Q. Is hurting a Police Dog the same as hurting a Police Officer?
A. Injuring or killing a Police Dog is a 3rd Degree Felony punishable by imprisonment of up to 5 years in prison.
http://www.tampagov.net/dept_police/Special_Operations/K-9/K9_FAQ.asp
I know in my state (NJ) if you injure a police dog you are in big trouble. My husband once was arrested before I met him and was charged for feeding a police dog bologna.
"If a police dog attacks me, am I suppose to let the animal bite me, and potentially cause grave harm?"
Come on man, where have you been for the last 20 years? It is absolutely true. There are many, many cases where this very thing has happened over the years. Remember, if you are seized by a K9 officer it is no different than if you had been grabbed by a human officer. Fighting back will just get you more charges.
My husband just explained to me that he once grabbed a police dog by the neck after it bit his friend who was being arrested.... the police told him to unhand the dog and not harm it or he was going to be charged with assault on an officer because the dog has a badge. He still remembers the dogs name was Apache.
SOP = "Standard Operating Procedure"
Standard Operating Procedure = SOP...My brothers son, yeah he is my nephew.....got into a situation. The K-9 units were called in. He was selling drugs or some other bad thing at a park. When the cops sent the dog after him, he fired a round in the general direction of the dog. Then he threw the pistol down and lay on the grass in the "position". Among the charges, were assault on a police officer, with a deadly weapon. The court found that he never intended to shoot at the human, but at the dog that was chasing him. He is locked away for 5-7. If a police dog chases you, treat him like a uniformed officer. You will be judged on how you treat him.