Posted on 11/22/2014 8:26:10 PM PST by Altariel
he Tuscaloosa Police officer who shot a family’s pet earlier this month has filed a lawsuit against a neighbor, claiming that she made untrue statements about the situation.
TPD Officer Mike Azwell is asking for $10,000 from Deborah Bosch, who lives next door to his mother in the Eastern Hills subdivision in Tuscaloosa County. Bosch is not the owner of the dog that was killed, but she did call Tuscaloosa Police and made statements about the incident, according to the suit filed in Tuscaloosa County District Court Friday afternoon.
The “slanderous, libelous and defamatory accusations” have caused the officer “injury to his reputation in the community, embarrassment, humiliation, suffered severe emotional distress, loss of sleep, emotional pain and anguish,” attorney Mark Morrow wrote in the complaint.
Bosch had just received a copy of the lawsuit Friday afternoon and said she was not ready to comment.
Azwell had gone to visit his mother at her home at 7:30 a.m. Nov. 3. He was disembarking his motorcycle in her yard when two dogs approached.
He fired shots at what he thought was a Pit bull-Labrador mix because he felt the dogs intended to attack, Morrow said Friday.
“He did, in his judgement, what he thought he should, which was to shoot a dog that appeared to be attacking him,” Morrow said. “Officer Azwell is a dog owner who does not take the killing of an animal lightly.” Azwell owns a Doberman Pinscher and is comfortable around large dogs, he said.
Azwell’s mother suffers from a medical condition called cerebellar ataxia, which causes problems with balance, gait, extremity and eye movements, Morrow wrote in the complaint filed in Tuscaloosa County District Court Friday. Mrs. Azwell, who is four-feet, 10 inches tall and weighs around 100 pounds, is a “fall alert” patient, Morrow wrote in the complaint, which makes it dangerous for her to be around unattended dogs.
Bosch, who lives next door, has a black Labrador that Morrow said pinned Azwell’s mother against her house in April. Bosch made adjustments to the dog’s shock collar and there have been no further incidents between the neighbors since, Morrow wrote in the complaint.
On the morning of Nov. 3, Azwell had arrived at his mother’s house when two dogs that lived down the street approached. Bosch’s dog was not one of them.
“The brown dog was vicious and running toward him when he drew his duty weapon and fired at the brown dog, bringing it down,” Morrow wrote in the lawsuit. “The white Pit bull ran from the scene. The brown dog then got up and began to run toward the Plaintiff again and he shot the animal a second time, bringing it to the ground. The Plaintiff then fired two additional rounds to end the animal’s suffering.” The dogs were running free, in violation of the county’s leash law, Morrow said.
The owners of the dog that was killed placed fliers around the neighborhood looking for their eight-year-old chocolate Labrador, Sonic. A neighbor called and said that he had been shot.
Owner Rebecca James said Tuesday that the white dog that was with Sonic is a Boxer that lives nearby. She said that she has never witnessed either of the two dogs act aggressively.
According to the lawsuit, Bosch called TPD the day Azwell shot the dog and made several statements to dispatchers, including:
“He told (a family member) he would kill my dog.” “The dog didn’t attack him, the dog didn’t even growl.” “He covered up the shooting by calling the City of Tuscaloosa Police instead of the County Sheriff’s Department.” “That dog was not aggressive, I never heard that dog bark.” “Why does our tax dollar pay for him to sit up at his Momma’s house for four hours to visit her while he’s at work, to visit her, on the police motorcycle while he’s dressed in uniform, why?” “He has threatened to shoot my dog.” “He’s over here at his Momma’s house drinking coffee, eating breakfast I guess, and visiting her. He can’t visit her on his own off-day time.” “He stays there (mother’s home) for three to four hours.”
Because of her statements about the dog shooting and his job performance, Morrow wrote, Azwell has been subjected to internal inquiry by the TPD and has been “falsely accused of a criminal and/or acts of dishonesty which he did not commit.” He claims that the statements were made with malicious intent, in attempts to defame his reputation or cause his dismissal from the police department.
The suit requests $10,000 of compensatory and punitive damages in addition to costs of the suit.
The manager of a veterinary clinic, Tana James, also said of Sonic that“she was overweight, eight-years-old, and had hip dysplasia so she couldn’t leap, jump or do a lot of active things.”
“In all the years I’ve been around her, I’ve never seen any aggression. I’ve never seen her growl or lurch at anyone,” said Tana.
http://angelclark.tumblr.com/post/74261203911/this-is-sonic-a-pit-bull-who-was-8-years-old-and
Cop shoots dog, files lawsuit against neighbor who dares to testify against cop (uppity peasant).
Mea culpa: article date 11/15/2013
Back on the 21st of March, 2011, a LEO by the name of Josh Boren reported to his supervisor that he was “in trouble.” Officer Boren had come across a stray dog, and instead of following protocol, which at the time involved turning the stray over to the South County Animal Shelter – and which he knew very well, having worked as an animal control officer – he pulled his .22 rifle out of his squad car and began taking pot shots at the terrified dog. One round ricocheted off the passenger-side door of his vehicle, and the resulting report conveniently left out the dog’s fate, including whether or not it was hit by any of the rounds. As a result of the shooting, Officer Boren was suspended without pay for thirty-six hours. A reprimand was added to his file saying there was “not enough evidence to support criminal charges” while admitting the incident indicated a “serious behavioral problem.” Sadly, the story does not end there.
On the 16th of January, 2014, Officer Boren again fired his weapon against regulations. This time, however, he shot and killed his wife, their two small children, and his mother-in-law. A friend of his late wife’s said Kelly Boren wanted a divorce and told her Officer Boren had “rage” problems. But before they could talk about it in greater detail, Kelly Boren was dead at her husband’s hand. Three years had passed since Boren shot at a frightened stray dog on the street. Three years and he turned his rage to humans – to his entire family.
“...suffered severe emotional distress, loss of sleep, emotional pain and anguish...”
Awww!! That poor little baby needs a new career.
two dogs that lived down the street approached. Bosch’s dog was not one of them. "The brown dog was vicious and running toward him [...]"
It appears to be well proven that the dogs were loose. The only debatable point is whether they were running toward someone with intent to bite or with intent to lick. As there are no witnesses to the speed of the dogs, or to their attitude, it's up to the human to decide the fate of animals. Even if he was mistaken, he erred on the safe side.
Sometimes police officers kill dogs in very questionable circumstances. This doesn't look to be one of them; anyone could do the same seeing two large dogs running toward him. Nobody has to be bitten to start defending themselves. As dogs can't be always clear about their intentions, this duty belongs to their owners. In this case their owners were nowhere in sight.
Statements of the neighbor go too far when she mentions, twice, that
"Why does our tax dollar pay for him to sit up at his Momma’s house for four hours to visit her while he’s at work, to visit her, on the police motorcycle while he’s dressed in uniform, why?"
The work schedule of anyone, including a LEO, is between the worker and his boss. Looks like the neighbor has an axe to grind, considering that she is not involved in this in any way. She just threw at him all the grievances that she could come up with.
How are you accounting for the dog’s hip dysplasia?
The neighbor, by virtue of being a taxpayer *is* one of his bosses. Thus, she is perfectly in the right to question why a government employee who is clearly on duty is engaging in personal errands for hours on end since her taxpayer dollars are going to pay his salary.
The crippled, lurching gait reminded him of Frankenstein’s monster and he feared for his life®.
If the neighbor has issues with performance of a city employee, the proper and socially appropriate way to do it is by talking to his supervisor. Perhaps then she would learn that the LEO made special arrangements to care for his elderly mother. Or, perhaps, such a radical idea had never occurred to the neighbor?
This reminds me of an old joke:
As the orchestra is playing, the conductor receives a note: "One of your musicians is lazy: he plays his instrument only when you look at him."
On some forums it is fashionable to accuse police of all sins. However I think it is far better to be fair, and judge people for what they have actually done, no matter who they work for. In this case the LEO acted as any citizen could act. It's not like he kicked the door in, with a search warrant in hand, and shot every dog in every locked room.
The motives of a neighbor who accuses anyone of caring for his mother are extremely suspicious. For example, she claims:
“He’s over here at his Momma’s house drinking coffee, eating breakfast I guess
"His Momma" suffers "from a medical condition called cerebellar ataxia, which causes problems with balance, gait, extremity and eye movements, [...] Mrs. Azwell, who is four-feet, 10 inches tall and weighs around 100 pounds, is a “fall alert” patient" -- yes, of course she would be cooking breakfast for her son and making him coffee - and not the other way around, as any reasonable person would presume. There is absolutely no reason whatsoever that a frail woman would need assistance to get out of the bed and start her day, in opinion of that neighbor. She isn't painting a very good picture of herself, is she?
>>The work schedule of anyone, including a LEO, is between the worker and his boss<<
Uh, wrong, Hoss. Their salaries are paid with taxpayer dollars, therefore it is her business.
As always, the officer went home safe that night, that is all that matters.
She is entitled to *know*, not to accuse with no facts in hand. The proper way to collect facts is to talk to people who have those facts. Employers often are the only people who know exactly what employee works where and when.
Well reasoned, rational, and unemotional responses like yours can be a breath of fresh air on many of these types of stories.
Not all cops deserve the treatment they get here.
I feel sorry for his Doberman. How can he be treating his own dog right if he feels threatened by a lab?
An old lab with hip dysplasia.
My two dogs are very friendly and social but go absolutely nuts at the sight/sound of a motorcycle when it passes us. Maybe the dog had issues with the motorcycle. I know mine would run up to it barking like crazy.
Got a JackBoot licking addiction?
To a point, Not all cops deserve the treatment they get here.
20 years ago cops rarely were such lilly-livered they felt it necessary to shoot a dog that was not actually attacking them. Now, unless all the dog shooter reports are lies, LOTS of LEO are such metro-sexual scaredy-cats that the first thing they do is plug the barking dog.
Just like the “moderate muslims” if all LEOs are not part of the solution, they are part of the problem. Has anyone heard one damn cop speak up against all the dog shooting? With the exception of one Sherriff in Greenville, Texas, No!
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.