Posted on 03/09/2011 7:45:20 AM PST by Immerito
MONROE, N.C.--Concern in Monroe after an officer shot and killed a dog in front of high school students. One of those kids emailed us saying the officer acted inappropriately.
Police say a German Shepherd was chasing a student at Central Academy of Technology and Arts. Investigators say the dog was acting aggressive and charged when the officer approached so she shot the animal.
The dog was shot while a large group of high school students were out of the high school, a decision which could have been potentially fatal for one or more of the students.
MONROE, N.C.—No charges after an officer shot and killed a dog right in front of high school students in Monroe. Cops say the German Shepherd was chasing a student at the Central Academy of Technology and Arts so they shot the animal. Police say no charges will be filed against the dogs owners.
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Really? This gives the impression that the police want this investigation to be closed, as though they are aware that they will not be in the right even if they do charge the owners for, say, violating local/state leash laws.
Win win situation. If the dog had bitten someone the police could also be blamed.
Typical
It wouldn’t surprise me if it was on a leash being walked by a little old lady.
If the police had shot a student, they would also be blamed.
Do you suppose that firing a weapon while innocent bystanders (students) are within firing range is proper gun handling?
Of course, if the DO charge the dog’s owners, they’ll escalate this thing in the media. They don’t want that, either.
Lesson: Get control of your animals.
If my dog were shot, I’m sure I’d be pissed off, too.
That’s why I get my head right BEFORE that can happen and make sure my dog is under my control.
I take an entirely different view when a dog is shot on the owner’s property, however.
I agree.
If the dog owners did nothing wrong, why was their dog shot?
So anther cop gets to learn the secret handshake?
“The dog was shot while a large group of high school students were out of the high school, a decision which could have been potentially fatal for one or more of the students.”
Absolutely correct, they could have been shot.
Yes.
I’m sure the gun handling was fine.
At some point, somebody is always going to be “within firing range” if a cop needs to discharge his weapon.
The real question is wether the shooting was justified.
No charges for failing to contain an aggressive dog? No charages even though the dog was, according to the police, aggressive?
That suggests strongly that the police quickly figured out that the dog’s behavior wasn’t a primary problem in the case, and several commentators indicated that the animal was petted by several students.
Finally:
“thats what i been trying to say what if the bullet ricochete and hit A INNOCENT person look where thunder was shot at in the flower bed by the building but he charged her and she shot him is what she claims ok then why was he shot in the back of his head and out his throat WHY because she shot him from behind he NEVER charged her”
Why would a cop shoot a charging dog in the BACK of its head?
If the bullet had ricocheted and hit a student, would the cop’s decision to fire have also been “fine”?
What if the bullet ricocheted and killed the student?
On the facts so far I am with the police officer.
So, you believe the police officer to be an incredible shot, managing to shoot the BACK of a charging dog’s head?
The dog was charging, and you want them to wait until animal control got there? Were you there so you can give us more information? I find this story to be so short on details that I can’t really make much of an educated opinion, but you seem to have a hard and fast one, that the police were wrong and put lives at risk, so please share the information that you have. Thanks.
Moreover, if the police officer was in the right, why no (justly deserved, in my view) ticket for the owners for failing to comply with the leash law? No fine for the dog’s purported aggressive behavior?
The actions of the police are more consistent if you suppose they examined the facts and decided the officer used poor judgment.
BINGO!
I think she screwed up and they couldn’t bring charges. But I could be wrong.
There is something strange about this story. If a large aggressive dog was chasing a kid with intent to bite, the shooting would be justified. But dogs chase kids all the time and play with them and kids run from dogs and play back all the time. We had a dog who came out during recess and played with us all the time like that and no body got bit - ever. Hostile intent on neither side need necessarily be there. How do you tell the difference? I don’t know. Has the dog had a track record of biting people? How old was it? Did it know the kid and was it playing with him/her? How could the cop tell? Should a cop shoot when its not clear what the situation is? Is it fair to second guess the cop when you weren’t there?
It just seems like there are too many incidents of cops shooting dogs these days.
Time for yet another “Magic Bullet Theory”.
If the cop was behind the dog as it allegedly chased a kid, she was shooting toward the kid, too.
Comforting thought.
The dog was shot in the back of the head. How does one shoot a charging animal in the back of the head?
Why would the police not charge an owner who certainly merited a fine for violating a leash law, or a fine for failing to contain an aggressive animal?
IMHO, I don’t give darn if the animal control officer was on scene. If a dog is free and lunging at people, I have no problem with an officer shooting it to protect himself or others.
IMHO, I don’t give darn if the animal control officer was on scene. If a dog is free and lunging at people, I have no problem with an officer shooting it to protect himself or others.
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