Contributed photo by Bradley County Sheriff’s Office / Bradley County Sheriff’s Office deputy Eduardo Choate and his K-9 partner Joker are shown in a 2020 photo posted on the department’s social media page.NASHVILLE – “Joker’s Law,” a Tennessee bill seeking to make the killing or injuring of a police dog or other official service animal punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment, was postponed Wednesday at its first House hearing after a panel raised concerns the Senate version has not yet been introduced.
Rep. Mark Hall, R-Cleveland, sponsor of House Bill 1646, was several minutes into his presentation in the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee meeting on the bill when he was interrupted by the chair. The bill was brought in the wake of last year’s shooting of Joker, a Bradley County Sheriff’s Office K-9, shot multiple times in September while trying to nab a group of juvenile suspects in the alleged theft of a Jeep from a car lot.
“Currently, the law in the great state of Tennessee regarding assaults on law enforcement K-9s resulting in injury or even death are nothing more than a than a destruction of property charge,” Hall said. “House Bill 1646 changes all that. It takes the shackles off the DA, and it gives him the authority to charge the suspect with a Class B felony.”
Hall described to subcommittee members how Joker was “ambushed” and shot multiple times. The dog required blood transfusions, removal of a portion of his jaw, feeding tubes “and almost resulted in his death,” he said.
After recovering from his wounds, Joker was back on the job in December. On his first day back, he apprehended three burglary suspects.