The California Assembly’s Public Safety Committee recently approved Assembly Bill 742, which aims to ban the use of police dogs for arrests, apprehensions, or crowd control, due to concerns of racial bias and violence.  

If passed and signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, the bill would make California the first state to impose such a restriction on police dogs.

According to reports, police dog bites resulted in hospital visits 67.5% of the time, while other use of force, such as batons and tasers, resulted in hospital visits 22% of the time or less. 

The legislation would still allow for the use of police dogs for search and rescue, explosives detection, and narcotics searches. 

The American Civil Liberties Union co-sponsored the bill with its representative stating, “Police canines have been a mainstay in this country’s dehumanizing, cruel, and violent abuse of Black Americans and people of color for centuries.”

AB 742 now heads to the Assembly Appropriations Committee before consideration on the Assembly floor.