I'll be charitable. Bottom right is definitely threatening behavior.
To shoes.
And grass.
Posted on 06/27/2014 11:48:00 AM PDT by Altariel
Police spent much of Tuesday searching for a fugitive.
During the search West Virginia State Troopers and the Mason County Sheriff's Department said they had to shoot and kill a woman's dog.
Police spent almost 12 hours searching for Johnathon Jeffers, but with no luck. At one point during the search, police came out of the woods and onto Ginger Sweats’ property in Mason County. She has no ties to Jeffers, but was immediately caught up in the search when officers said they had to fire their guns.
Accompanied by the dog she has left, Sweat was still trying to come to terms with the loss of her beagle mix, Willy Pete. On Tuesday, police were searching the area where Sweat lives for a man who they said shot at them.
Sweat just happens to live in the search area, about seven miles outside of Milton. She said during the search, West Virginia State Troopers and Mason County Sheriff's Deputies came out of the woods onto her front yard, and that's when they shot her dog four times.
"The first time he tried to run. I don't think it hit him," she said. "They still continued to shoot him, and he eventually ran around to the side of my house, died and collapsed by my air conditioner."
Sweat said Willy Pete was her best friend, and that she tried to tell officers that the dog wasn't going to hurt anyone. However, West Virginia State Police Lieutenant Michael Baylous said the dog was a threat, and troopers did what they are trained to do.
"Try to avoid it, if possible, but the trooper who fired the shots, it's my understanding, waited until the very last second to fire that shot, in hopes that that animal would retreat," Baylous said.
The dog was sitting on a porch in the front of her house when the troopers came onto her property. Police said the dog started coming toward them. Sweat said the dog wasn't aggressive, but police said he was, and that they had to shoot.
"Many of us are dog lovers, but when it comes down to it, you absolutely have to put more value on the human life side of the equation than the side of the animal," Baylous said.
Troopers buried the dog behind the house. Sweat said her dog got her through a lot, and she is going to miss Willy Pete. She hopes that troopers think twice next time, before shooting an animal.
"I hit my knees when it happened, and begged the officer to do something," she said. "That was my best friend."
I'll be charitable. Bottom right is definitely threatening behavior.
To shoes.
And grass.
http://reason.com/blog/2014/06/27/cops-shot-at-retreating-arthritic-dog-to
[Ginger Sweat’s] 6-year-old Basset hound/beagle mix, Willy Pete, left the porch and made his way toward the troopers. The dog, she said, suffered from arthritis in his back legs and was not aggressive...
Sweat said she was still inside when she saw the trooper raise a weapon at her dog.
“I ran out my door, jumping up and down screaming ‘don’t shoot my dog, he won’t bite, just let me get him in the house,’” she said.
She said the officer fired one shot toward the dog but missed. She said Willy Pete turned tail and was running back toward her.
“He ran towards me with desperation in his eyes,” she said. “They fired again in my direction. In the direction of my home where my kids were.”
She said three more shots were fired, a total of four shots. Willy Pete, she said, was hit three times. The dog went to the back of the mobile home. Sweat said she found the dog near the air conditioning unit.
“I watched my dog struggle and then die,” she said. “I collapsed in a puddle in the floor, screaming and crying.”
*****
Lt. Michael Baylous, State Police spokesman, said troopers sometimes will inform the public in similar situations with a media burst or by going door to door, but that it was his understanding there was no time for that in Tuesday’s case.
Baylous said officers still are searching for [Jonathan] Jeffers [the suspect they were pursuing]. He declined comment on the shooting of the dog.
“It’s counterproductive and it’s only serving to fan the tension,” Baylous said. “We have had several people responding to us in a very irrational way and we feel that it’s counterproductive to comment further.”
**** Yes, they had no time to do anything. Not even conduct a thorough search of the child’s home. Do not question the State, or you shall be smitten as a non-worshipper, until you see the light and call upon the name of the State to save you.
< /sarc >
(Failed to appropriately space the “sarc tag” so it showed)
/s needed depending on state of mind and time of day. Come to think of it, why don’t these guys have tracking dogs?
Every time I read one of these stories, it make my hatred for leos rise. I know there are good ones out there, but I do not trust that one of them will be the one who shows up on my lawn.
You shoot at anyone on my property, be it furry or not, you will probably get shot. I realize that means they would likely kill me, but this is my home and my dog’s home. Maybe that time, they will not make it home safely. No, this is not a threat, but it is time for it to not be OK!
I know I am not phrasing this all correctly, but the jbts need to be stopped! Every time tptb say it is a good shoot, that just tells others to go for it. It is supported.
I certainly wouldn't be defending jackboot thugs trespassing through a citizen's yard and then shooting the family dog.
And you can tell your commissar I said so.
The owner said it was a beagle mix! So if you or your dog are a half breed you need to be shoot.
The bloody Red Baron was running up the score.
And a catchy Top 40 tune in 1966.
:)
I would have killed every cop involved or died trying.
Looks totally vicious. Like a monster that could lick anyone to death.
Yeah, I was in full-cringe mode while posting that but “public service” stuff, ya know.
I find that doggie smile suspicious.
He’s in the pay of the Dobermans, isn’t he?
</sarc???>
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