| Chapter 115 |
| 2019 -- H 6043 Enacted 07/08/2019 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO ANIMALS AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY -- CRUELTY TO PUBLIC SAFETY DOGS AND HORSES |
| Introduced By: Representatives Lima, Serpa, Slater, Diaz, and Mendez |
| Date Introduced: May 01, 2019 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Section 4-1-30 of the General Laws in Chapter 4-1 entitled "Cruelty to |
| Animals" is hereby repealed. |
| 4-1-30. Cruelty to police animals. |
| Any person who willfully tortures, torments, beats, kicks, strikes, mutilates, injures, |
| disables, or otherwise mistreats any dog or horse owned by a police department of this state or |
| any of its political subdivisions or who willfully by any action interferes with the lawful |
| performance of a police dog or horse shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred |
| dollars ($100) and not more than five hundred dollars ($500), or by imprisonment for not more |
| than one year, or both. |
| SECTION 2. Chapter 4-1 of the General Laws entitled "Cruelty to Animals" is hereby |
| amended by adding thereto the following section: |
| 4-1-30.1. Cruelty to public safety - Dogs and horses. |
| (a) As used in this section: |
| (1) "Police canine" means any canine, and "police horse" means any horse, that is owned |
| or in the service of a law enforcement agency, for the principal purpose of aiding in the detection |
| of criminal activity, enforcement of laws, maintaining public order, or apprehension of offenders; |
| (2) "Fire canine" means any canine that is owned, or in the service of a fire department, a |
| special fire district, or the state fire marshal for the principal purpose of aiding in the detection of |
| flammable materials or the investigation of fires; and |
| (3) "SAR canine" means any search and rescue canine that is owned, or in the service of a |
| fire department, a law enforcement agency, a special fire district, or the state fire marshal, for the |
| principal purpose of aiding in the detection of missing persons, including, but not limited to, |
| persons who are lost,; who are trapped under debris as the result of a natural, manmade, or |
| technological disaster; or who are drowning victims. |
| (b) Penalties: |
| (1) Any person who intentionally and knowingly, without lawful cause or justification, |
| causes great bodily harm, permanent disability, or death to, or uses a deadly weapon upon, a |
| police canine, fire canine, SAR canine, or police horse commits a felony, shall be imprisoned not |
| exceeding five (5) years or be fined not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), and shall, in the |
| case of any animal of another, be liable to the owner of this animal for triple damages, to be |
| recovered by civil action. In addition, any person convicted under this section shall be required to |
| serve fifty (50) hours of community restitution. That community restitution penalty shall not be |
| suspended or deferred and is mandatory. |
| (2) Any person who actually and intentionally maliciously touches, strikes, or causes |
| bodily harm to a police canine, fire canine, SAR canine, or police horse commits a misdemeanor, |
| and shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or imprisonment |
| of not more than one year, or both. |
| (3) Any person who intentionally or knowingly maliciously harasses, teases, interferes |
| with, or attempts to interfere with a police canine, fire canine, SAR canine, or police horse while |
| the animal is in the performance of its duties commits a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by a |
| fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) and not more than five hundred dollars ($500), or |
| imprisonment of not more than one year, or both. |
| (c) Except as provided in subsection (b)(1) of this section, any person convicted under |
| this section shall make full restitution for injuries sustained by the police canine, fire canine, SAR |
| canine, or police horse and shall pay the replacement cost of any dog or horse, if that animal can |
| no longer perform its public safety duties. Any canine that is owned by or employed by a law |
| enforcement agency shall be exempt from restitution requirements of this subsection. |
| SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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| LC002232 |
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