Jeff - I dunno about you but I was stunned by the certitude that so many on this thread felt which rendered investigation of the incident unnecessary - just string the cop up and be done with it. I feel I don’t have enough information and yet many on this thread feel that more than enough information was OBVIOUSLY present.
Gee....I can’t imagine why the cop may not want to be tried in the court of public opinion when the public reacts like THIS. SO reasonable - so ready to wait for the evidence before making a decision. I am sure the police departments legal council approves of holding a trial online complete with photographs that ‘experts’ in the community can review for medical significance etc. Yup - that’s what attorney’s always advise, right. Never “Wait to have your day in court”, it’s always “Find the nearest mob that already has decided you are guilty and try to show them your side - preferably on the Internet.” Yup. That way it’s easy to find a jury pool that is not biased if it does go to trial - yes, get medical pics out there without an impartial medical opinion present especially if the newspapers have already decided you are guilty and will use their platform to ‘help’ the public understand information.
It’s not possible that the cop didn’t see the kids because the gate was closed most of the time during his walk (until they walked past it) and once he was tangling with the dog, not see that the gate was now open with kids there. IMPOSSIBLE. Can’t happen. Ever. Case closed.
Oh it doesn’t look like the cop et. al was hospitalized and OBVIOUSLY that must mean that there was no reason to shoot the dog. There is no way in these United States that the injuries were minimized because the cop shot the dog BEFORE it could bite big ugly chunks of flesh or actually kill the other dog. NO WAY. The mob is so ginned up that lack of being hospitalized can ONLY indicate the cop was wrong, not that he acted in time to spare them from grievous injury. And it’s easy to tell, isn’t it, with a dog biting and grabbing how much blood loss, how deep the wounds etc. what with the dodging and panic. Yup.
No mention of the fact that the officer doesn’t have a prior instance of shooting a dog and said “This is the first time in 17 years of being a police officer that I have shot my weapon, except at the firing range.” He’s just the serial dog killer type, right?
Information and objective data that is missing from the story - ignore it if you want to fit in on this thread. Rave like it’s DU here and you’ll BLEND.Don’t wait for information - it’d be too late then! /sarc off
Sorry...I just needed to vent because I am mortified at the DU type response on this thread. Never thought I’d say that about about FR thread.
A pity you did not do your homework before you ranted.
http://www.khou.com/news/cnn/HPD-officer-shoots-pet-boxer-after-alleged-attack—214672271.html
HARRIS COUNTY —A Harris County family is devastated over the death of their beloved boxer, which was shot by an off-duty Houston police officer.
Both sides agree that the dog was shot Friday along a walking path in the 14800 block of Cascade Bend Lane near Cypress.
According to the Fitzhenry family, their 4-year-old boxer named Gunner got out of the backyard when the children opened the gate to retrieve a ball.
Gunner approached a neighbor, who was walking his dog with his wife. There are two very different stories about what happened next.
The neighbor, HPD Officer Mark Condon, told investigators the boxer attacked them.
“The dog charged us and attacked me, my wife and one of our dogs,” Condon said in a statement released late Monday afternoon.
Dalton Fitzhenry, 12, said his dog was not threatening the officer and only wanted to play.
“All he was doing was, like, smelling the dog like he always does,” Dalton said.
Condon fired once, striking Gunner in the neck.
“He just pulled it out, like, point-blank range and shot,” said Dalton. “Gunner didn’t have the chance to run.”
Gunner died on the way to the animal emergency clinic.
Dalton’s parents said the dog was like a member of the family.
“And he was screaming and crying, and the cop just had the gun in his hand saying, ‘It’s OK, I’m a cop,’” Kim Fitzhenry said.
“I lost what to them was like their oldest brother,” said Kevin Fitzhenry. “And they lost him in front of them.”
Condon said he, his wife and their dog suffered injuries, which were documented by the Precinct 4 Constable’s Office.
“I have owned dogs and have been an animal lover my entire life. The last thing I would ever want to do is hurt an animal, especially someone’s pet,” Condon said in a statement.
The Fitzhenry family plans to lodge a formal complaint with HPD.
Neighbors on Cascade Bend Lane said their kids and pets often play in the front yards. Fidel Castillo was reigning in Bella, his playful Doberman saying, “That was Bella’s best friend.”
Castillo was referring to Gunner, who lived just two doors down at the Fitzhenry home.
“I’ve been out here many times with my 2-year-old and Gunner would just come out and play with us, lick us,” Otalia Castillo, Fidel’s wife, said.
Several families said Gunner was friendly and some helped draw pictures of the boxer with wings and a halo.
“He’s just a big baby. He was just a big baby,” Fidel Castillo said.
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Casey Kelch · Clearfield, Utah
Let’s see proof of these sustained injuries. I knew this dog, and he was a big, dumb, friendly dog that would slobber you to death. Incidents like this are what happens when the police face no consequences.
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How ironic; the same child who would be believed and whose testimony would be taken seriously if he said he was molested is not believed because he dared suggest a government employee had shot his dog without cause.
Clearly, to some, word of a government employee > word of a child.