Cop Shoots Service Dog, Owner Gets Citation at boy's birthday party. "Horrifying Video"

reply to post by MrLimpet


Part of working for an emergency service is having the ability to do CRITICAL THINKING. This is the ability to go "OK, I have been taught to put down possible threats, but this dog is wagging his tail and clearly not a threat, I will just walk by and talk to the owner"

Granted, perhaps he shouldn't have had his dogs running around unsupervised, but this no way warrants a death sentence. We need to bring back police with a conscience, rather than the trigger happy cops who unload their guns whenever they know they can get away with it.

Bring back critical thinking into the world, we do things "By the book" far too often, they were only ever meant to be guidelines.

reply to post by nixie_nox

I know that ATS loves to hate a cop no matter the circumstances, but I am angry at the owner for this one. One more animal dead because of complete morons. Pretty typical.

Also for those saying the cop should of gotten into the car and left the dogs, here is another scenario: cop gets into the car and leaves the dogs. A little girl tries to ride her bike down the street, gets attacked by loose labs and has to go to the ER.

Actually, at the beginning of the video the cop goes off camera and you can hear the dog yelp, and he says "git". I can only presume that was his first kick. As those dogs don't yelp unless physically hit usually. So then they start circling him, barking, which is pretty normal if a stranger comes on the property and assaults the dog.

The cop could have stayed in the car and called animal control if he wasn't able to deal with canines. Isn't this what animal control is for?

In any case, the cop gets all emotionally out of whack soon as he shoots him. He's swearing and yelling at the owner, and talking about how he was bitten by a dog in the past and it sent him to hospital. Maybe he has some unresolved psyche issues from that incident? And maybe that's why he kicked the thing right off the bat, to justify shooting it. His emotional state is so unbelievable unprofessional. A justified shooting should be methodical and completely without emotion. Understandably that's not easy, but if a soldier starts firing because he's scared, you ain't winning any wars, you're running out of bullets. Seems like he shot him more on an emotional basis then anything.

Plenty of people have dogs that wander, and plenty of people can deal with it sans shooting the animal.

You might say, "Oh but he's an officer he has to protect himself to do his job, get to the door, issue the citation…"

Okay fine, so that should not be in his job description anymore. Let animal control handle it. The world doesn't need people licensed to shoot animals and family simply because they fear for their bureaucratically-indoctrinated safety.

Watched the video. The dog was obviously friendly.
ALL DOGS want to smell new people, they get excited, sometimes they jump up, ect.
This is a case where a cop, who is most likely not a nice man to begin with,(I mean, he did shoot someones dog for NO good reason) who wasn't in the mood to get jumped on by a dog, so he shots him instead.
This cop is a scumbag.
ANYONE who wants to say that the dog was aggressive, is a numb-skull, is blind, has no grip on the way dogs behave, or they are just stirring the pot, or they are the type who blindly defend law enforcement and probably haven't watched the video.
Anyone who says, that it is the dog owners fault, for not having the dogs locked up, that's just insensitive. Plus, having your dog locked up is not the issue here. The issue is having your dog SHOT and killed for no good reason. Hell no reason at all.
This would have never happened if this POS cop would have came on to the scene with a "here boy" instead of kicking at the dog and pulling his pistol on him. For crying out loud people. Don't give this SCUM any excuse to kill a member of someones family, and for the love of god, don't blame the victim. That's pretty low people. get a grip, and try to be a little more empathetic. thai was not a hypothetical "whos wrong, whos right, whos fault is it." This really happened. a beloved family member was shot and killed, and a young boys dog was killed on his birthday.

reply to post by thisguyrighthere


You're point is moot since I would of been completely justified in shooting the dog. He was attacking me.

What if I took the baton out first and as I was backing up telling the dog to go away I tripped on the curb. What if the dog then got me by the throat, or the groin? So I should wait until the dog bites me before I use deadly force?

I chose to switch to my baton even though I was completely justified in using my firearm (as would be any person who was legally carrying a firearm at the time) because I was worried that some cop basher was going to film me and try to ruin my name and credibility.

If you take that as me choosing to do the right thing only because someone was filming (insinuating that I would do the wrong thing if someone wasn't) you can go pound sand buddy.

reply to post by Bilk22


I didn't realize shooting a viscous dog (who was reported to be chasing people) that was attempting to bite me was overkill.

My previous reply to thisguyrighthere applies to you too.

TorqueyThePig
reply to post by Bilk22

 

I didn't realize shooting a viscous dog (who was reported to be chasing people) that was attempting to bite me was overkill.

My previous reply to thisguyrighthere applies to you too.

Police in Britain manage to handle dogs without guns so why cant a USA cop do the same? Or are US dogs heavly armed and armored? Or are US cops just useless weak and cowardly?

TorqueyThePig
If you take that as me choosing to do the right thing only because someone was filming (insinuating that I would do the wrong thing if someone wasn't) you can go pound sand buddy.

edit on 13-2-2014 by TorqueyThePig because: (no reason given)

That is what it is, isnt it? Just because something is technically justified that doesnt make it the "right" thing. If you truly believed it was the "right" thing then why worry about some basher trying to ruin your reputation? That would be like assuming just because something is lawful it is moral and if it is unlawful it is immoral. We all know that isnt true.

I'll pound sand. I'll pound sand all day long. Doesnt change a thing.

reply to post by thisguyrighthere


I am speaking specifically of my situation with the dog.

As an animal lover and a person who has adopted several rescue dogs, I don't feel that it is wrong to shoot a dog that is attacking you. Especially since there have been numerous cases of dogs killing people.

If you feel that it is wrong to shoot a dog that is attacking you, that is your opinion, and of course you are entitled to it.

I apologize for telling you to pound sound. It is out of character for me. I just get defensive when I feel my credibility/morals/ethics are being questioned.

reply to post by crazyewok


1. I, just as other US officers handle dogs without guns all the time.

2. Sometimes there are situations where shooting a dog is necessary (not saying the OP incident was justified or not). I am sorry that I don't want to run the risk of being bit and/or contracting rabies. I guess that makes me a corrupt monster. However you have the right to your opinion.

3. An officer sometimes has fractions of a second to process information and to make a decision. You on the other hand, have the ability to sit in front of your computer and watch a video 100's of times, with no time restraints, or the potential for being harmed, or sued, and pick it apart and criticize an officers actions. Must be nice.

4. I have a very high respect for British police officers, but I think they may have needed or wished they had a firearm in this incident.

www.dailymail.co.uk... (what if there wasn't five officers this time?)

I found plenty of other videos and stories, of unarmed people being mauled, even killed in the UK.

TorqueyThePig

3. An officer sometimes has fractions of a second to process information and to make a decision.

I've been a cyclist and a runner for over 30 years and I ride and run in some pretty rural backwoods redneck places. I've been chased by big mean dogs, I've been cornered by big mean dogs, I've had roaming packs stalk me for long stretches of unlit, unpopulated dirt roads with no cell service or police or any help for miles and miles.

No gun, no spray. Just spandex and a carbon fiber bicycle.

Somehow I've managed to never be bitten without killing any of these dogs. I've had to grab sticks from the side of the road or use my bike as a barricade. I've had to walk three miles in shorts and cleats keeping two crazy dogs on the other side of me with my bike as a wall.

You can manage to not kill somebodys pet and make it out unscathed with very little effort. Granted, more effort than it takes to point a gun and pull the trigger but it can be done.

TorqueyThePig

I don't want to run the risk of being bit and/or contracting rabies.

To be fair I forgot the USA still had rabies. That is a fair point Il concede. UK we dont have the trouble so I forgot that some western countrys still do.

TorqueyThePig

4. I have a very high respect for British police officers, but I think they may have needed or wished they had a firearm in this incident.

Tragic. But as my mate who joined the Met said. "You dont join the police force to protect your own skin". Part of being a police officer is terrible things like that happen. But like my friend you know and accept the risk up front and thats why you get very good pay and perks (at least in Britain, no idea on US pay and perks). And there certainly no shortage of volenteers in Britain either as Henden police acadermy is very competative when it comes to places. There were hopefull applicants doing biology degrees with me just so they could get a advantage when it came to applying!

I love dogs and have one as a member of our family (he's not a "pet")
I blame both the owner and the cop who should have called the owner to get his dogs under control or found another way to deal with it.

This happens far too often.
Would it be that expensive to have bite-proof gaiters and arm protection for officers when facing these kinds of situations?
How about training officers in techniques to pacify aggressive dogs - something that my father did instinctively.
Carry dog treats, use pepper spray, find a different way than just blasting the poor animal in the owners front yard.

reply to post by crazyewok


I understand you don't become a police officer to save your own skin.

However, if I become incapacitated (whether I'm bit, shot, stabbed, ran over,etc.) and don't stop something, or someone that is a threat to others, there is a strong possibility innocents will be harmed or killed by that threat.

So in a sense, I need to keep myself alive during an incident so that I can help others that may not be able to protect themselves.

For example, what if I didn't stop the dog in my incident with my baton and he ran down the street and bit one of the bystanders? Guess who's responsible? Me. Luckily in my situation it worked out.

And of course you have that survival human instinct that sometimes takes over. Of course I don't want to be harmed.

reply to post by thisguyrighthere


That is great. I am glad you were able to handle those incidents the way you did. Just as I am glad that my incident worked out without the injury of anyone or the dog.

However, the only responsibility you had in those situations was to prevent yourself from getting bit. So in a sense the only thing you had to do was hold your bike in front of you until the dog lost interest.

An officer is not only responsible for protecting himself, they are responsible for protecting others. So if there is an aggressive dog that is running around a neighborhood we can't just fend it off until it goes away. We have to make sure it doesn't bite anyone else.

As far as animal control in my city goes, their budget has been cut to the core. They don't work on weekends and typically will only respond to a dog bite.

Every situation is different. That is just reality.

Generally I'm not a fan of trigger-happy cops but having been bitten by a dog before, I can see why he shot the dog. He came to the house BECAUSE of a neighbor's call about unrestrained dogs wandering at large. When he gets there, sure enough, there are dogs wandering at large. Not only wandering but showing aggressive behavior.
I have the same problem in my neighborhood and one of the dogs has bitten my son. We get reminders every few months that it is part of everyone's lease agreement to keep dogs fenced or on a leash yet NO ONE does it. I've had wandering neighborhood dogs charge me in my own yard. They do seem to know what a gun is because when I drop whatever I'm carrying and pull my gun, the dogs back off. I haven't had to shoot one yet but will if need be.
Whoever called the cops in this video needed to be told to call animal control.

reply to post by Asktheanimals


That is a wonderful idea. They should provide patrol officers with an in service training on how to handle aggressive dogs, provide us with a catch pole, and a bite sleeve.

I really like this. The only difficult thing would be for the cities/counties to budget for it. They could find the money, but the uppers probably wouldn't want to give it up.

I mean hell they charge me a monthly gas fee to use my patrol car during duty. If I asked them to buy animal control supplies and/or to pay for training, they would probably laugh in my face.

I will mention the idea though.

reply to post by TorqueyThePig


They have plenty of money for paramilitary training and gear. Maybe they should start spending more money on the non lethal ways of doing their job instead of getting more and more guns are armor. Kinda makes us joe public nervous when they start arming up as they try and take our guns.

TorqueyThePig


Could I have shot the dog? Yes. I didn't because I was worried somebody watching was filming and would of put the video on Youtube. I didn't want to be harassed by people saying that I made the wrong call. I also felt bad because being a dog person I know that it is the owners fault as to why the dog is the way he is. Luckily in my specific situation things worked out positively.

I'm sad to say, but its people like you being cops that is the problem.

If the reason you put down your gun is because you were afraid of people filming you, then that makes you a terrible person.

A person with heart would put the gun away because they didn't want to kill the dog.

I think you should NOT be in any kind of position where you could ever hold a weapon. You are the wrong person to "protect and serve" that is for sure.

Police should not be afraid to use their weapons, but their reasoning for not using it should be restraint not self protection.

Please give back your weapon and take up a desk job. People with these kinds of morals are not fit to be respectable policemen.

reply to post by Sremmos80


The equipment cops use is just a symptom.

The problem is their culture and moral aptitude.

reply to post by fedeykin


I am part of the problem? That is funny my community thinks different of me. I guess it easy to judge a situation after the fact though huh?

So you feel a person that is being attacked by a viscous dog does not have the right legally, or ethically to shoot the dog?

What if the dog was attacking your son, daughter, wife, husband? Would it be okay then?

Also, way to cherry pick my post. You must of conveniently missed the part where I explained the TWO reasons why I didn't shoot the dog even though it would of been completely justified.

I specifically said that I didn't want to be the victim of a cop basher, AND because being an animal lover and someone who has adopted several rescue dogs, I knew it wasn't the dogs fault as to why he was the way he was. I specifically said I knew it was the owners fault

So I DID have sympathy for the dog. I guess you must of missed that part.