deadmonton 2006 - other police matters - no Sam I am
Taking a "bite out of crime" came too close to the family of one of Edmonton's police dog handlers, resulting in the euthanising of EPS service dog Sam.
The trouble all started on August 27th, 2006 when Cst. Glen Thursby took his service dog to the police union's Blue Meadows campground in Edmonton's west end.
At some point the leashed dog bit two 11-year-old boys, Thursby's son Zach and his cousin, with Zach requiring 40 stitches to the head to repair the damage.
Thursby witnessed the biting incident and informed police about it.
Sam was removed from duty and awaited his fate at the Edmonton Police Service's kennel. At the time of the incident EPS policy, cited as "industry standard practice," allowed officers to take dogs home.
"There's not a police force our guys know of where officers don't bring their dogs home," a police spokesman said, adding it's "certainly a possibility Sam could be put down" as a result of the attack.
The spokesman said police dogs are considered as weapons and are not to be treated as pets. He said there was a chance Sam's life would be spared if it was determined he acted defensively.
Thursby and the almost 4-year-old German Shepherd had been together since August 2004.
Susan Thursby, Glen's ex-wife and Zach's mother, demanded EPS Chief Mike Boyd forbid dog-handlers to treat their animals as family pets.
She said it was confusing for dogs who don't realise different behaviour is expected when they are off duty.
Susan said both boys had spent lots of time with Sam and in the past had come home with torn clothes. She told the Edmonton Sun she knows of "more than one instance" in which Thursby himself required stitches after Sam bit him.
Susan was told the dog's leash had become tangled in a lawn chair before he knocked her son down and bit him.
Police did not confirm Susan's account of the incident, and said no complaints have ever been lodged against Sam.
Gwilym Davies, a member of the Criminal Trial Lawyers Association policing committee, knows of many cases of police dogs biting when off-duty, sometimes even turning on their handlers.
"They have a higher tendency to bite than other dogs," he said. "They shouldn't be treated as a family pet. It's just too iffy."
When it became apparent Sam would be killed to avoid future liability, Zach said he didn't want the dog to be punished.
On September 8th Edmonton police said that Sam had been put down the day before.
A police press release said that after investigating all factors in the case and consulting with those who knew the dog best, the decision was made to euthanise Sam.
It was the first time an active Edmonton Police service dog had been euthanised and Chief Mike Boyd said he was not aware of such an incident happening anywhere else.
Sgt. Colin Quast, head of the EPS canine unit, said the decision to put the dog down was “extremely difficult” but had to be made in the interest of public safety.
Quast said police debated every possible option before making their decision, which was supported by his handler Thursby.
"Sam would not have made a pet for someone else," Quast said.
Chief Boyd said he was looking at the service’s policy that allowed officers in the canine unit to take their dogs home as pets.
Boyd called Sam a "top performer in the canine world" and said the biting incident caught police by surprise.
"It's a tough decision. And I'll tell you, we're heartbroken. We really are," Boyd said.
Sam was described as an excellent police dog with outstanding tracking abilities who had assisted in the arrest of more than 100 criminals.
Thursby was to get a new four-legged partner, but the process could take up to four months once a suitable dog is found.
An Edmonton Sun news poll, taken August 31st, 2006, asked Edmontonians "Should police dog Sam be put down?"
45% said Yes, while 55% said No.
877 voted on the one-day voluntary poll which allowed only one response per computer.
Another Edmonton Sun news poll, taken September 8th, asked Edmontonians "Is it wrong to treat a police dog as a family pet?"
44% said Yes, while 56% said No.
651 voted on the one-day voluntary poll which allowed only one response per computer.