Chuffy:OK, I haven't read all the relevant articles (I will in a minute) but I wonder if my understanding clears things up.
A police dog can be used for both disciplines - sniffing and protection. I thought it was standard practise, but I could be wrong - or perhaps it is different here. I thought thats why GSDs were so often used as police dogs - because they are such great "all rounders" when it comes to working. Often (here anyway) sniffer dogs are labs or springers.
Now, when the toy is the reward.... (again, what I know may be UK specific) initially, the toy has drugs INSIDE it. So, sniffing out the drugs, means finding the toy. That's how a lot (I hesitate to say "all") dogs are trained here. So obviously, they can't keep the toy forever and do have to surrender it to the handler. I am reasonably sure taht this is only the initial phase of training toughm and after that the dog finds the drugs and then is given the toy AFTER the fact - but the handler will still make it appear to the dog) as if the toy has come from THAT "hiding place". Am I making sense? In a "real life" situation, the dog will have to surrender the to within a reasonable time frame and resume his duties, so I would say it is reasonable to train them to surrender the toy.
GSDs are used most often because they are biddable, obedience, and level headed in comparison with the insanely drivey Malinois. The dog in question here is a Malinois, not a GSD. Technically, the Malinois is the "better" dog for protection and taking down a suspect. They are typically faster, more aggressive, very high strung, insane drives....but a lot of times people end up with dogs they absolutely cannot control. They have no "off" switch and often have to be crated or kenneled any time they are not "working". Malinois were becoming the favorite for police and military, but I understand many are going back to GSDs because they have a more reliable on/off switch and are easier to control because the are more biddable to the handler. Also, it is rare that the dog actually does have to attack. In most cases, the visual deterrence is enough, and to a lot of people, a thick boned black sable DDR German Shepherd simply looks more menacing than the smaller, lighter (weight and color) Malinois. Some of these Malinois being bred and trained for high levels of sport and work are so intense and high strung I really feel for them. They CAN be a liability. I'm not trying to bash the breed or generalize, they are my favorite breed, but this is the reality of a lot of these types of dogs (some GSDs too).
Still, there is no reason to HANG and KICK a dog. Sometimes if the dog is being very aggressive, they will use a technique where they simply lift the dog's head high enough so the front feet are off the ground. Not condoning it, just saying it's used. So there is NEVER a reason to hang or helicopter the dog. If the dog is THAT aggressive and drivey, then they need to rethink the dogs they are using and/or how they are training. If you cannot control your OWN dog, then that's YOUR problem.
What kills me is that assaulting a police dog is considered the same as assaulting a policeman. Remember when someone was jeering at a police dog and got arrested? Well, this officer can assault his OWN dog and still think he deserves his job back?!?! He assaulted a fellow officer.
Breaking dogs like this will turn them into a reactive mess. He's going to be even more difficult to control b/c he has no reason to respect or trust his handler, plus it appears they are not properly training him for his outs, if they have to BEAT him just to get him to release a toy.