[Celtic Conservative]

Um, police dogs are intentionally desensitized to the sound of gunfire. It's part of the training regime. Police have an instant to make a decision, and an eternity for every armchair quarterback to second guess(like you). Now, I AM a cop and , but even so I am not under the impression that I have all the facts to this story. And as regards the "cowards and thugs" comment there are idiots in every agency. But they all have the same problem: They gotta hire from the human race!

Here endeth the lesson,

CC

[jveritas]

It was not a split second decision about what to do with the dog, he could have simply used other methods to stop the dog beside shooting him.

[newbolt]

Right answer partner. Most likely the officer had his weapon drawn when he was attacked by the dog. When you are attacked by a dog, even in training, and the dog wouldn’t release when commanded by his handler, you don’t have much choice but to use what you have at hand.