Posted on 07/06/2023 8:37:03 AM PDT by Morgana
A golden retriever was shot dead by a police officer in Ohio and dramatic bodycam footage caught the controversial moment - as cries for the cop's firing from the bereaved family grow.
The July 2 shooting footage showed Lorain police officer Elliott Palmer shooting three-and-a-half-year-old Dixie and then leaving the dog dying on the sidewalk.
The dog ran up to the responding officer at a scene, and while it did not appear aggressive it was coming towards Palmer when he opened fire.
That sparked outrage from people who witnessed the killing of the dog and now family and social-media posters are calling for the officer's job.
'After she was shot one time in the street, he should have just let it go and let us get the dog and take her where she needed to be treated,' The dog's owner, Tammie Kerns, said to 3News, in tears.
'But he didn't do that. She was crawling — useless, helpless — in the street. He continued shooting her. She was trying to come to safety, and he just kept shooting her three more times after the first time,' she added.
The Lorain Police Department has launched an investigation into the incident, assuring transparency and a thorough examination of the circumstances.
It's unclear if Palmer remains on-duty during the investigation. Dailymail.com has reached out to the Lorain Police Department but officials did not respond in time for this report.
The Kerns family has threatened legal action against the police department, demanding justice for Dixie.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
That was a glaring problem we noticed when we moved to Tennessee, i.e., how HORRID pet owners are here. Neglectful and abusive. One family left the dog tied up outside 24/7 on a short rope in every kind of weather. The food and water dishes were empty most of the time, so we and another family would fill them when we drove by. We took some in cats; other animals we felt sorry for but had no way to help.
I didnt say they should be strung up. I said they were not adult enough to work through better alternatives than shooting. And there were alternatives.
Sorry, but if you or I did this even if we perceived a threat, we would be arrested and charged. Police get a free pass because of immunity and badge ego. How one thinks police will ever be welcome back into the community by us ‘civilians’ and veterans when they behave like they dont have to respect our property, our pets, our loved ones, is beyond me.
Police used to be sworn to ‘protect and serve’. Now they just enforce, and have ‘no duty to protect’ much less serve. And they do that on our tax dime.
Police business is risky. I grant them that. But that doesnt excuse them from exercising some restraint in the use of deadly force.
You are talking about the perception of a dog. I am discussing something considerably broader.
We are on 5 acres of woods. One day I was walking in the back when pit mix dog approached me. I stood still, pointed in the direction it came from, and loudly yelled “Git! Go on, git!” He turned and left, which was good, because I didn’t have a sidearm on me. But I did have my very sharp machete.
I sometimes carry my very sharp pitchfork.
I watched the video. Three dogs playing in the yard and one approaches and then runs away and a second decides to play along. It gets shot as a result. Its a dog, and the a$$ cop that shot it isnt even a bit sorry. He should not have even had his gun out.
He should not be allowed to wear a badge.
Any cop who shoots my dog will be looking over his or her shoulder for the rest of their short life.
L
You picked the wrong story to make 5 posts about your dislike of the police. The “broader” point should be that as we see time and time again the media lies to us and this is an example of how many people reflexively believe their crap. Fortunately you seem to now accept that it was not a tail wagging cute golden retriever puppy that was shot. No doubt this is a tragic for the family that lost one of their 5 dogs. Not sure if dog owner herself was the person that the police officer witnessed bleeding (presumably from a dog bite) but you can definitely see from the video she was trying her hardest to restrain the dog and it finally wrestled away from her and charged the officer. Hard to claim the dog was just looking to play. You mistakenly believed the media and I will give the benefit of the doubt to law enforcement.
Sad for doggie and owner, but the cop was justified--IMO.
Dogs have high curiosity. They sniff, they gravitate towards other people and other dogs. It was a dog being a dog. The cop had no reason to draw a gun and, as others have already used the term, was a pussy for not just fending it off. He had back up standing right there to cover for other REAL threats. He shoots the dog 4 time, three of which were as the dog was retreating down the street. He had no concern for where those shots down the street landed. He has traumatized a family and a neighborhood for life. The tense situation that followed was his doing.
He will probably be exonerated because of folks with attitudes like you that would cover for a cops actions no matter how bad the judgement.
This cop has created a distrust in this community that will stand for a long time. There is no good to come from defending this action. It should be criticized and properly evaluated and steps taken to show the community that this police force is there to protect, not cause harm, or just show up and make a mess worse.
I dont like or dislike any police officer at this point. I appreciate when the do right, and I criticize when they eff up. They used to, but no longer, have or even aspire to hold a higher moral ground. They look at the job as a paycheck, an easy retirement path (full pensions at 20 years), for many an ego trip to drive fast, shoot stuff, and flash a badge. They are no longer obligated to serve and protect the public. So the good ones out there have to work twice as hard to earn respect from me. Blame the incompetent ones and the bullies with badges for that. I just call em like I see em.
Must suck to be the person who called that in.
“But to keep shooting the wounded animal when it was crawling away?”
It was the owner of the animal in panic and fearful that said the animal was crawling away. But the first part of her news interview was:
“She was crawling — useless, helpless — in the street.”
We need more information from the investigation to determine if the dog was indeed useless and/or helpless through other witnesses. Sometimes owners see something different just like what they see their kids do. How many times have you heard that the kid that just unloaded a gun on someone was a good kid by a parent? And how many times have you heard someone say the reacting person needed to make sure the person attacking was actually finished by shooting them more than once? I have heard those things said a number of times.
Additionally I don’t trust the media any more than I can throw them as they have been proven to lie and alter statements and even film. ABC has a history of that. I need more info besides emotional statements from an owner on ABC before I throw someone under the bus in my mind. Guilt has to be reached starting with assumed innocence. And fear can make someone react to the extreme, right or wrong.
wy69
Or you can watch the video at the link
“What an eff’n pussy scumbag.”
Family is lucky it wasn’t a playful kid running up to the Cop. This one would have wasted the kid out of fear...
“let’s give police officers the benefit of the doubt.”
You mean like the benefit of the doubt they give lower class civilians? Everyone is presumed guilty and one twitch and they are dead?
I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt when they start giving those they work for respect and the benefit of the doubt. If they are too cowardly to serve according to the Constitution as a guideline then they need to find another career.
Did you read the article and view the pictures? It’s a Yellow Lab.
The cop just wanted to shoot something and unfortunately that dog was the victim.
If that was my dog, no amount of judicial punishment, if any, would ever quell my desire for revenge.........
And your point is? Is it better that he shot and killed a lab as opposed to a retriever? 🙄
“Or you can watch the video at the link...”
Watched it. And I did notice the dog he shot was not the first one that came in his direction. It was second one that was closer to the front of the car and when it hit the edge of the street its head was down and it was charging fast. The first one stopped in the grass and turned away.
What bothers me, also, is that when the first dog went toward the cop he pointed at it and shooed it away. He made it clear he wanted no part of the animal. Why didn’t the owner stop the second dog?
The second dog showed no signs of stopping when moving toward the cop. And the video didn’t display anything I could see that it was anything other than an approach that came closer to the cop.
Like I mentioned in my first entry, there are two trains of thought. One is that you shoot to injure, which most people agree is not the safe way to do it, you gamble on the best situation. If you are shooting to kill, make sure the target is killed. And that’s why there is an investigation. He was forced to commit and did so. If he was wrong, then he should be determined a possible unsafe person to handle the job. And that may be coming. But do it right. Don’t look at the tape and determine it correct.
The media has played this game before. Back when Travon Martin was killed it was noted that the shooter, George Zimmerman, arrived at the police station with no injuries to his head. Yet the report from the hospital and cops indicated he had been bandaged from Martin striking his head against the concrete and his nose was broken. In other words, the tape had been doctored by ABC as it was them that presented it to the public.
Tack that on to NBC getting caught doctoring the 911 calls, and you’ve got a whole lot of problems in what actually happened. And as it turned out, Zimmerman had been attacked and fired within Florida’s stand your ground law. So the presentation had been doctored to set him up and it failed.
Let the investigation continue. I don’t believe any of what I hear and only half of what I see.
wy69
He was not ‘forced’ to kill. He chose to. He could have kicked the dog. He could have hit the dog with his baton. He could have just scratched his ears and rubbed his belly. He had options that could have been exercised. Instead he chose what is supposed to be the last option, lethal force. And he was careless in its use, shooting down the street after the dog was first hit and tried to run.
The dog was no threat. Just wanted to sniff and play like dogs do.
Justifying poor judgement only leads to more poor judgement. This poor excuse for a cop should leave town in shame.
“Just wanted to sniff and play like dogs do.”
I’ve seen what dogs can do and you may be right. But I’ve seen what dogs can do and you can’t be sure that the dog was not charging the cop from what was on the tape. Dogs are territorial like many animals and have been known to bite people to protect their area or pack as it may.
Down the street where I live this lady had a couple of dogs. And I never saw them ever growl, bare their teeth, or charge anyone. She walked them on a leash daily. But about a month ago the two dogs broke free from her and tore a cat, literally, to pieces on the street in front of a house two doors down where the cat lived with its owners. The attack lasted for most of a minute until the lady and a friend could get hold of the leashes and pull the dogs off the cat. The cat was mutilated and dead at the spot. The attack was unprovoked and savage. And it happened so fast no one expected it to be so swift and complete. These are animals that are domesticated and would not normally do something like this. But something triggered it in their minds. How do you guess?
So it’s not a mater of excuses. It’s a matter of determining what happened and applying the right call. The tape along with talking with the witnesses should be the priority en lieu of making a call based upon what may or may not have been happening and the lack of proof of just the tape. There may be a lot more to discover.
wy69
I am right and the dog was not a threat.
You are deflecting with your stories of other dogs and cats. Non-lethal force options were there. He skipped right over them because he was ‘overwhelmed’ with his own ego to exercise his authority.
You can also tell he knows he messed up with his radio call “send a lot of backup....cause there’s a lot of people here...”. Seriously, no dude. Send backup cause you just needlessly shot someone’s pets and you are about to cause a riot. You then see one of the other officers tell him, in so many words, you need to exit and stop arguing.
In this case I trust my own eyes and ears in what I can see first person from his video POV.
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