By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Criminal penalties for shooting and killing a police dog would be enhanced under a bill working its way through the Missouri legislature.
“I decided to file this bill last year whenever we all learned about the tragic killing of Max, who was a K-9 officer with the St. Joseph Police Department, who was killed in the line of duty responding to an emergency call,” State Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post.
Luetkemeyer, a Republican from Parkville, says he began working on the legislation after talking with St. Joseph Officer Lucas Winder, K-9 Max’s handler. Winder asked if penalties could be enhanced, since currently killing a police dog is handled as a property crime.
Luetkemeyer’s bill, which has passed out of committee, would create a Class D felony of killing a police dog, with possible prison time.
“The significance of a Class D felony is that you could spend time in prison if convicted of that crime,” according to Luetkemeyer. “We filed that legislation back in December during pre-filing. We titled the bill Max’s Law in memory of Max, the K-9 officer, who was shot in St. Joe.”
Luetkemeyer calls current law inadequate.
“Killing of a K-9 officer under current law, it’s the same type of penalty that you would have as if somebody committed some type of property damage; if they destroyed a piece of inanimate property,” Luetkemeyer says. “And, to me, these officers, these K-9 officers, are highly valued assets in police departments. They put their lives on the line, oftentimes protecting the lives of human police officers.”
Max was shot and killed June 30th last year as he pursued a fleeing suspect. Valdez McDonald has been charged with domestic assault and armed criminal action following the incident. His case has been suspended pending a mental evaluation.