Such a macho powerful cop, that is!
Used to be you could go years and years without reading a story like this. These days there are too many to count.
ditto and its a matter of time before some law abiding citizen decides to get revenge for his family pet, I know I would if some thug with a badge walked into my yard and killed my pet
I grew up in the 70's with ( Adam12,CHIPS ect ) when the cops were the good guys.
now they are more like a banana republic gestapo
Up until the mid 70s, cops in most places were exactly what they were supposed to be. Citizens who wore uniforms when working, who did their jobs quietly and professionally, and who viewed every action with their fellow citizens as exercises in rights, responsibilities and civilized courtesies.
The war on drugs changed the rules. I am not sure what would have happened if we had gone the other direction (legalization) instead of increased criminalization, but it's obvious that the WOD didn't work. Drugs are still out there, and there is still huge amounts of money to be made selling them.
But look at what the WOD did do. The huge amounts of money to be made in the industry attracted the worst and most dangerous kinds of criminals. The money they were making made it possible for the crooks to buy and field the most powerful weapons. Cops were forced to match their viciousness and firepower with new weapons and tactics -- and SWAT was born. That was bad enough, but the changes kept on coming. Search warrants? Fourth Amendment?
"Get real!", the cops said. "We're dealing with bad dudes here! We have to approach every warrant and every arrest like combat because we don't know who is going to be armed with AKs and cop-killer bullets!"
It didn't happen all at once, but somewhere between 1970 and 1985, cops were no longer the good guys protecting other good guys from bad guys. They became "THE MAN". They told you what to do and you did it. Policing became less about protecting the public and more about making good busts.
But what really screwed things up was the concept of "asset forfeiture". Suddenly, any bust could be a city hall bonanza! Someone in a car gets caught with a baggie full of oregano? Confiscate the car, auction it, and there's the payroll for that day. And then it really got bad. Houses, boats, even real estate.
The rules on what can be seized vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but there can be no doubt in anyone's mind that the very concept is unconstitutional in the face of it.
Now, reading all that, someone is bound to be wondering whathe WOD and asset forfeiture have to do with cops shooting dogs. To me, however, the answer is simple.
Contempt!
I believe that the hyper-aggressiveness police behavior that has resulted from the incremental but substantial changes in law enforcement philosophy caused by the WOD, has fundamentally altered the mindset of most police departments, and through them, the minds of the officers themselves.
Citizens are no longer worthy of their respect. They are either timid little mice who cause them nothing but irritation with their nagging complaints, or they are dangerous crooks that need to be taken down. They have contempt is for the first, hatred is for the second, but what is completely missing is any residual affection for -- or sense of bearing responsibility to -- members of the public.
Why do they shoot dogs? Because they can! They know that in any "he says, she says" their word is going to be taken over the dog's owner. An owner who they resent anyhow. Besides, who knows? Even if the dog is on a chain, he might get loose! And that's where things stand right now.
Is there a solution? I really don't know. The mindsets have crystallized, attitudes have hardened, careers have been made. Even if all drugs were legalized and the prices fell to $50 a ton for cocaine, the cops would fight to the death to keep their Nomex uniforms and MP-5s.
There's no way back to Maybury RFD.
I’m from a small town in the mid-west and I trust and support law enforcement here totally. They are not perfect, but none of us are. They try to be professional and they do a good job of it as well.
Let’s not tar all law enforcement because of this officer’s actions.
For example, what if the chain was of an unknown length and the dog charged the officer? If the officer did not know the zone of danger, what should she do, since the dog could out run her in all likelihood? Even if the dog started out thirty feet away, which would be consistent with the story told, it could still have made the officer feel threatened.
I think we need to hear the other side of the story.
That's how Ruby Ridge started.
Once again, it's a female cop who loses control....