Norfolk Police K-9 policy in final stages of revision

Norfolk, Va. – The Norfolk Police Department’s K-9 policy is in the final stages of revision, Chief Michael Goldsmith said Wednesday.

The decision to revise the policy came back in January when a Norfolk State University student was attacked by a police dog at an off-campus party. Her story and pictures of her injuries went viral on social media.

Days after the attack is when the police chief took responsibility, saying the department’s K-9 policy wasn’t clear enough.

“It’s up to me as a police chief to make sure our policies are tight, but the guidance was not deep enough to be able to give the officers the tools they need to be able to make a good decision in the use of the dog,”  Goldsmith said.

Since then the Chief says he’s been reviewing the policy. The revised policy will be made available to the media once it is complete.

• Click here to read the existing K-9 policy

Stay tuned to NewsChannel 3 for updates on this story.

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