What I'd like even less, and I'm sure you'd agree, is if an off-duty policeman decided to put two rounds into my leashed dog I was walking because 'he felt threatened'. That's a little trigger-happy and absolutely an abuse of power and responsibility. The dog in the story weighed 20 pounds. My ten-month old son weighs more than that. If the story had the same facts, save for the shooter was simply a neighbor with a gun and not a government employee, do you think he'd get away with it?
I pray your dog, and mine, never encounter such a person during a nighttime walk or a drug warrant being served on a mistaken address. And I hope you'd agree that while a person who fails to clean up after his dog IS uncivilized, inconsiderate and uncouth; a policeman who abuses his power and has such poor judgment concerning the use of lethal force is something far more troubling.
Your prescient logic has now convinced me the cop over-reacted. You are more thoughtful than many knee-jerk reactions on this thread. Have a good one!