In a story first broken by WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh, Oakland Raiders linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong reportedly taunted an on-duty police canine before last Sunday’s game against the Steelers. According to the Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Sheriff’s Office, Armstrong was on his way from the visitors’ locker room to the playing field for pre-game warm-ups when the incident occurred. Upon encountering the dog, Armstrong allegedly lifted his shirt, pounded his chest, barked, and instructed the sheriff’s deputy who was holding the canine to “send the dog.” If charged, Armstrong is looking at a third-degree felony. Read the ESPN story here.
Pennsylvania isn’t the only state that’s enacted statutory protections for police animals. Indiana Code 35-46-3-11(a) provides, “A person who knowingly or intentionally: (1) strikes, torments, injures, or otherwise mistreats a law enforcement animal; or (2) interferes with the actions of a law enforcement animal while the animal is engaged in assisting a law enforcement officer in the performance of the officer’s duties commits a Class A misdemeanor.” If you actually hurt the animal or render it unconscious, the offense gets bumped up to a Level 6 felony.
The interesting thing is, this standard appears to insulate canine (and equine) officers more than their human counterparts. In Indiana, political speech is recognized as a core constitutional value. Our Supreme Court acknowledged in Price v. State that when a person’s “protest is occasioned by the conduct of government actors and regards a matter of public concern,” her words are protected as political speech, even if the words are indelicate and aimed at law enforcement officers (government actors). Thus, while it’s rarely a good idea to get sassy with the police, your sassiness can’t be illegal if you can show that it was politically-motivated.
As UCLA professor Eugene Volokh explains, “The First Amendment protects communications to humans . . . and not communications to animals.” In Indiana, an expression of political protest yelled at police (“You guys are all racists; f___ the police.” In re: U.M. v. State) has been recognized as protected speech under Article 1, Section 9 of the Indiana Constitution. That same expression, yelled at a police dog, could be more problematic, especially if the dog becomes visibly agitated.
Bottom line: It is generally a very bad idea to torment police officers, and it might be an even worse idea to torment their service animals. Play nice. Whatever you do, don’t lift your shirt and thump your chest.
