A review of the Palo Alto Police Department's canine program released Thursday found that 13 people were bitten by police dogs during the past three years -- nine of them members of minority groups.
Police Capt. Brad Zook, who oversees the canine program, said the department undertook the review after a police dog from neighboring Mountain View attacked a 25-year-old African-American last fall, sparking accusations of racial profiling and excessive use of force.
Rick Callender, president of the San Jose/Silicon Valley chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said the fact that people of racial minority are being disproportionately bitten by Palo Alto police dogs could signal a deeply disturbing problem. Callender said he will ask for investigations from both the city council and the FBI.
African-Americans make up only 2 percent of the city's population but represent 38 percent of the people bitten by police dogs. According to 2000 census figures, Palo Alto is 76 percent white, but only four of the 13 people bitten were white. The others were five African-Americans, three Latinos and one Pacific Islander.
Zook said the numbers did not show that minorities were being targeted by police for special treatment. He noted that in the majority of Palo Alto's incidents, officers were responding to a burglary or a fight that was already in process.
Department policy requires officers to give a verbal warning before they release a dog.
Starting this month, thanks to an upgrade to the department's dispatch software, Palo Alto police will be able to track all the activities of the canine teams.
Zook said all victims of dog bites are taken to Stanford University Hospital for evaluation and treatment, before they are booked into jail.
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