had no prior experience with a K-9 partner, has been training with the dog for three to four months. Lydon said after the dog successfully performed a narcotics search, the dog was rewarded with a toy. When the officer attempted to take the toy back, Lydon said the dog acted aggressively.

"That angered the dog. It lunges at him and attempts to bite him," he told the Reporter.

An investigation into the incident is currently ongoing. The department said in a statement that it is "constantly evaluating our [training] policies" and "a careful balance of physical discipline and reward based training" is generally used.

"I just hope the dog's OK and is removed from him, gets a better partner at least," Palomino told the Reporter.

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