Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly vetoes mandatory minimum sentences for injuring police dogs

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed a bill that would have increased the penalty for injuring police dogs and horses from a maximum of one year to more than four years.

The bill comes after a Wichita man killed a Sedgewick Sheriff’s Office service dog that pursued him into a storm drain. That dog’s handler and police organizations across the state supported the bill, saying the one year of jail time and a maximum fine of $5,000 were too low.

In her veto message, Kelly gave three reasons why she didn’t support the bill.

• It imposes mandatory minimums rather than letting judges decide.
• It’s out of line with sentencing of more severe crimes.
• A portion of the bill required offenders go through an anger management course during probation isn’t used in other crimes.

Kelly did, however, praise the bill’s principles.

“The death of any law enforcement animal is a tragedy. There is no question we should hold those responsible accountable for their actions,” she said. “While the intention of this bill is commendable, this legislation needs further evaluation and study.”

House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, called the veto an act of political pettiness and a “slap in the face of all law enforcement.”

“The fact that the current penalties for harming a police animal are lower than other animal cruelty laws is a disgrace to both them and their caretaker officers,” Hawkins said.

More: Here’s why Kansas could increase punishment against people who harm police dogs

In Kansas, if someone maliciously kills, injures, maims, tortures or poisons an animal, they are subject to about the same penalties as they are if they kill a police animal — a month to a year in prison and a $500 to $5,000 fine. Though Kelly said psychological evaluations and anger management programs aren’t used in other heinous crimes, they are for malicious animal cruelty, which requires an evaluation to assist the court in determining the conditions of probation.

Such lower forms of animal cruelty as abandoning or inadequately caring for an animal require two convictions before they get a mandatory fine up to $2,500 and imprisonment between five days and a year.

Hawkins committed to attempting a veto override. In the House, the bill received 115 votes in favor and only six against. It will have more trouble in the Senate, where it passed two votes shy of overturning a veto.