Posted on 04/21/2012 3:15:22 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Inundated with angry calls and emails about the fatal shooting of a dog by an Austin officer, the Police Department on Wednesday said the officer involved was reassigned and that administrators are looking closely at the incident and may change policies, even as reports of past complaints about the dog emerged.
"This incident has drawn a lot of attention," Assistant Police Chief David Carter said. "We've received a lot of calls, a lot of emails from people who are very concerned. And we are, too."
In a case that has received international attention after it went viral on Facebook, Michael Paxton's blue heeler, Cisco, was shot Saturday by officer Thomas Griffin, who was responding to a call about a domestic disturbance. Griffin arrived at the wrong address by mistake — Paxton's home — and shot the dog after he said it charged him.
Paxton has denied that Cisco behaved aggressively. KXAN reported Wednesday that Animal Control records indicate that a man, who was not bitten, reported the dog was overly aggressive and charged him as he walked down the sidewalk. In another instance, the news station reported, a woman claimed that Cisco had bitten her as she tried to pet him in a parking lot.
Paxton, who said earlier that he may file a complaint against Griffin and take legal action, did not immediately return calls late Wednesday for comment on the piece.
Police struck a conciliatory tone early Wednesday. "The bottom line is, we have a citizen who was going about his business, who was not involved in criminal or suspicious activity," Carter said. "And he loses his dog. ... That's a big deal, and we recognize that."
Police policy states that an officer is authorized to use deadly force against an animal that "reasonably appears ... to pose an imminent threat to the safety of officers or others."
Carter said the official review includes the 911 call and how dispatchers responded to it, the officer's tactics and what happened afterward. Carter said the department is also examining its policies and training for animal encounters. "Is our policy sufficient?" Carter said. "Is our training sufficient when dealing with dangerous animals or dogs?"
Police Chief Art Acevedo was critical Wednesday of what he called a "mob mentality" response to the incident: "People are calling us and directing profanity-laced insults and threats toward our employees in writing and on telephone calls."
The criticism comes just days after thousands of Central Texans lined streets in an unprecedented show of support during the funeral procession of senior patrol officer Jaime Padron, who was fatally shot about two weeks ago while answering a call about an intoxicated person. Acevedo said officials are reviewing what effect that incident may have had on Griffin's actions.
Padron's death had a profound impact, Acevedo said, asking, "Did hypervigilance play a role" when Griffin pulled his gun on Paxton and moments later shot the dog? "These are a lot of questions that have to be thoroughly explored and we cannot allow a mob mentality to influence our follow-up in this matter," Acevedo said. "Please give us time to conduct a thorough and thoughtful review."
This is not the first time a deadly force against a dog has provoked controversy in canine-friendly Austin. In November, an officer shot a dog after it bit him outside at a North Austin grocery. In 2000, an officer responding to a home burglary alarm in Northwest Austin said he killed the owner's dog after it approached him barking.
Talk to a K9 cop.
Best guys in the world.
You called the lowlife for what he is: "officious." That is the problem with a lot of LEOs. They want to lord it over the rabble--that would be us--they encounter.
I guess the police across the nation have killed enough family pets in the name of their safety, now. Police officers do have tasers and pepper spray to use in REAL cases where a dog is REALLY threatening them. They don’t have to kill as the first line of defense; unprofessional cops are choosing to kill.
Now there will be regulations to take away their options in Austin since some meat heads do not conduct themselves professionally.
This is going to happen more and more. It’s not good for police officers when their options are limited because they can’t be trusted to exercise professional judgement and be respectful of the public. They should reform themselves through training and peer pressure rather than making the crazy politicans do it for them.
The police chief is a moron.
Bunch of us out here feeling the same way.
They, government officials of very level, have become our Overlords.
I hear ya.
My dogs bark.
I bite.
“The police chief is a moron.”
Of course he is....you wouldn’t expect
people of intelligence and good character
to be able to go to work day in and day
out in that line of work.
Reactionary violence prone officers wouldn’t
last a day if they had to work for a competent
administrator rather than a brain donor political
syncophant looking out for his own ass.
I think the majority of cops would rather be bitten than kill a dog.. But for the love of Pete.. They need to better train officers in dealing with dogs!!!
Then a majority of cops are truly stupid. This cop was definitely stupid but any dog, human or fox charging me or mine on my property will be shot and I won’t lose a wink of sleep over it.
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