A Seattle Police K9 officer with a long history of misusing his dogs is again under investigation for a suspicious bite. While on a warrant task force, Anthony Ducre ordered his dog Bucky to bite the arrestee, who was already on the ground and unarmed, his body camera shows.
Though the investigation is ongoing and the Office of Police Accountability has yet to issue findings, DivestSPD obtained Ducre’s body camera footage and identified at least two possible policy violations.
In the video, Ducre releases K9 Bucky off-leash and commands the dog to “take him,” but the man escapes and leads them on a wild chase through the apartment parking lot, passing into an open apartment.
Though the portion taken inside the apartment is redacted, the video shows Ducre coming out the other side and bumping into the man, with Bucky running behind him. Ducre shoulder-checks the suspect, knocking him down, and another officer comes up to assist. Holding the man down, Ducre again orders the dog to bite.
The SPD policy manual states that K9 handlers can only use their dogs against people suspected of felony crimes or domestic violence who pose an imminent threat or armed suspects fleeing.
In this case, the suspect was unarmed, and though he had just been trying to escape, he was on the ground, subdued and surrounded when Ducre gave the “take him” command.
Canine policy instructs officers to use alternatives when possible, and alternatives existed. At least a half dozen officers from different jurisdictions were nearby, waiting to help. They ultimately took him into custody without incident. Ducre’s use of the dog was neither necessary, reasonable nor proportional.
Ducre’s off-leash deployment was also problematic, given his history. To avoid unintentional bites, SPD’s canine policy limits the use of dogs off leads. While chasing the suspect through the parking lot, Ducre only had intermittent direct control over the dog.
He’s had catastrophic failures of control in the past. Ducre’s last dog bit a woman in a parking lot unprovoked. The city settled the resulting lawsuit for $225,000. The same dog, K9 Jedi, escaped Ducre’s SUV and attacked a handcuffed man in 2018. Most recently, while off-leash, Bucky ran toward the wrong person when given the “take him” command.
Since joining the Canine unit in 2018, Ducre has been investigated for improper use of force 11 times. He’s now on his third dog. K9 Bucky was “medically retired” in 2023.
Ducre sent K9 Jedi to his death in 2022, ordering the dog to bite a nearly naked schizophrenic man armed with a knife. Another officer shot and killed him. Though Ducre unnecessarily escalated the incident, he was never investigated for it.
In 2023, Ducre made $126,610 and another $32,515 in overtime. Ducre has been with SPD since 2008 and has been investigated 17 times by OPA.
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