Animal Control Officer Guidelines

Destruction of Animals

• An officer may destroy an animal if they or someone else is in immediate danger of bodily harm.
• An officer may destroy an animal with the owner's request and supervisory approval if it is injured beyond medical treatment, sick, or rabid.
• When destroying a suspected rabid animal, the officer should avoid shooting it in the head to preserve the brain for rabies testing.
• The Animal Care Services Department is notified immediately to pick up the carcass of a suspected rabid animal.

Handling Injured Animals

• If an animal is not destroyed but wounded, the Animal Care Services Department is called to assist.
• The officer must make a reasonable attempt to notify the animal's owner.

Reporting Destroyed Animals

• An officer who destroys an animal must notify the Communications Unit and their supervisor immediately.
• The officer submits a copy of the incident report to their Division Commander, along with a SAPD Form 200-IA1.

Miscellaneous Offenses and Complaint Calls

• This procedure establishes guidelines for handling various offenses and complaints that make up a large percentage of an officer's workload.
• The procedure also outlines the process for reporting criminal offenses.

Handling Noisy Animals

• Noisy animals are handled under Section 08 of the procedure.
• Deceased animals are removed from public property by the Public Works Department.
• Property owners are responsible for removing dead animals from their property.

Animal Care Services Department

• The department has the authority to impound animals that are roaming freely, exhibiting symptoms of rabies, or have been abandoned by their owner.
• The department can also impound animals that are described in a warrant for seizure, declared dangerous, or being treated cruelly.

Cruelty to Animals

• Reports of cruelty to animals require uniformed officers to initially investigate the alleged offenses.
• In substantiated cases, the officer requests an Animal Cruelty Specialist to respond to the scene and take over the investigation.

Noise Nuisance

• A "Noise Nuisance" is defined as any loud, irritating, vexing, or disturbing sound that causes injury, discomfort, or distress of a person of reasonable nervous sensibilities.
• A "Party, Gathering, or Event" is defined as a group of five or more persons who have assembled or are assembling in a manner that creates a substantial disturbance of the quiet enjoyment of private or public property.