A police dog cleared two years ago of racial profiling has been accused of biting a black teenager during a demonstration at a middle school.
A McKees Rocks councilwoman and the girl’s parents said a K-9 officer had to pry the dog’s jaws apart to free 14-year-old Angela Kirkland on Thursday. It was the second time in 19 months the dog has been accused of attacking a black child.
In 2002, town officials ordered a two-month investigation to determine if Dolpho, a German shepherd, was singling out blacks while on patrol.
In the previous incident, Dolpho escaped from a police vehicle when a quick-release button on the belt of K-9 officer Shawn Barger was depressed as he wrestled with a drug suspect. The dog bolted from the K-9 wagon when the door opened and bit a 9-year-old boy who was playing nearby.
Barger was also handling the dog Thursday at Sto-Rox Middle School.
Police would not comment on the most recent allegations.
Councilwoman Wanda Jones Dixon once again asked that Dolpho be retired. She wants the dog euthanized or locked away, though she said race is not the issue this time.
“I’m an animal lover and I feel very bad for the dog,” Dixon said. “But you can’t keep a dog out there that’s attacking children. For me, color doesn’t matter. He hurt a child.”
The girl’s parents, however, say Dolpho only attacks black people.
“I blame the training,” said Bobby Kirkland. “I still say that that dog ... is a racist dog.”
The dog allowed a white girl to pet it, but attacked when his daughter got close, Kirkland said.
Kirkland said the dog tore his daughter’s pants and shirt. The dog’s teeth did not break the skin, but did leave marks, Kirkland said.
Mark Livingston, the father of the boy attacked two years ago, said he wasn’t surprised about the alleged attack.
“That police dog has struck again,” he said.
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