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 dont shoot my dog, he wont 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 Tuesdays case.
Baylous said officers still are searching for [Jonathan] Jeffers [the suspect they were pursuing]. He declined comment on the shooting of the dog.
Its counterproductive and its 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 its counterproductive to comment further.
Its counterproductive and its 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 its counterproductive to comment further.
Interesting comment by the police. I guess those pat excuses of “feared for their lives” just aren’t cutting it anymore, eh?