Originally published 2021-04-05.
In late December 2020 a bystander in Vacaville, California, filmed a police officer pinning down his K9 partner and striking it on the head during a training session. The Vacaville Police Department first described the incident as part of training, then separated the dog from the officer within days and ordered an outside review. In April 2021 the department confirmed the officer was no longer a dog handler, and a follow-up review found the dog had not suffered long-term harm.
The case drew national attention because it raised a question many dog owners ask: is hitting a dog ever an acceptable way to train it, even a working police dog? Here is what happened, what each side said, and what animal behaviour research tells us.
What the video shows
The footage was recorded by Roberto Palomino (spelled Palamino in some reports), who was arriving at a warehouse where he worked, next to a Vacaville fire station, when he heard a dog yelping. In the clip, a man in uniform straddles a dog on the ground and appears to punch it on the head. The officer was later confirmed to be a member of the Vacaville Police Department; neither he nor the dog has been publicly named.
Palomino told NBC Bay Area that he had seen around ten blows before he started filming, so the recording shows only the end of what he witnessed. He described the sound vividly: "The dog was crying like somebody was running him over or something like that." He also told CBS Sacramento he had been too afraid to confront the officer directly.
How Vacaville police explained it
Captain Matt Lydon gave the department's account in interviews with Bay Area and Sacramento stations. He said the officer and dog were a team still in training and not yet on patrol, and that the dog was learning to detect narcotics. According to Lydon, the dog found the drugs and was rewarded with a toy, but when the handler tried to take the toy back, the dog lunged and tried to bite him.
Lydon said the officer needed to regain control and "establish the dominance over that dog," and described the straddling position seen in the video as a position of dominance. He said strikes "can be appropriate" in certain scenarios, while adding that the department wanted to understand the officer's mindset and that it was too early to call the incident abuse. The department also said the video had been taken out of context.
In a public Facebook post, the department argued that police dogs differ from family pets, that an uncontrolled working dog could injure itself, an officer or a member of the public, and that its training mixes physical correction with reward-based methods.
What happened to the officer and the dog
The public response was swift. Within a day or two of the video spreading, the department announced on 30 December 2020 that the officer and dog had been separated, and that the dog had been placed with a third-party handler. A veterinarian examined the dog and, according to police, found no signs of injury or distress. PETA wrote an open letter asking the department to move the officer to a role that did not involve animals and to review its K9 handler policies.
The department brought in an outside K9 training organisation to assess whether the officer's actions were appropriate discipline. That investigation concluded in April 2021. On 28 April 2021 Vacaville police said the officer was no longer a police dog handler, but declined to say whether he had been disciplined. A supplementary review found that the dog had not suffered long-term psychological, emotional or physical distress.
How police dogs are trained
Police dogs are usually German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois, Dutch Shepherds, Labradors or Bloodhounds, depending on the job. Some are "single purpose" dogs trained for tracking or apprehension; others are "dual purpose" dogs that also detect drugs or explosives. Initial training typically takes eight months to a year, and handler and dog keep training together throughout the dog's working life, which commonly lasts six to nine years.
Reliable obedience is not optional for these animals. A dog trained to bite must release on command, and a detection dog must work calmly around crowds. That is why departments stress control. The real debate is not whether handlers need control, but which methods produce it without damaging the dog's welfare or the trust between dog and handler.
What research says about punishment in dog training
Studies comparing training methods point in a fairly consistent direction. A 2017 review by Gal Ziv of 17 studies concluded that aversive methods, such as physical punishment or shock collars, can harm both the physical and mental health of dogs, even when applied as intended. Earlier work by Hiby, Rooney and Bradshaw (2004) found that reward-based training was associated with better obedience and fewer behaviour problems, and a 2009 study by Herron and colleagues found that confrontational techniques, including hitting, often provoked aggressive responses from dogs.
The research is not unanimous on every tool, and some studies of working dogs have been criticised for small samples. But very few behaviour specialists today would recommend striking a dog on the head, partly because it can teach the dog that hands are a threat, which is a risky lesson for an animal trained to bite.
The "dominance" idea and its problems
The word "dominance" in Lydon's explanation comes from an old model of dog behaviour based on the belief that dogs are essentially wolves fighting for rank. Later field studies found that wild wolves usually live in family groups led by the parents, not by an "alpha" who wins fights. Many behaviourists now argue that dominance describes relationships over specific resources, like a toy, rather than a fixed trait that must be beaten down.
In the Vacaville case, the trigger was a toy. Trainers who use reward-based methods typically handle this kind of guarding problem by teaching a reliable "drop" or "out" command through trades, so that giving up the toy reliably pays off for the dog. That approach prevents the lunge in the first place rather than punishing it afterwards.
Why bystander video matters
This case is also a reminder of how much public oversight now depends on ordinary people with phones. Without the clip, the incident would almost certainly have stayed inside the training pen. At the same time, a short video shows only a fragment: it cannot show what happened before recording began, or how the dog is treated the rest of the time. That is why the vet check and independent review mattered, and why the final outcome, a new handler for the dog and no lasting harm found, is the part of the story worth remembering.
If you see an animal being hurt, note the time and place, record from a safe distance if you can, and report it to local animal control or the relevant agency. For concerns about your own dog's behaviour, a vet or a qualified, reward-based trainer is the best first call.
Sources: NBC Bay Area: Video of Vacaville officer punching K-9; CBS Sacramento: Dog taken to third-party handler; CBS Sacramento: PETA open letter; Solano News: Officer no longer dog's handler; Wikipedia: Police dog; Wikipedia: Dog training; Vacaville Police Department on Facebook; earlier coverage by The Mind Unleashed.
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