On the Job 

The Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission (OPOTC) voted May 12 to give its executive director the ability to revoke the certification of any dysfunctional law enforcement K-9 unit.

The OPOTC passed a motion to grant that authority after Justin Hykes, the commission’s director of administration, reported that complaints have come in about some K-9s that have bitten other officers during training exercises.

“While reviewing what authority we have over those K-9s, we found that we don’t actually have any authority over those K-9 units once they are certified,” he said.

K-9 units are certified annually by the executive director.

The rule change must be filed with the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR), where it will undergo a hearing within 40 days to make sure the amendment is valid. If JCARR signs off on the change, it will go into effect on Jan. 1.

Under the amendment, the executive director would be the one to officially revoke a certification, but the K-9 unit would be able to appeal the ruling to the OPOTC.

A K-9 unit is made up of an officer and dog together, Hykes said. “If the issue is the handler, the unit can be decertified and the handler replaced. If it’s an issue with the dog, the handler could go back through with a new dog and be recertified as a new unit.”