Posted on 05/28/2005 12:34:03 PM PDT by ambrose
Cops shoot family dog
Family upset after incident in backyard
By Melissa Pinion-Whitt
Staff Writer
Thursday, May 26, 2005 - ONTARIO - A police officer investigating a fraud case shot and killed a dog in a residential backyard Wednesday.
The 6-year-old boxer named Rocky charged at the officer when he entered the backyard in the 900 block of West G Street around noon. Police were at the home to interview a man suspected of credit card fraud and walked into the backyard because they saw him and suspected he might try to flee.
"The officer felt the dog was going to attack him, so the officer shot the dog," said Ontario police Detective Al Parra. "The officer, in backing away, trips on something and falls down on his back. He sees the dog still coming, so he fires two more shots, which killed the dog."
Family members, who were devastated by the shooting, said the dog was just doing what he was trained to do: protect the property.
"He never bit anybody. He's never hurt anybody. All he's ever done is guard his home and protect his family," said Martin Pina, who lives at the home with his wife and five children.
Martin's daughter, Gloria, said the dog was always obedient and wouldn't even run away if the family accidentally left the gate open.
"It wasn't just a dog to us. He's one of us," she said.
Police came to the home looking for Gloria's brother, Mario Pina, 23. The officer heard loud music and saw the man in the backyard, where he was doing yard work. The officer shouted at him, and when Pina didn't respond, he entered the backyard, Parra said.
Pina was arrested on suspicion of fraud and burglary and was booked into West Valley Detention Center.
Parra said it is not common that officers shoot dogs, but it sometimes occurs during arrests.
"The officer has a right to protect himself. He has a right to use deadly force if he feels he's about to be attacked by an animal."
Martin Pina argued that police shouldn't have been in his backyard because they didn't have a warrant or authorization to be there.
Police said they don't need a warrant to go into someone's backyard if they are at a residence to make an arrest and see the person in the backyard. Officers need warrants to go into someone's home, Parra said.
The incident is being investigated as an officer-involved shooting. The officer, whose name was withheld pending the outcome of the case, was not placed on administrative leave, Parra said.
Melissa Pinion-Whitt can be reached by e-mail at m_pinion-whitt@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-9378.
You responded to a point being made with an adhominum. I did'nt see you attacked. I saw cops in general attacked based on an actual case where 80% of retiring chiefs were claiming disability (working the system to the point of debatable fraud). Inferences were made about the general ethical standards of police.
You choose to respond by ignoring the point and threatinging to make the poster 'squeel like a pig' or something like that.
So tell us are you a cop? Do you feel personally attacked by a general attack on cops ethics? Your response was ironic in that it made you look like a jack boot who certainly should'nt be a cop. (You are more then that response of course, but if that was all I had to go on I'd say you were part of the problem, assuming you're a cop.)
BTW the CHP disability abuse was a series of storys on SJ mercury news. Was discussed on FR. Search and Google are your friends.
And the court of public opinion has the right to wish that [expletive] [expletive] should've rammed his head on a spike when he fell. Sometimes it's GOOD to hear about one of 'em 'entering eternity' via misadventure.
Hey, if every Barney Fife don't get his MP5 the terrorists win, doncha know? Pulling a trigger 120 times sounds like a disability claim to me.... and I'll bet little eno_ is an active participant with his PRB (Poh-leece Review Board) or city council on supervising their local PD
/sarcasm
Maybe all boxers in the vicinity of police officers are sweet. Skooz apparently has ironclad proof of some kind. Me? I wouldn't wait for the dog to close its jaws to find out. ;-)
No. Just 30 years of being around hundreds of Boxers, not one of which was ever even remotely aggressive toward any human. Not one.
Of course, that is not to say that some Boxers would not have attacked the rogue cop who entered the yard, but it is highly unlikely. The nature of the breed is to adore humans and want to play with any they meet. I have one, and I must say they are the most pathetic guard dogs there are.
The dog was minding his own business in a fenced backyard. There is ZERO evidence the dog attacked the rogue cop. None.
The fact of the matter is that I did not post any comment on this article. I posted a response to something said to me, carried over from an entirely different thread.
I will make no comment on this article. I will say, that like you, and all who love freedom, I have distain for police that abuse their authority. A police officer [reads law enforcement officer authorized under law] is, in fact the only person who can deprive you of your liberty. And likewise, it is only a judge that can return you your freedom once arrested.
I do not, however believe ALL police are corrupt, and to make that accusation, is in it self a sign of mental instability.
I am certain that with all those "Police officers suck" bumpersickers all over your car, you will be FR front page news when you shoot it out with your arch enemies.
I know I'll be looking forward to a comment or two on that thread.
You missed the thread FRiend. And yes I know, out here we don't shoot them 30 or 40 times with a popgun because of a badge....
That's not right, Barney was only allowed a revolver and one bullet at a time.
You should email the reporterette and ask her why she contradicted herself. Her e-mail is m_pinion-whitt@dailybulletin.com
LOL!
The cop first shot the dog before he tripped and fell over.
I'm sure Chiefs do a lot of that works.
And being a cop generally ranks for danger right down there with landscape gardening
(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,
LOL!
Oh stoppit!
BTW, I like cops. See my comment above. But, some on this forum have a pathalogical and pathetic obesession with defending every rogue cop and believeing everything they say, regardless of contrary evidence and circumstance.
Yep. Nothing like "projecting;" especially when you haven't the slightest idea what actually happened.
Here's an experiment: Find a Boxer, any Boxer. Fall down onto the ground within 100 feet. Advice: Bring a towel.
Boxers used to be used for police dogs in Germany. Know why there are so few of them still in use today? It is too difficult to train Boxers to be aggressive toward humans.
But, hey, why am I telling you that? You're an expert on Boxers. You did a Google search and proved they are vicious killing beasts. In your thorough search You found:
1) One Boxer who wasn't even a Boxer (mixbreed=mutt);
2) One Boxer who attacked ANOTHER DOG (dog aggression does not=human aggression); and
3) a story about one Boxer who attacked a woman. The circumstances of the attack are not even given in that case. Just that he attacked her. Was the dog abused? Fed gunpowder? (That's what white trash do to make dogs aggressive). And the fact that her "next door neighbor grabbed the dog and pulled it off and they were able to contain the dog in another room" should tell you that something is very odd about that story.
Just for the sake of arguement, I'll give you that one. Okay, so in all your vast research (a 30 second google search) you found one Boxer who bit one person. That just makes my point: Boxer attacks against humans are exceedingly rare.
Knowing what I know about Boxers and the way the article is written, I think I have a good idea what happened. Certainly it is far more realistic than your "Devil dog from Hell attacked friendly officer for no reason whatsoever" bullcrap. The rogue cop did not have to shoot the dog. The rogue cop made a mistake. The rogue cop should pay for that mistake.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Friday, June 20, 2003
By Reid J. Epstein
On a night when she talked a friend out of suicide, Valerie Mueller lost her cocker spaniel to a Milwaukee police officer's gun.
Mueller and Sprite were in their backyard, waiting for police to arrive at her home around 2 a.m. When squad cars arrived, Sprite bounded toward the officers. Seconds later, Sprite was shot in the head and killed.
"He fell over and flinched," said Mueller, who was standing about 10 feet behind Sprite when the officer fired. "To see him fall over flinching and die right there, it's just hard to explain."
To make matters worse, Mueller was issued a $120 citation for having Sprite outside without a leash.
Sprite, 6, has posthumously become the center of a Milwaukee Police Department investigation into whether lethal force was necessary to subdue a 38-pound cocker spaniel. Mueller has retained attorney Alan Eisenberg, who called the shooting "reckless." Police Chief Arthur Jones said the department is investigating to see whether the officer was in enough danger to warrant her actions.
Police responded to a 911 call reporting a man contemplating suicide at Mueller's house in the 4300 block of S. Logan Ave. around 2 a.m. Saturday. By the time officers arrived, the man -- Mueller's friend -- had calmed down.
Mueller and Dave Williams, another friend, took Sprite into her backyard to play with him until the police arrived. When they did, Sprite bounded into the front yard.
Officer Chaquila C. Peavy had just left her squad car when Sprite moved toward her, witnesses say. Seconds later, Peavy shot Sprite, Mueller and Williams said.
"I told them, 'The dog is harmless, don't hurt the dog,' " Williams said. "Three seconds later, they shot the dog."
Then Peavy issued her the citation.
"I will fight that ticket," she said.
Mueller, a 33-year-old Milwaukee Public Schools special education teacher, has spent this week mourning the loss of her pet and companion.
When she steps out of the shower, she still looks down to make sure she doesn't trip over him. When she gets into bed, she misses him lying next to her. And, worst of all, when she comes home from school, he hasn't been there to greet her and give her a kiss.
Sprite was so much a part of her life that Mueller had his paw prints tattooed onto her right foot.
"He was my best friend," she said. "I did everything with him."
Peavy, 28, has been on the force since November 2001, police records show. According to Mueller, Peavy refused to identify herself at the scene after she shot Sprite, but Jones said Mueller and her friends never asked for the officer's name.
Jones said an officer can shoot a dog if the officer "reasonably feels that they're in danger."
As to whether an officer could feel threatened by a cocker spaniel, Jones said, "it just depends on the individual and the circumstances. We're going to look into it, there's no question. There will be an investigation."
Eisenberg filed a complaint Wednesday with the city's Fire and Police Commission, the first dog-shooting complaint the commission has received this year. Three people asked the commission to investigate police shootings of dogs in 2002, according to Executive Director David Heard.
Eisenberg also asked Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann to conduct a criminal investigation.
Police officers should have to prove pet killings are justified, the same as if a person were shot, said Jill De Grave, education director for the Wisconsin Humane Society in Milwaukee.
"Everybody has to be accountable for their actions, especially when something dies as a result," De Grave said. "The officer must have felt very, very threatened to pull the trigger."
De Grave suggested that the Police Department train officers to learn to spot the sometimes subtle distinctions in dog mannerisms to empower them to make better decisions. The humane society already provides dog behavior training to utility company meter-readers, postal carriers and other workers who may encounter loose dogs on the job. But Milwaukee Police Department officials have yet to approach the society for such classes, she said.
"Every police officer can benefit from training on handling dogs and reading behavior," De Grave said.
But that's little solace to Mueller, who, along with her cat, Angel, now lives in a much quieter house.
"You don't know anyone who could use a bag of Iams dog food?" Mueller said from her front porch. "I have a whole bag left."
Allison L. Smith of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.
Credit: repstein@journalsentinel.com
L
How often is the the average 6'1" police officer be threatened by a 6 year old child?
How many times a day are people viciously mauled by dogs around the world?
Sorry but YOUR logic does not hold up.
The cop was wrong, has shown an inability to manage a typical law enforcement situation, and is liable for damages.
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