Police Officer Caught On Video Hitting And Kicking K-9

<p><a href="http://www.wfmynews2.com/story/news/2015/08/30/officer-whips-kicks-k-9-video-police-investigating/71421232/" target="_blank">WFMY</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.wfmynews2.com/story/news/2015/08/30/officer-whips-kicks-k-9-video-police-investigating/71421232/" target="_blank">WFMY</a></p>

A video that shows what appears to be a police officer whipping and kicking his K9 partner has the police scrambling to find out what went wrong.

A bystander, who wished to remain anonymous, filmed as the police surrounded her neighbor's home in Peoria, Arizona, WFMY reports. She was shocked to see one of the officers whip, kick and then appear to stomp on a police K-9 who was working alongside them.

"I have never heard of an officer stomping on a dog or whipping it with a leash," the bystander who filmed the abuse told WFMY. "The dog looks like a puppy and looks terrified of him."

WFMY

Police handlers are entrusted with the care of K-9s, who work in many capacities in departments all across the country. These relationships often lead to close bonds between the dogs and the men and women with whom they work - but sometimes things can go terribly wrong.

In the past seven years, at least 29 police dogs have overheated and died after being left alone in hot patrol cars.

In the case of this apparent abuse, it's not clear if the offending officer is the K-9's handler - but there's no excuse for hurting a dog like this. Police K-9s are trained to put their lives on the line to protect humans.

The Peoria Police Department told a news station on Monday that the matter is being investigated: "We take matters such as these quite seriously. Our canine partners are valuable members of our team, and we want to ensure that all policies, protocols, and training were followed in this incident."