Animal rights group PETA said San Diego police never should have sent a police dog into a North Park altercation in which a suspect wielding a fiery torch burned Ryder, a veteran K-9.
PETA called on the San Diego Police Department to immediately retire Ryder so he can recover and live out the rest of his life outside of law enforcement. But Associate Director Colin Henstock is also calling on SDPD and other agencies to retire the practice of police dogs in general.
“K-9s are routinely sent into situations deemed too dangerous for human officers,” Henstock said.
Ryder was injured in a deadly standoff Wednesday morning. Police went to North Park after reports of a vandal smashing car windows with a metal rod. Officers chased the suspect, who entered the Adult Emporium Business by Lazy Dog Cafe while wielding a torch and flammable liquid, according to police. An employee fled.
Police first fired less-lethal warning shots into the store, then sent Ryder in to chase the suspect out. Police allege the suspect lit Ryder on fire, causing injuries to his neck and face. Then, three officers patted down the flames on Ryder with their hands, causing them injuries.
Meanwhile, the suspect approached officers and set himself on fire. At that point, police shot him. He died at the hospital later that day.
Ryder’s handler rushed him to the emergency vet before going to the hospital for his own injuries, according to SDPD Public Information Officer Saum Poorsaleh.
Ryder walked and moved on his own a few hours later. Police Chief Scott Wahl greeted the animal upon his discharge from the veterinary hospital.
“Our officers are out here protecting people, stepping into harm’s way every single day,” Wahl told ABC10. “It’s the absolute least I can do to make sure they’re okay in the hospital, and that goes for our K-9s as well.”
Regardless of the respect paid Ryder and other K-9s, PETA does not see law enforcement as a proper place for dogs.
“This poor dog being set on fire by an armed suspect is another grim reminder of the risks that K-9s endure, which they have no say in and don’t sign up for,” Henstock said. “Police officers choose a dangerous profession, dogs don’t.”
In response to K-9 injuries and deaths in the field, PETA urged departments to turn to advanced technologies like tactical robots, drones or portable mass spectrometers as an alternative. PETA said these technologies can help police and protect the community while keeping dogs safe.
Meanwhile, PETA is not the only organization that has taken a stand against police K-9s. According to civil rights groups like the ACLU, dogs trained to attack have bitten hundreds of suspects tied to minor or nonviolent crimes. Police dogs have even seriously injured innocent bystanders.
In 2017, a San Diego police dog refused to stop biting a handcuffed suspect despite a handler trying to pull it off. Last year, the city paid $875,000 in a settlement with an unarmed suspect brought down by a K-9 while his hands were in the air.
The Commission on Police Practices debated the use of K-9s in 2024, but SDPD defended them as a top form of de-escalation, despite the department spending hundreds of thousands in settlements over police dog bites.
