Decorah council rejects officer’s request to step down as K‑9 handler after lengthy debate

The Decorah City Council voted on a motion to allow Officer Nick Yaniff to resign from his K‑9 handler assignment and bid for a standard patrol shift; the motion failed by roll call, 3–4.

Officer Yaniff has served as the department’s K‑9 handler for nearly four years. Union representative Rusty McKeown told the council that the officer had “fulfilled his contractual and policy obligations” under the department’s K‑9 policy, which includes a stated minimum three‑year commitment, and asked that the officer be allowed to step down so he could exercise seniority to bid a regular patrol schedule. McKeown framed the grievance as a contract enforcement issue under Article 9, Section 7 of the collective bargaining agreement rather than a refusal to perform work.

City staff and the police chief opposed an immediate resignation on operational…