[freebilly]

Well, the officer was justified. The dog wanted to lick him...

[IMR 4350]

The burglar alarm went off, so we shot it to turn it off.

[Farmer Dean]

What’s wrong with just looking into the back yard without entering?Does the cop expect to find a criminal back there if the dog was as menacing as he says it was?

[dsc]

Seems to me like there are too many people working as cops who just don’t have the temperament for it. Not to mention the Johnsons test.

[Ditter]

Stories like this make me worry about my own 4 dogs. My dogs are never outside unless I am at home, so I hope this scenario is unlikely at my house.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Just a cop being a cop. What else is new?

[EveningStar]

The cop sounds like a trigger happy SOB. Oh, well. I wasn’t there.

[Rational Thought]

Police, particularly in Oakland, are paranoid, and justifiably so.

This is partially a result of the Jerry Brown (as Mayor) legacy.

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

The officer said when he went to check the back yard he saw an open door and the dog -- a yellow lab named Gloria -- charged at him.

A vicious Labrador retriever, eh?

Methinks that in light of recent similar incidents, police departments across the country have implemented secret procedures whereby officers responding to calls should shoot ANY dog they encounter, vicious or friendly, pit bull or pekingese, all in the name of "officer safety."

Despicable. In my experience with labs, they are the friendliest of dogs, and I bet this one ran up to the officer and tried to jump up on him for a nice friendly tail-wagging lick, at which point---BANG!

[Oldpuppymax]

Some damned cop shooting MY puppy would find himself BURIED along side the dog. It’s about time someone actually did put one between some arrogant cops horns for the number of pets killed by cops over the past year. INEXCUSABLE.

[microgood]

I’ll bet they have disabled their burglar alarm permanently.

[Keflavik76]

A warning shot to the ground would probably suffice to persuade the dog to back off. My Siberian Husky goes into hiding when he hears thunder. Our men in blue are either trigger happy or have some sort of policy to shoot dogs they perceive as threatening.

[Condor51]

We have a Yellow Lab, she's three years old, 82 pounds and Barks LOUDLY at any stranger who gets 'into her territory'₍₁₎, like near our fence, and wants to go out to 'investgate' whose there. Then after sniffing for a few seconds at the fence, wags her tail, turns around and wants to go back inside the house. And if I was to come home like this lady, and find gate open, the dog 'gone' and a note left by the PD that they shot her out of 'fear'. Well ..... I'm afraid my bad temper of the olden days would rear its ugly head again.

btw, I listen to the Chi PD with an online scanner and when they run into a situation like this (Open Door/Burglary Alarm) they first try to contact the Homeowner/Resident by phone while doing a cursory outside check. They DON'T enter on to the property unless there's a clear sign of a break-in. And if there's a dog 'off the leash' they WAIT for animal control. They DON'T Shoot DOGS!

So it sounds like this was either a Trigger Happy Moron, or Oakland needs to ADD SOME TRAINING for their Cops. Say what you will about Chicago but the Cops on the streets are some of the best (I wouldn't do their job for $200K).

(1) Our Lab 'knows' both our next door neighbors and their families, she even 'knows' the Mexican landscapers. She doesn't bark at any of them. But the Big Brown UPS Truck drives her nuts. I think that's due to something the Breeder did when she was a pup.

[devere]

Where I live 73% of the police make over $100,000 per year, and they leave us alone.
They are too busy managing their investment portfolios to mess with my back yard.

[CodeToad]

I hope the family returns the favor. This crap has gotten out of hand. Cops can kill animals without charges of any kind.

[Darnright]

Dog ping

[OldPossum]

If I ever have the occasion to call my sheriff’s department I am going to make it crystal clear that they had better not shoot my dog. She not only is friendly but she is blind.

[TASMANIANRED]

With cops like this, who needs thugs.

[momtothree]

Many alarms are false and cops know that. From what I read in the article, the officer was “startled” when the dog came running at him. What (for sake of argument) would have happened if a child had come running towards him? Sounds a little gun-happy to me. Just a thought