We’ll just have to agree to disagree, then, as I can’t see having anywhere near 1% of our cops killing a dog in a year as anywhere near success.
I’m afraid the more brutish our police forces become the more they attract brutish would-be officers, thus creating a downward spiral. Also, unfortunately, police can’t help but have their perspective influenced by seeing and dealing with the worst among us, and in high-crime areas that goes 10 times over.
Here are some things you have to remember and some things that I directly experienced. Cops get sent to calls in which vicious dogs are attacking people. I have seen first hand the damage that pit bulls have done to children, literally ripping their faces to shreds. I have not been to the scene but I have seen the photos of people mauled to death by dogs.
As a police officer you are sent to these calls and arrive to find a dog attacking a human being. You do what you have to do. You find a dog that is leaving the area where it just attacked a human being. You see the dog moving towards more people. You do what you have to do.
I’ve had to shoot badly injured dogs, mostly strays. Do those make the count? I’ve been sent to people’s houses when stray pit bulls and rott’s are on their porches and the people can’t come out of the house because the dogs are aggressive. My city didn’t have a dog catcher for years because they said they couldn’t afford it. We couldn’t use the dog catchers equipment because of union regulations.
I wasn’t being paid enough to take a bite from a pit, rott or any other large dog.
In cities like mine drug dealers and low income people have large dogs as a status symbol which they teach to become aggressive. They are irresponsible and let the dogs roam the streets after they no longer want them or provide inadequate fencing or chains to keep them on their own property.
I am sure all those types of dogs were included in the ‘study.’
If in incur the moniker of dog killer cop, then so be it. My conscious is clear.