BILL REQ. #:  H-3596.1 

Read first time 01/14/2004.   Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

     AN ACT Relating to police horses; and amending RCW 4.24.410.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 4.24.410 and 1993 c 180 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) As used in this section:
     (a) "Police dog" means a dog used by a law enforcement agency specially trained for law enforcement work and under the control of a dog handler.
     (b) "Accelerant detection dog" means a dog used exclusively for accelerant detection by the state fire marshal or a fire department and under the control of the state fire marshal or his or her designee or a fire department handler.
     (c) "Dog handler" means a law enforcement officer who has successfully completed training as prescribed by the Washington state criminal justice training commission in police dog handling, or in the case of an accelerant detection dog, the state fire marshal's designee or an employee of the fire department authorized by the fire chief to be the dog's handler.
     (d) "Horse handler" means a law enforcement officer who has successfully completed training as prescribed by the Washington state criminal justice training commission in police horse handling.
     (e) "Police horse" means a horse used by a law enforcement agency specially trained for law enforcement work and under the control of a horse handler.
     (2) Any dog handler who uses a police dog and any horse handler who uses a police horse in the line of duty in good faith is immune from civil action for damages arising out of ((such)) the use of the police dog ((or)), accelerant detection dog, or police horse.