Posted on 07/07/2011 11:28:16 AM PDT by Immerito
UPDATE 7:47 p.m. Sept. 13: The Washington Post has obtained the police report on the incident. It describes the dog as appearing "to be out of control" and says the dog "charged" at the officer before it was fatally shot.
10:16 p.m. Updated with a statement from Third District police that conflicts with the dog handler's spokesman's statement, and an e-mailed statement from the handler himself.
There's never a shortage of police officers at Adams Morgan Day, just in case someone gets out of hand. Today, that someone was a dog.
An officer with the D.C. police department shot and killed a dog — possibly a rottweiler or pit bull — outside The Brass Knob antique store at 2311 18th St. NW. The shooting followed an intense, two-minute scuffle between the dog and what witnesses describe as a "smaller" white dog.
In dispute of the what the dog's handler has said, police tonight released a statement saying the dog was out of control and also bit the handler. Here's the entire e-mail from Third District Capt. Aubrey P. Mongal:
Earlier this afternoon, during the Adams Morgan Day events, an MPD officer encountered a dog in the crowded pedestrian area that got out of the control of it’s handler. The dog attacked another dog and also bit it handler. The officer, after making several attempts to subdue the dog by training tactics, had to finally shoot one time to stop the dog.
On the contrary, says the handler, who only wants to be identified as Aaron. In an e-mail to TBD, Aaron said the apparent foster dog, Parrot, didn't bite anyone.
In my recollection and as the eyewitness accounts will coroborate, the dog was completely under my control when the k9 officer removed me. Parrot bit no human, the only blood he drew was when i thrust my hand into his mouth to get him off the other dog. The k9 officer's injury, which he showed me at the station after, was nothing more than a rope burn from Parrot's leash, suffered when the officer was throwing my dog down a flight of stairs.
D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier, in an earlier response to an e-mail from advisory neighborhood commissioner and candidate for the Ward 1 D.C. Council seat Bryan Weaver, said three people, including a K9 officer, were bitten by the dog. Here's an excerpt of the e-mail:
I don't know all of the facts at this point so it is very difficult for me to comment beyond the facts that I have been given. All I know is that there is one dog who was attacked by the pit bull and 3 people, including a K9 officer, that were bitten by the pit bull.
Police sources had earlier told ABC 7 the officer who shot the dog was a canine handler who was experienced with dogs. He was trying to separate the dogs, and attempted to choke hold the larger dog. While he was trying that, the dog attempted to bite him or did bite him, and he threw him down the stairwell in an attempt to injure the dog. The dog charged the officer and the officer opened fire, the sources said.
An unidentified spokesperson for the dog's handler said the cop didn't try hard enough to subdue the dog.
In an e-mail to TBD, Weaver said the dog had seemed friendly at his booth at the festival just 15 minutes before the incident:
"Aaron is a good guy, he said he had the dog under control and the cop grabbed it from him and threw him down the well at [Marie] Reed and shot him. Dog was playing with kids at my booth 15 min earlier. Aaron is really shaken."
One witness, 46-year-old Harriet Winslow, said that at first, she saw the two dogs — the white-sandy pitbull-looking dog and a cute white fluffy lap dog — barking and fighting.
"Everybody glanced over and the owners of these dogs were frantically trying to pull them apart. We're all looking concerned. Suddenly, the owner of the pitbull was down on the ground trying to subdue his dog. He was really trying hard — I have to give him credit. He was on the ground wrapping his arms around the dog. I could see him down on the ground. I mean he was really trying."
After the two dogs were pulled apart, Winslow says she could see that the smaller dog was fine. But the dogs were still barking at each other.
Then a cop appeared.
"I glanced over again and I saw a very able bodied police officer fully a stride the dog — the cop straddling dog. The pitbull was still animated, still trying to get up. But this cop — I thought 'Wow this guy is good at this, he subdued a really angry dog.' Then I thought 'Good, this is now over.' Then I walk just five or 10 feet away and I hear a gun shot."
Before she heard the shot, she said she thought "the cop was totally in control. ... It's not something I would want to do. He really was on top of this dog."
Noah Siegel, who works at nearby Spaghetti Garden restaurant, says he saw "two or three cops" surrounding the dog. One of the officers, says Siegel, had the dog on a leash and attempted to drag it away from the commotion.
The dog began "trying to attack the cop," says Siegel. "Next thing I knew, they had it down there in the corner and I heard a shot and that was it," says Siegel, who was interviewed by ABC 7's Brianne Carter.
An onlooker who attempted to intervene in the dogfight sustained a scrape or two. "He's fine," reports ABC 7's Carter.
“I have broken up a few of them”
I broke up one (between my male GSD and my male Cairn Terrier.) It was over a bone and the GSD decided to question the alpha quality of the Cairn. In my case, it sounded worse than the actual fight but I did try to separate them and got bitten (by accident... it wasn’t directed at me). I don’t know your techniques or the “right” ones but I screamed at the top of my lungs and both dogs froze. I said, “GET IN YOUR ROOOOM!!” and the GSD walked away with his tail between his legs.
Yes, poodles can be aggressive, especially when poorly trained. Unfortunately, too many dog owners of smaller dog breeds don’t take dog training as seriously, dismissing aggressive/alpha behavior from their dogs as “cute” or “precious”.
http://dcist.com/2010/09/spokesperson_officer_knocked_owner.php
Spokesperson: “Policeman Knocked” Owner Off Dog Before Detaining, Shooting It
We recently received an email from a spokesperson for the owner of the dog who was shot and killed during today’s Adams Morgan Day festival. According to the spokesperson, the animal’s owner — known simply as Aaron — is currently too “rightfully distraught” to speak directly with the media.
Here is the full statement by the spokesperson, including a description of what happened this afternoon:
Parrot is [a] two-year-old dog for whom we have cared for almost a month. He has never bitten another dog and is regularly walked along 17th street during the busiest times of day without incident. He’s extremely friendly.
Today, there was an unexpected scuffle between Parrot and a poodle. Aaron, subdued Parrot, who was wearing both a leash and a harness. To do so, he placed his hands in Parrot’s mouth and held it open, which he has done when Parrot gets overexcited when romping in the apartment. As it had in the past, this calmed Parrot down.
At this point, the policeman knocked Aaron off of Parrot. The policeman put his knee in the middle of Parrot’s back while pulling Parrot’s forelegs behind him, as one would do with an armed criminal. Without waiting to determine whether this technique would calm Parrot, the policeman grabbed Parrot, lifted him off the ground, and brought him to the top of the concrete staircase. He threw Parrot over the banister, down twelve steps, and onto the concrete floor. Then, the policeman stood at the top of the stairs, drew his weapon, and executed Parrot. Aaron cannot recall the number of shots fired.
This photograph, which was taken by DCist commenter Darcycat1 “maybe a minute” before the shooting, depicts the portion of the spokesperson’s story in which “the policeman put his knee in the middle of Parrot’s back.”
Obviously, we will have more on this story as it develops.
UPDATE: Here is an early reaction to the incident from Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier, excerpted from an email exchange with Ward 1 D.C. Council candidate Bryan Weaver by TBD/ABC 7:
I don’t know all of the facts at this point so it is very difficult for me to comment beyond the facts that I have been given. All I know is that there is one dog who was attacked by the pit bull and 3 people, including a K9 officer, that were bitten by the pit bull. The officer involved is assigned to AC Burke so I would ask that he provide you with additional information as it becomes available.
Clearly, I am a dog lover as well and never want to see an animal harmed. We will keep you posted.
Contact the author of this article or email tips@dcist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
My dog is a valued family member.
I’m sick and tired of these cop shootings by asshats with badges.
Screw them, and their JBT boot-licking supporters.
In this case, bringing a dog one is not capable of controlling and endangering other people's safety and property, I'd say selfish and shortsighted are better adjectives, but I agree.
Anytime dogs are allowed to mingle there is an opportunity for conflict. In this case the owner had regained control before the cop got involved.
But which dog started the fight? How do you know that the dog that was shot is the dog that started the trouble?
Do you approve of officers forcibly removing your property from your possession before disposing of it?
Correct way to break up a dog fight, with as least possible chance of you getting bit is to grab the agressor by the back legs and walk backwards and/or sideways if you can. It works best if there are two people available to help with the other dog. Dogs lifted on their rear legs have much reduced reaction times and it gets them slightly disoriented.
I own a mastiff which I have always been able to control. There are small breeds which have never been under control, and which the owners allow to be people- and dog-aggressive. These small breeds are not aware of their own size, and have never been properly socialized around people or other animals.
I no longer EVER take my very large dog anywhere around other dogs, because if he were attacked, he would, I am sure, quickly kill the attacking dog.
Meanwhile, he plays and cuddles with children, ferrets, cats, and frail little women like me. I’ve introduced my dog to all the law enforcement officers in the area, so they know what a great animal he is, but any man who was a stranger and who got aggressive with my 235 lb. dog might have a problem. I never would want that to happen, so I just don’t take him anywhere except the vet. I used to take him to the river, but not anymore, since so many people camping leave their dogs off lead. He has to be content with our pond.
Thank you Roos_Girl! This is one of those knowledge tidbits that I like to store in the old noggin. You hope you don’t ever need to remember it, but you are thankful if you do!!
Sounds like the dog was just warning a nutso lap dog and then fighting off an over-reactive cop.
Any man who shoots a dog is a coward.. Period.
Yep, learned that from a very accomplished field dog trainer and hope to never have to use it. But, I’ve got 3 dogs and while they generally get along sometimes you just never know what goes through their little peanuts.
Incidentally, screaming sounds like it worked out fine in your case, but screaming can cause more excitement and continue a fight, so if you can remember to remain quite it might help. :)
Thank the Lord we have all the FReepers who were there when it happened and can rightfully condemn the officer.
Yeah, especially when that dog has your kid locked in its jaws.
yeah never mind the witness statements and the picture which is posted above. please disregard those
A snapshot is just that, a snapshot. There are always three sides to every story: yours, mine, and the truth.
If 2 dogs start fighting, separating them is all that is required. A trained “handler” should know that. The lesson here is never give a cop even 1/4 of an excuse to shoot something. They can’t resist such an opportunity.
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