
ST. LOUIS (First Alert 4) — Missouri joins the nationally growing trend of raising the punishment for harming or killing police animals with the passage of Max’s Law.
Gov. Mike Parson is acting on the remaining bills this week, in what are likely his last laws to enact as governor. Tuesday he signed a bill into law that contains Max’s Law, which increases the punishment for harming a police K-9 in the line of duty.
The law is named after St. Joseph Officer Lucas Winder’s former K-9 companion. Max was killed in the line of duty while he and Winder were responding to a standoff with a subject who barricaded themselves inside in 2021. Winder said the subject came out of the house and attempted to ambush the officers, but Max stepped in to stop them.
“Max mitigated a situation that could have been much worse,” Winder said. “He sacrificed his life in order for us to continue to be here, and I’m forever thankful that he was there that day.”
Under current Missouri law, police dogs were considered property. Harming or killing a police dog in the line of duty was only charged as property damage, making it a misdemeanor punishable by up to 15 days in jail and a fine of $700. Max’s Law will up that charge to a felony punishable by up to seven years in federal prison and a fine of $10,000.
“Missouri has one of the most lax laws when it comes to killing a law enforcement canine is treated as mere property damage, and in fact, it’s a more serious crime to break the window of a police car than it is to kill a law enforcement canine,” said Clay County Republican State Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, who sponsored Max’s Law.
Winder said he will continue to honor Max’s legacy by fundraising for the national fallen police canine fund by organizing 5-K runs.
“We found a lot of people where they could have potentially harmed us. But thankfully, you know, he was there to say, ‘Hey, bad guys over here, we tracked him.’ It just makes it safer for law enforcement as a total,” Winder said.
The Missouri Black Caucus raised concerns about the law. Kansas City Democratic State Rep. Mark Sharp said police animals could be used to harass marginalized communities.
“There were many of us in the minority party that were not real big fans of that provision,” Sharp said.
Max’s Law is only one of several notable crime reform laws signed by the governor this week. Parson signed other new laws including several measures Missourians advocated for many years to implement, including Blair’s Law and Valentine’s Law. Respectively, those new laws will make celebratory gunfire illegal and make it a felony to lead police on a pursuit by car.
All the laws signed Tuesday will go into effect August 28.
Parson is signing more bills later this week, including bills that would expand veterans’ mental health resources, expand the power of the state auditor, and open the door for some childcare providers to serve children with complex medical conditions.
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