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Taguba Report Annex 89: Testimony of Master-at-Arms William J. Kimbro, U.S. Navy Dog Handler

Feb. 11, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 295
Testimony of Petty Officer & Master-at-Arms William J. Kimbro, U.S. Navy Dog Handler. MA1 Kimbro described how he was assigned to Iraq and came to be at Abu Ghraib prison. He said "As far as I knew we were to support the prison with canine support. I had never worked in a prison environment before. We did a one-day training period on scout and search for escape prisoners back at my unit. We had a total of five dogs here. There were three navy dogs and two army dogs". He went on to describe the lack of instruction and mission focus present at the prison. He said “We never received any instruction on the use of force in the compound. We raised question on what we could and could not do in this environment, but we never received a straight answers. I briefed my team to use common sense, and use your escalation of use of force as the situation dictates. Based on the escalation of use of force, a dog cannot be employed on a prisoner if that prisoner is not posing a threat”. He then described, in detail, an incident on November 24, 2003 when his dog broke free during a cell interrogation. He documented this incident immediately thereafter. The panel then concluded their interview.
AUTHORING AGENCIES:
METHODS MENTIONED:
INCIDENTS OF ABUSE MENTIONED:
  • 2003-11-24, Abu Ghraib (Baghdad Correctional Facility (BCCF)), Iraq
    • A US Navy dog handler assigned to Abu Ghraib prison for bomb detection described an incident where while conducting cell searches for explosives his dog was distracted by events in a cell, broke free and approached a detainee and the military interrogation staff inside the cell. He does not believe his dog bit anyone, but it was sufficient for him that his dog broke free and lunged at the detainee and the others in the cell. He documented this incident.