Posted on 06/13/2016 10:06:56 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A police officer is being praised for keeping his gun holstered after two vicious dogs roaming an Idaho neighborhood charged him.
Body camera footage shows Meridian police officer David Gomez standing his ground as the canines, one foaming at the mouth, run directly at him.
Gomez can be heard warning bystanders as he readies his nonlethal tools — a baton and pepper spray.
Not only does he prevent an attack, but he manages to usher the snarling animals into a patrol car without incident.
The owner was later cited for having vicious dogs at large.
Bloody cellphone videos of officers in New York, Los Angeles, Florida, Chicago and other parts of the country killing loose dogs while responding to 911 calls have sparked outrage on social media.
Video of officer Gomez, however, is getting positive attention online after Edith Williams, of an organization called Nonlethal Canine Encounters, shared it on Facebook, according to KBOI.
The Meridian police force sent two officers to a Defensive Tactics Canine Encounters course in 2014, Williams said, which taught the use of confidence and “less lethal means” in situations involving the public and loose dogs.
The tactics Gomez used were the same taught in the course, according to Williams.
Williams thanked Meridian Police Chief Jeff Lavey, writing “This has been a true labor of love, those involved in publishing this body cam footage.”
Credit where credit is due.
This officer could teach other officers a lot of things. (What were these dogs’ owners doing?)
Thank you, Officer Gomez. The principle is far higher than dogs.
Damn cool headed good officer there. This is one case where I would have backed him if he had to fire. Guy has brass balls all right.
Wish we had a lot more officers with his assessment capability of situations.
Sadly we do not.
They were not doing their “job”, which is controlling their dogs.
Like a Boss!!!
I LOVE this man!
“Credit where credit is due. “
Yeah, they won’t have the chance to kill a toddler until next week.
Are the people the officer talks to really they owners? Why didn’t they come out and get their dogs?
Should have instantly shot the dogs.
Props to the writer for spelling vicious correctly. It is wrong far too often.
Cool officer.
On the other hand, not every dog is going to be this compliant.
Agree. The common problem is officers often shoot dogs that aren’t loose in a neighborhood but are barking at a threat in their own yard. These were dangerous dogs loose in public. Should have shot them.
I have a pretty menacing German Sheppard mix when he wants to be. He’s a pussycat around us ar home, but barks and growls big time when strangers come onto the property or knock on the door ( like a good watch dog should).
But if he got loose and was down the street or in someone else’s yard acting in an aggressive way? Yup, he should get a bullet. I’d be upset, but would also know it was my fault.
The thing is sometimes dogs ARE “viscous”.
As a child I had a wiener dog with a high level of viscosity. She was gelatinous.
Totally owned those two mutts ...
“How you like me now!?” His comment at end sealed the deal. This cop handled these dogs with confidence and patience. Thanks for posting this story. I passed it on to several dog owners.
The dogs were nervous and wound up fairly tight, also thirsty judging by the foam around the muzzles.
The little one kept looking for an opening and a small spritz of pepper spray put an end to that.
The Officer never turned his back and never gave either one the opportunity to do something stupid.
Don’t think either one was particularly vicious, just overly excited and on high alert.
Congratulations to Officer Gomez; he handled this situation with patience, professionalism, and skill.
He understood that there are very few dogs who would pass up a ride in the car.
People should always remember “to a carnivore, anything that runs is food”.
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