"Canine Liability 360"

"Being consistent, making good decisions and keeping proper documentation will limit your liability and make you a better K9 handler and K9 supervisor."

This class is the most comprehensive one-day liability seminar now being offered! It is recommended for and serves as an essential phase for the K9 handler and K9 supervisor to assist in preparing for their potential "legal defense" and prevailing in the event of a lawsuit by examining TAC Team's "360 Degrees of Responsibility" involving a single purpose patrol dog or cross-trained police service dog assigned to patrol and/or a tactical team.  The instructor is Sergeant Bill Lewis II (Retired) with over 34 years of law enforcement and instructor experience related to patrol operations, K9, SWAT and supervision.  He has published various articles relating to police dogs and K9 programs and has been working with K9 teams since 1980 as a decoy, handler, supervisor, instructor, trial judge, certifying official and expert witness.

Handlers, K9 supervisors, K9 administrators, trainers and SWAT team leaders (who deploy with K9 teams) from the same agency are encouraged to attend together so that everyone involved with their respective police dog program can learn information and hear recommendations simultaneously so everyone leaves with a better understanding of each other's duties and responsibilities.  This class has been taught across the country to newly-appointed and experienced K9 handlers, K9 supervisors, K9 administrators, patrol supervisors, patrol watch commanders, SAR handlers, an Assistant Police Chief, SWAT supervisors, SWAT team leaders, prospective handlers, decoys, and trainers as well as a City Attorney, a County Attorney, and a Risk Manager.

"The best time to prepare for a lawsuit and prevail is before the bite - good or bad - occurs."

Participants will learn from the firsthand experiences of the instructor - successes and mistakes - as well as experiences of other handlers and supervisors involved with other K9 programs as some cases and incidents not found in "case law updates" are reviewed and lessons learned shared.  The class will include a review prior to the class of actual K9 deployment narratives with related discussion about the reports during the class as well as a report writing exercise at the class as part of the report writing section.

Information shared in this class will assist in K9 program management and may also assist to maintain or justify the retention of your K9 program during budget "cutback" considerations in these tough economic times.

Are you a new K9 supervisor?  Have you recently attended a liability and supervision course regarding K9 operations and supervision?  Do you have any previous "K9" experience?  One of these 360 courses had over 50% of supervisors and commanders in attendance with "zero" experience with police dogs and K9 operations...and that's commendable because they were attending this class to better learn about their K9-related duties and responsibilities.

Course topics include:

"Control and Case Law"

Policy & Operational Manual

"Reasons We Get in Trouble"

Use of Force

Selection and Retention

Training & Documentation

Report Writing

Deployments and Debriefs

Dealing with Unintentional Bites

K9 Field Training Program

Evidence Collection & Retention

Off-Duty Care & Compensation

Supervision and Discipline

Attendee comments from course evaluations;

"This course exceeded my expectations due to the amount of information.  This course covered all the needed information, not only for the new supervisor, but ones that have been around awhile."

"I have been to two separate canine liability classes and this class by far was the best and most informative."

"Bill [Lewis] was a great speaker, highly knowledgeable on K9 programs and how to avoid a disastrous outcome after a deployment."

"This was an invaluable course that contained tons or relevant, realistic information.  Things taught and learned are applicable to all police organizations.  Bill Lewis does an outstanding job relating his experience and the realities of the K9 world.  He talks about mistakes and solutions to issues that arise."

"By the way, we are doing a K9 handler oral board today.  I'm glad I went to your class.  It has already been very helpful." (sent via e-mail two days after a class)

"Bill [Lewis] has a ton of knowledge and readily shared it with the entire class."

"I am a K9 coordinator for our K9 unit but was never a handler myself.  This class gave me the basis for understanding some critical areas of liability in my own department."

"There was no stone left uncovered - everything was covered from forms to policies to case laws to reference materials."

"This class is a MUST for lieutenants and captains regardless of their K9 affiliation.  This way, when a K9 supervisor makes a request, we won't run into red tape and money issues."

"Excellent instructor!  I would e-mail him in a heartbeat if I had an issue or questions."

"Opened my eyes to problems with my department's K9 unit."

"Your course exceeded my expectations and helped me realize just how much I did not know!"

"I had no experience as a [K9] supervisor.  I feel more comfortable now having this knowledge."

"As a patrol sergeant, this class covered the 360 degrees of K9 work for me."

"Almost everything taught is something that can be taken back to our unit that will better prepare and protect our handlers and other officers who work with the K9 unit."

"As we all know, law and liabilities are boring but very necessary topics.  This class was NOT boring!"

"I thought this class would be like others I have attended.  I was wrong and received very useful information."

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Scheduled classes:

May 21, 2012 - Corona, California. Hosted by Corona Police Department. REGISTRATION CLOSED.

July 18, 2012 - Carlsbad, California. Hosted by Carlsbad Police Department. Tuition is $95.00.  Class limit is 40 on a first-come basis. To make a reservation or receive more information, contact Bill Lewis II at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

July 23, 2012 - Bend, Oregon. Hosted by Bend Police Department. Tuition is $95.00.  To make a reservation or receive more information, contact Bill Lewis II at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

August 14, 2012 - Santa Rosa, California. Hosted by Sonoma County Sheriff's Office. Tuition is $95.00.  Class limit is 36 on a first-come basis. To make a reservation or receive more information, contact Bill Lewis II at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

September 21, 2012 - Vancouver, Washington. Hosted by Vancouver Police Department.  Class limit is 48 on a first-come basis. Tuition is $95.00.  To make a reservation or receive more information, contact Bill Lewis II at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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All classes restricted to law enforcement personnel on a first-come basis.  Tuition for classes can be paid securely online at http://www.tacteamstore.com

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Previous "360" classes;  Breckenridge, Colorado (May 9, 2012), Whittier, California (Feb 23, 2012), Paso Robles, California (Oct 17, 2011), Flagstaff, Arizona (Aug 29, 2011), Henderson, Nevada (Aug 24, 2011), Modesto, California (Aug 15, 2011), Norwalk, Connecticut (Apr 5, 2011), Corona, California (Feb 1, 2011), Chicago, Illinois (Oct 28, 2010), South Euclid, Ohio (Oct 26, 2010), Cape Coral, Florida (Oct 12, 2010), Buena Park, California (May 19, 2010), West Covina, California (May 18, 2010) and Oxnard, California (Mar 28, 2007).

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This class is offered with free tuition allocated for a host agency, organization, association or K9 Unit, based on the number of paid registrations.  Contact Bill Lewis II at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for hosting requirements or more information.