By Police1 Staff
Garret Wing, a retired police lieutenant from the City of Miami Police Department, the place he considerably contributed to the K9 unit as each a handler and supervisor, is the proprietor and founding father of American Standard Dog Training and DIYK9.com. His present mission is to help each legislation enforcement Okay-9 handlers and civilian canine homeowners in optimizing their dogs’ coaching.
In this video, he sheds mild on the persistent difficulty of unlawful canine combating, discussing its prevalence, intersections with different prison actions and the extreme penalties for these concerned. Despite the decline in media protection because the Michael Vick case in 2008, unlawful canine combating continues to thrive, typically together with narcotics trafficking, unlawful weapons, and human trafficking.
Wing highlights the potential for legislation enforcement professionals to come across unlawful canine combating rings inadvertently throughout routine investigations and stresses the significance of not disregarding these findings. These cases can function entry factors into broader prison networks concerned in varied unlawful actions. Under federal legislation, partaking in canine combating, or any associated actions, is a criminal offense with important authorized repercussions, together with imprisonment, fines, and extra.
He additional discusses the brutal nature of canine combating, the place dogs endure extreme and sometimes deadly accidents. The fights, fueled by medication like steroids, cocaine, and methamphetamines to reinforce the dogs’ efficiency, finish in tragedy most of the time. The surviving dogs face a grim future, with their probabilities of rehabilitation and adoption being minimal as a result of in depth psychological and bodily trauma they endure.
The penalties for taking part in unlawful canine combating range by jurisdiction however usually embrace felony prices, imprisonment, substantial fines, and extra penalties reminiscent of animal possession bans and necessary counseling. Wing additionally outlines the indicators of canine combating actions for legislation enforcement professionals, together with the presence of dogs with a number of scars, combating pits, and canine-related tools.
In conclusion, Wing emphasizes the significance of group engagement and schooling in combating unlawful canine combating. He urges legislation enforcement and group members to work collectively, elevating consciousness about this crime and its indicators. By doing so, they’ll play a vital function in detecting and stopping unlawful canine combating rings, contributing to the general security and well-being of the group.
Key takeaways
- Illegal canine combating right this moment: Despite the diminished media highlight because the Michael Vick case in 2008, the merciless actuality is that unlawful canine combating thrives within the shadows of our communities. This brutal crime not solely devastates the lives of numerous dogs however can also be interwoven with different illicit actions reminiscent of narcotics trafficking, unlawful weapons, and human trafficking.
- The legislation enforcement perspective: Law enforcement professionals may inadvertently uncover canine combating rings throughout routine investigations. However, a typical problem is the shortage of specialised models or assets devoted to combating this particular type of prison exercise, resulting in potential oversight.
- The authorized framework: Under federal legislation, partaking in canine combating or associated actions is a criminal offense. This encompasses not solely the act of canine combating but in addition the possession, coaching, transportation and sale of dogs for combating functions. These authorized stipulations present a strong foundation for prosecuting people concerned in canine combating, with penalties together with imprisonment, fines, and extra.
- The brutality of canine combating: The actuality of canine combating is grim, with fights lasting hours, ending solely with the dying or grave damage of the dogs concerned. The aftermath for the surviving dogs is bleak, with rehabilitation again into society being a uncommon end result as a result of extreme psychological and bodily trauma they endure.
- Penalties for participation: The penalties of partaking in unlawful canine combating are extreme, with the crime being thought-about a felony throughout all 50 states and beneath federal legislation. Penalties can range considerably, however usually embrace imprisonment, substantial fines, and probation, amongst others.
- Recognizing the indicators: For legislation enforcement, a number of indicators can sign the presence of canine combating actions. These embrace the presence of dogs with a number of scars, combating pits, specialised tools, and numerous sure canine breeds in poor circumstances.
- Community engagement: It’s essential to not solely sort out this difficulty by means of legislation enforcement but in addition by educating and partnering with the group. Awareness and vigilance can considerably assist in figuring out and stopping canine combating rings.
Video transcript
My identify is Garret Wing and I’m a retired police lieutenant with town of Miami Police Department, the place I spent nearly all of my profession working within the K9 unit as each a canine handler and a supervisor. I’m now the proprietor and founding father of American Standard Dog Training and DIYK9.com, the place we assist each legislation enforcement canine handlers and civilian canine homeowners practice their dogs to be one of the best that they are often. Today, I need to communicate to you about unlawful canine combating and extra particularly the way it could also be occurring in your individual jurisdiction, how unlawful canine combating can intersect instances you might already be engaged on, how brutal this crime is, and the penalties for these concerned. Furthermore, we’re going to speak about a number of the indicators to look out for on the subject of unlawful canine combating and how one can companion along with your group to assist stem this unlawful observe that’s nonetheless alive and effectively.
Now, we haven’t heard a lot about unlawful canine combating since approach again in 2008 when it was within the limelight regarding Michael Vick, who was arrested and convicted and ended up spending two years in jail for his involvement in unlawful canine combating. But since then, we haven’t heard a lot about it. But right this moment, I need to let that unlawful canine combating remains to be alive and effectively and once more could possibly be occurring in your individual yard. I’d additionally wish to make you conscious that on the subject of unlawful canine combating, it typically correlates with many different unlawful actions, together with narcotics trafficking, unlawful weapons, and even human trafficking. So, on the subject of focusing on canine combating, legislation enforcement can uncover and dismantle networks engaged in these crimes, which might improve your group security.
Next, let’s speak about the way you as a legislation enforcement skilled may stumble throughout an unlawful canine combating ring through the course of your regular patrol work or a prison investigation. So, as an example, when doing, say, a telephone dump or a search warrant of a home or a business, or in the midst of an interview or a wiretap, it’s potential that you could be uncover proof associated to an unlawful canine combating ring. Unfortunately, departments, irrespective of their measurement, don’t typically dedicate manpower in the direction of addressing the precise prison exercise of canine combating. Therefore, it goes unchecked, unchallenged, and sometimes ignored. It isn’t the kind of investigation most detectives are aware of and sometimes lies exterior of their particular roles inside their division.
The level being, in case you are working patrol, narcotics, gangs, and even murder, you might be the primary and solely investigator to come back throughout this data, and there might not be anybody in your division to move this case off to. So, I encourage you to not let these instances slip by means of the cracks however as a substitute use them as a chance to additional your individual case and probably use it as inroads into larger instances that probably will contain narcotics trafficking, unlawful firearms possession, and even violation of federal legislation.
Now, beneath federal legislation, it’s unlawful not solely to combat dogs in a enterprise that impacts interstate commerce but in addition to own, practice, transport, ship, promote, buy, or obtain dogs for combating functions. So, whether or not investigating unlawful canine combating is simply your inroad into your investigation, a parallel prison exercise, the federal nexus that you simply want for extra funding, or simply added ammunition to your case ought to your case go to trial in entrance of a decide or jury, I feel we are able to all agree that for all of those causes, unlawful canine combating is a severe crime that we have to pay particular consideration to.
Next, I want to talk about the brutality of this crime as a result of most of us aren’t conscious of what’s occurring in these underground unlawful canine combating ranks. First and foremost, the size of those fights is not only mere minutes; generally, these canine fights can last as long as an hour or longer, they usually normally solely finish certainly one of two methods: one is that if the canine is killed within the ring or two, the combat is getting so unhealthy it’s inevitable that certainly one of these dogs goes to get killed, so the proprietor of the canine will throw in a towel to attempt to rescue the canine. Now, by the point that canine is rescued, the accidents are so important that these dogs are generally nonetheless put down. Now, the style during which they’re put down isn’t humane. They usually are not taken to a vet as a result of the vets are very conscious of this and would notify legislation enforcement, so the veterinary care that’s supplied to those animals doesn’t occur at a vet’s workplace; it’s going to occur in somebody’s home or at the back of someone’s van.
Furthermore, it’s not only one canine combat that’s occurring at these occasions; it’s sometimes a whole day or a whole weekend during which dozens and dozens of dogs are pitted in opposition to one another, ensuing within the dying of dozens and dozens of dogs. Furthermore, once they do postmortem examinations of the dogs which can be killed on this sport, it’s not unusual to seek out that these dogs are injected with steroids, cocaine, and even methamphetamines to attempt to enhance their probabilities at successful on this sport. Now, the unhappy half is, even when these dogs are rescued from these circumstances, the probabilities of them being rehabilitated again into regular society or being adopted by a loving household are slim to none. The psychological and bodily trauma that these dogs endure is usually an excessive amount of for them to recover from, they usually find yourself being put down anyway, so very unhappy state of affairs.
Now, I’d wish to briefly talk about a number of the penalties that exist for criminals who partake on this criminality. Now, the penalties for unlawful canine combating can range extensively relying on the jurisdiction and the precise prices concerned. However, usually, canine combating is taken into account a felony in all 50 states and beneath federal legislation, with potential penalties together with imprisonment, substantial fines, and probation. The size of jail time can range from 1 yr to greater than 10 years, relying on the severity of the offense, prior convictions, and whether or not interstate commerce was concerned. Additionally, people convicted of canine combating might also face animal possession bans, necessary counseling, and restitution for the care of seized animals.
Now, listed here are some indicators to search for as a legislation enforcement skilled do you have to come throughout an unlawful canine combating ring. There are a number of indicators of canine combating actions, together with the presence of dogs with a number of scars, canine combating pits, canine-related tools together with cages, canine treadmills, and makeshift coaching gadgets like weights and sleds that you could be come throughout in somebody’s basement or in a yard. An unusually massive amount of pit bulls or different bully-type breeds being stored in a single location, particularly if they seem uncared for, emaciated, locked in cages, or tied up on chains. Now, do you have to come throughout any of those indicators, it’s a fairly clear indication that there may be an unlawful canine combating ring occurring at that location.
Now, do you have to come throughout any of those warning indicators, I’d encourage you to research additional to find out if there’s, actually, any unlawful canine combating occurring on the premises. Last however not least, I feel it’s necessary that we not solely educate however proceed to companion with the oldsters in our group, make them conscious of all these crimes, and allow them to know that you simply need to find out about it as a result of once more, all these issues usually are not occurring in isolation; they’re occurring in folks’s backyards, they’re occurring in folks’s basements, so neighbors are going to be made conscious, they usually may be the primary to find out about it. And it’s necessary to allow them to know that you simply need to find out about it as a result of they’re going to assist to amplify your message and be the eyes and ears within the neighborhood in order that we may help to place a cease to all these crimes.
In closing, I’d wish to thanks in your time and watching this video, and I hope that we’ve been capable of educate you a bit of bit and perhaps shed a bit of bit of sunshine on what’s been an underground unlawful prison exercise that’s been happening for lots of of years. But once more, it’s nonetheless prevalent; it could be in your jurisdiction, and now that we’ve had this dialogue, I hope that ought to you come throughout it, you’re now extra well-informed and have a greater thought of what you are able to do, what half you possibly can play in serving to to fight this unlawful prison exercise that once more remains to be alive and effectively right this moment. So, thanks a lot for watching; we’ll see you within the subsequent video.
