Washington statute
RCW 9A.76.200 — Harming a police dog, accelerant detection dog, or police horse—Penalty
Current through 2026 Regular Session
Part of Chapter 9A.76: Obstructing Governmental Operation, Revised Code of Washington.
Criminal charges under this statute
Full text of RCW 9A.76.200
Statutory text current through the 2026 Regular Session. This publication reproduces the official text of the Revised Code of Washington from the Code Reviser's published files; it is not the official statutes of the State of Washington.
(1) A person is guilty of harming a police dog, accelerant detection dog, or police horse, if he or she maliciously injures, disables, shoots, or kills by any means any dog or horse that the person knows or has reason to know to be a police dog or accelerant detection dog, as defined in RCW 4.24.410, or police horse, as defined in subsection (2) of this section, whether or not the dog or horse is actually engaged in police or accelerant detection work at the time of the injury.
(2) "Police horse" means any horse used or kept for use by a law enforcement officer in discharging any legal duty or power of his or her office.
(3) Harming a police dog, accelerant detection dog, or police horse is a class C felony.
(4)(a) In addition to the criminal penalty provided in this section for harming a police dog:
(i) The court may impose a civil penalty of up to five thousand dollars for harming a police dog.
(ii) The court shall impose a civil penalty of at least five thousand dollars and may increase the penalty up to a maximum of ten thousand dollars for killing a police dog.
(b) Moneys collected must be distributed to the jurisdiction that owns the police dog.
Official sources
Legal terms used in this section
Questions this section answers
Is harming a police dog, accelerant detection dog, or police horse a felony or a misdemeanor in Washington?
Harming a police dog, accelerant detection dog, or police horse is a Class C Felony in Washington under RCW 9A.76.200.
Which Washington statute covers harming a police dog, accelerant detection dog, or police horse?
Harming a police dog, accelerant detection dog, or police horse is governed by RCW 9A.76.200 (Harming a police dog, accelerant detection dog, or police horse—Penalty).
This reference is informational and is not legal advice.