The video is disturbing to watch.
In an attempt to euthanize a mule deer injured by a vehicle, a Lethbridge police officer is seen 颅repeatedly running over the animal with his truck in January 2019. The animal鈥檚 piercing screams can be heard in the 15-minute video posted online by a bystander.
Public outrage led to the first investigation of an 颅animal death by Alberta鈥檚 police oversight body. In its June 2019 report, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team concluded that the officer鈥檚 actions likely prolonged the deer鈥檚 suffering, but didn鈥檛 warrant criminal charges.
Working alone, the officer had ruled out the most humane method 鈥� shooting the animal 鈥� fearing 颅ricocheting bullets in the populated area. Fish and wildlife officers were unavailable. And the Lethbridge police had no standing agreement to cover veterinarian costs.
鈥淭aking emotion out of the equation, the officer was able to put the deer out of its misery within 颅approximately 15 minutes,鈥� the report states.
鈥淚 watch a lot of animal cruelty videos, and this one really got me,鈥� said Camille Labchuk, a lawyer who is executive director of Animal Justice, a Toronto-based non-profit that advocates for the humane treatment of animals.
She criticized the report for discounting the officer鈥檚 obligation to seek out those better equipped to help the animal. 鈥淭hey 鈥榟umane washed鈥� the incident to the benefit of the police,鈥� she said.
The Lethbridge case highlights public concern over police accountability when it comes to use of force on animals 鈥� and raises the question of whether some portion of police budgets should go to non-police agencies better trained to respond to increasing numbers of animal-human encounters.
A former sa国际传媒 conservation officer, Bryce Casavant, says the lack of adequate oversight sends a dangerous message to police: 鈥淭he government doesn鈥檛 really care if you use your service weapon and kill the non-humans.鈥�
Casavant received international attention in 2015 after he was fired from the sa国际传媒 Conservation Officer Service for refusing to kill two orphaned bear cubs near Port Hardy. The sa国际传媒 Court of Appeal later quashed his termination, a decision recently upheld by the Supreme Court of sa国际传媒. He is a senior compliance and enforcement specialist with the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.
鈥淚 go back to the fundamental principles of lethal force,鈥� said Casavant, who is qualified as a use-of-force instructor and has trained police and military officers internationally for over a decade.
鈥淚f we look at lethal force as a last option, it shouldn鈥檛 matter whether it鈥檚 an animal or human 鈥� the principles of de-escalation and alternative measures should first apply.鈥�
Casavant, who earned a doctorate for his research on the history of the Conservation Officer Service, points to the high number of bear and cougar killings by that agency as an example of what can go wrong when basic use-of-force principles are disregarded in animal policing.
When it comes to police officers who are authorized to use their service weapons on both animals and humans, Casavant argues playing fast and loose with use-of-force principles in interactions with non-humans may desensitize police to lethal force on humans.
鈥淚f we allow officers to practise the act of killing, day in, day out, on non-human species, are we desensitizing them and predisposing them to greater potential of lethal force on humans? Are you more likely to grab your weapon than attempt de-escalation? Is that officer predisposed for aggressive behaviour in a human interaction? I argue that, potentially, yes.鈥�
鈥淎nd that鈥檚 why non-human species become so important in this concept of appropriateness of use of force and the standardization of use of force models.鈥�
A lack of training
Jim Osorio, a Texas-based law enforcement trainer who has worked for almost four decades as an animal-control officer, animal cruelty investigator, deputy marshal and police dog handler, has similar concerns.
鈥淸Police] don鈥檛 learn the first thing about how to handle an animal encounter in the academy,鈥� he says.
Osorio began offering canine-encounter training in 2003 after viewing a video of an officer shooting a tail-wagging dog in Tennessee. Today he鈥檚 recognized as an expert in the field, contacted by police departments around the world after highly publicized dog shootings or court cases.
Osorio wants officers to learn there are options other than firing their weapons. He trains officers how to read an animal鈥檚 behaviour and how to use non-lethal tactics and weapons.
鈥淎ll those tools they carry, the batons, their OC [pepper] spray, all that stuff, they鈥檙e trained to use on a person, not an animal,鈥� says Osorio. 鈥淭here鈥檚 definitely different ways to use their equipment against an animal 鈥� and they need to know the differences.鈥�
Over the course of his career, Osorio has never had to shoot a dog. 鈥淚鈥檇 rather go hands-on than shoot an animal,鈥� he said, citing the dangers of stray or ricochet bullets.
In sa国际传媒, recruits leave the police academy with no animal-encounter training. Officers have come to rely on informal 鈥渢ailgate training鈥漚nd assistance from animal-control officers, the sa国际传媒 Conservation Officer Service and the sa国际传媒 SPCA.
鈥淲e ask for advice from our animal-control officers, who are our go-to experts on how to dispatch a deer,鈥� said Saanich Const. Markus Anastasiades.
Saanich is the only police department in sa国际传媒 to employ full-time animal-control officers 鈥� two of them at an annual cost of $324,000, paid for out of the police budget and dog licensing fees of approximately $200,000.
Saanich police report the highest numbers of animal shootings in sa国际传媒 鈥� mostly deer euthanized after being hit on two busy highways. Use-of-force data from the sa国际传媒 Public Safety Ministry suggests these animals were humanely killed with, on average, one shot.
In Vancouver 鈥� home to an estimated 60,000 to 90,000 dogs 鈥� animal-control officers are contracted by the city as first responders on animal complaints and handle any dogs present during police operations.
About half the animal services鈥� annual budget of $1.7 million is paid for by dog licensing fees, the other half by taxpayers. Trained in animal behaviour, animal-control officers don鈥檛 carry firearms, batons or pepper spray, and can鈥檛 kill a dog without a court order.
A Vancouver Police Department spokesperson, Const. Tania Visintin, said in an email that a 30-year veteran of the department could not recall any Vancouver police officer shooting an animal. (In Houston and Chicago, U.S. cities with populations similar to Metro Vancouver, dog shootings number in the hundreds every year.)
In many sa国际传媒 communities, RCMP respond more often than conservation officers to wildlife calls, said Insp. Kevin Van Damme of the sa国际传媒 Conservation Officer Service. 鈥淭here鈥檚 definitely not enough conservation officers to be able to respond to that volume of animals,鈥� said Van Damme, who has been with the service for 30 years and is responsible for training.
In communities grappling with increased wildlife encounters, Van Damme said, conservation officers informally train police.
While Van Damme would like to see more conservation officers hired, he sees a continuing role for police: 鈥淚 would hate to see a deer suffer for hours and hours because the mandate was dedicated to one agency that just didn鈥檛 have capacity to respond.鈥�
Environmental groups, affected communities and the conservation officers鈥� union have long criticized underfunding of the Conservation Officer Service.
Similarly, while the sa国际传媒 SPCA works with police to enforce animal-cruelty laws, it receives no government funding.
System 鈥榥ot鈥� broken
For Van Damme, a bad decision by one Lethbridge police officer does not signal a broken system.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 believe police officers are going out there and not following the effective protocols when to put down an animal,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f they were, the public would be calling us and we鈥檇 be investigating the situations and we don鈥檛 see that.鈥�
The Independent Investigations Office of sa国际传媒 becomes involved only when an officer causes death or serious harm to a person. The treatment of animals is not expressly referred to in the definitions of misconduct investigated by the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner or the RCMP Civilian Review and Complaints Commission. And internal police department reviews, often promised after animal shootings in the media spotlight, are rarely made public.
Changes to the Police Act to explicitly address excessive use of force on animals are not being considered by the all-party committee considering reforms to the legislation. But Casavant would like to see the Conservation Officer Service designated as a law-enforcement agency under the Police Act. He believes this would allow for greater oversight of officers in their use of lethal force on animals in the province.
In April 2021, the RCMP updated its use-of-force model to emphasize de-escalation. But it remains to be seen if this policy change will have an impact on police encounters with animals or humans.
Osorio says after police officers attend his canine-encounter training program, they are less likely to shoot an animal. It鈥檚 an outcome that keeps him working with police officers all over the U.S. and internationally.
He has never been contacted by a Canadian police service.
Suzanne Baustad is a 2021 recipient of the Langara College Read-Mercer Journalism Fellowship. This feature was produced through the fellowship.
