Posted on 09/04/2012 11:12:10 AM PDT by Altariel
BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) - When Rita Hairston's husband died five years ago, she adopted a dog to keep her company and help her through an emotional time.
Prada was 5-years-old at the time. The black Labrador Retriever became more than a pet, but a part of Hairston's family. A companion.
Last Saturday morning, she returned to her E. Morris Ave. house in University Heights in Buffalo and discovered her home had been broken into and Prada was missing.
There was a puddle of blood on the floor and bullet holes in the door of a bedroom where Prada slept.
But it was not a burglar who broke in. Hairston found a search warrant, signed by a judge, issued to the Erie County Sheriff's Department, on her kitchen floor.
Hairston said police raided her home, searching for cocaine, connected to a man named Lance Thompson.
Hairston said she rents another home she owns to Thompson, who dates her daughter, but he does not live in her residence and she has absolutely no connection to his alleged illegal activities.
A spokesperson for the sheriff's office said they had probable cause to search Hairston's residence because Thompson's alleged drug activities were suspected to take place from Hairston's house on occasion. The home which she rents to Thompson was also searched.
Deputies were forced to shoot and kill Prada during the raid because he threatened them, the spokesman said.
No drugs were recovered from Hairston's home.
Watch Eyewitness News at 11:00 Thursday night for more on this story.
Good to know that you also support government agents intruding the homes of American citizens.
I suppose you won’t be complaining when it is your home that is invaded? You’ll just roll over and cower?
“Buffalo Woman Says Police Raided Wrong House, Killed Her Dog”
Sheriff’s office responds: “That’s what they all say, after we raid the wrong house and shoot the dog. With the high number of identical cases, it just proves we are on the right path. If there’s no smoke, start a fire.”
“I suppose you wont be complaining when it is your home that is invaded? Youll just roll over and cower?”
I don’t know any coke dealers...and you sure don’t know anything about me.
“Are yall too stupid to be upset about two things at once?”
Nope. You?
They shot the dog “through the door”.
Apparently the dog was threatening them “through the door”.
Somehow.
Cops get more points when they shoot the dogs inside their homes.
But it does give us the opportunity to discuss 'the other side' of the story.
I'll continue the first thought....
Daughter was having 'boyfriend' over to Momma's to do some sales, because his house was 'TOO HOT'. Momma was out, so it was cool. Besides, they'd done it several times before.
He just wasn't there when the LE arrived.
Now... the dog is another issue. SWAT procedure is to gain control of all means of entry and exit. Dogs mess that all up. Rule 1: Shoot them first. It is a simple case of logic.
Right or wrong?
The headline is misleading, the police apparently had a warrant for the botth woman’s home and the other home she rented to the alleged drug dealer who dates her daughter.
That said, these dog shootings by police are becoming ridiculous. The were threatened by a Labrador? Most labs would probably lead the cops or any other strangers to the drugs rather than attack them.
I am starting to think laws need to be passed to make it a felony for a police officer to shoot a dog unless it has actually BITTEN someone.
No officer, especially while amongst a group of other officers, is any danger of death or truly critical injury, until the dog has actually attacked. At the point of attack the cop or his fellow officers can still shoot the dog.
A dog is not like a person with a weapon, who can kill an officer before he or the other officers have time to respond.
It was an absolute 100% fail in investigation AND execution by the JBTs.
Cops must be 100% sure there is a purpose before executing such a raid and putting everyone in danger. No excuses. Fire every single person involved and charge them with animal cruelty for making the dog suffer. Then make sure they never work for the government again.
I'm and engineer and if I make one mistake that results in even a dog's death, I'll never work in this business again. Cops should be held to an even higher standard.
NO.
Can they simply walk away after destroying the property?
YES.
What I don’t understand is why they are always raiding the wrong house? Those dispatchers should be held responsible too.
They did not have a warrant for this woman’s residence; even their spokesperson is merely parroting the “probable cause” excuse.
No warrant [should equal] No raid.
The cops had to shoot the dog. If they didn’t he might have escaped through the open door that they broke down and could no longer close. /s
“It WAS the wrong house.”
Well. I know math pretty well myself and I can’t calculate the odds of that being the “wrong house.” What you are trying to say is that they had no reason to be there, went into a random house and AFTER THE FACT found out there was a deep connection? Or are you saying that they might not have come at the propitious moment? Heh heh.
Whew. It’s gotta be the cop’s fault, either way I guess. Pigs.
Is that you, Chett99?
Idiotically? The search warrant on 'momma's house' was in addition to the one on the alleged drug dealer's house. This would logically imply that they were WATCHING his house. So... what to do.. Hey Honey, it's off to Momma's house we go. When is she 'out' for several hours ?
Nothing illegal, no additional evidence nor the individual were found.
As you say, "at the moment".
An innocent person's property was destroyed, an innocent dog killed and the property left unsecured.
I think Id be more upset with my daughter and her boyfriend than the police....by Dogbert41
Sadly, I wouldn’t be surprised.
ROTFLMAO! That was the first thing that popped into my head when I saw these threads...
Okay. Near thread hijacking risk has returned to manageable levels...return to the discussion at hand.
Reading it now.
Thanks.
The Invisible ‘Mander
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.