A resident of Houston, Texas, filed a lawsuit against a deputy for allegedly falsely instructing his dog to “alert” the presence of drugs, according to NPR.
Alek Schott accused Bexar County Sheriff’s deputy Joel Babb of stopping him at Interstate 35 under false claims. Later, after refusing to show the inside of his pickup truck, K-9 unit deputy Martin A. Molina III allegedly prompted his dog to falsely “alert” the smell of drugs, according to NPR. (RELATED: Florida Man Who Killed Police K-9 Sentenced To 25 Years)
Schott requested the bodycam videos to show the handler’s perspective, the outlet reported.
“It’s clear to me that he’s telling the dog to alert,” Schott said. “I thought, ‘These guys are trying to destroy my life.'”
Police body cameras have increased accountability for K-9 units, making it easier for defendants to claim unconstitutional searches. A federal lawsuit in Texas illustrates the new dynamic. https://t.co/l7urS5YjMq
— KRWG Public Media (@krwg) June 8, 2023
Christie Hebert, Schott’s attorney, believes that deputies infringed Schott’s rights and they might have influenced the dog to do so. “You think of a dog as not having an agenda,” Hebert explained. “But the fact is, they’re influenced by their handlers’ agenda and they want to please their masters.”
Researchers have questioned the extent to which K-9 dogs are influenced by their handlers to follow a scent that may not even be present, the outlet noted.
Former K-9 officer and trainer Andy Falco expressed his hope that by showing the footage, K-9 trainers would become more severe and impartial when training their dogs. “I think it’s good for the K-9 units that these things are out there,” Falco said. “It’ll make them train harder, and perhaps even some of them that weren’t doing double-blind sniffs will start doing double-blind sniffs!”