Police Department City of Benicia October 2, 2024 Sent via email ([email protected]) Honorable Judge Jones*

On-going in-service training with canines and canine handlers is currently taking place, but not consistent across all agencies throughout the County. Canine pre-deployment training has generally been through a third party outside of the law enforcement agency. In the past, pre-deployment training practices had been a harsh environment for the canine. Occasionally severe discipline was used to train the canine causing the canine a high level of stress during and after the training period. RESPONSE TO FINDING 1. The respondent disagrees partially with the finding. The City of Benicia is not able to make an informed assessment as to the consistency, or lack thereof, of training across all agencies in the County, and whether or not any training is harsh or includes severe discipline. East L Street • Benicia, CA 94510 • Telephone (707) 745-3412 • FAX (707) 746-0131 www.ci.benicia.ea.us/police Docusign Envelope ID: DB55C12A-6B13-4210-8912-CCC90AB5E9F2

– While there is a retirement plan for the Patrol Officers, there is no standard Canine Officers retirement plan available. This leaves the canine handler to cover all medical costs which may include injuries that occurred while in service. RESPONSE TO FINDING 2. The respondent disagrees wholly with the finding. The City of Benicia transfers the canine and kennel facility in "as is" condition for the Transferee's personal use. Any and all costs associated with the canine after transfer of ownership is the responsibility of the transferee; the City bears no financial responsibility.

– Not all law enforcement agencies within the county have Canine Officers. The law enforcement agencies that do, see multiple benefits of having the Canine Officers on staff. In some cases, an increase in non-confrontational apprehensions is as much as ten times over those of a non-Canine Team. RESPONSE TO FINDING 3. The respondent agrees with the finding.

– There are only a few Peer Support Canines available to assist in emotional and behavioral support within a few agencies. Peer Support Canines play an important role in monitoring and recognizing the emotional and behavioral needs within high stress events and are able to soothe and support through their calming and caring personalities. RESPONSE TO FINDING 4. The respondent agrees with the finding.

– Canine activity and incident tracking throughout the county differs between agencies. Although being tracked, the agencies have adopted their own manner of tracking and documenting. This allows the media to exploit only the rare aggressive activities with little exposure to the positive side of the Canine Officer's contribution. RESPONSE TO FINDING 5. The respondent agrees with the finding.

- Canine Officers no longer engage in crowd control, as having canines in large crowds over stressed the Canine Officer, causing confusion. RESPONSE TO FINDING 6. The respondent agrees with the finding.