Posted on 05/03/2004 10:31:50 AM PDT by decimon
Muskego - Police officers responding to a burglar alarm at the wrong house shot and killed a 100-pound family dog that bounded toward them, the dog's owner said Friday. Muskego
At his mother's home Tuesday afternoon, Jacob Davida was working on his computer when he heard a knock at the front door.
With Bongo, the family's Mastiff, St. Bernard and German shepherd mix at his side, Davida opened the door to find police officers with guns drawn.
As usual, Bongo, 9, was without a leash because he didn't run off and never harmed anyone, Davida said. Bongo, with golden fur and a block-shaped head, was best friend to Davida and his four siblings. But on this day, the dog's inquisitive nature marked his downfall.
"My dog ran up from behind me toward the cop because he's a curious dog," said Davida, 24, of Madison. "I was screaming at the top of my lungs for them to stop shooting, for them to stop."
But his screams went for naught. The dog's days of walks in the park and canoe trips ended with a shot through his neck, Davida said.
"The cop just started shooting," he said. "The first bullet hit the ground close to me. The second shot hit the driveway. Then he shot and killed my dog right in front of me."
After shooting Bongo, Davida said, police officers told him that they were at his house to investigate a burglar alarm. The house, west of Big Muskego Lake, has no such alarm.
"They put that over the radio, and it came back that they had the wrong address," Davida said. "It turned out they were at the wrong place. Most of the cops left at that point to check out the actual burglary."
Muskego police Sgt. David Constantineau confirmed Friday that officers shot a dog Tuesday afternoon but said he would not release any details.
"It's under investigation," he said.
Davida finally went back to his computer programming job in Madison on Friday, but said the horror of watching his dog's death left him stricken.
"Retelling the story, I kind of shake," Davida said. "I had to break the news to each of my family members. I can't get the scene out of my head. It just plays over and over."
Bongo is to be buried on a farm in Fall River in Columbia County owned by Davida's sister and her husband.
As it turned out, the alarm came from the next-door neighbor's house. The neighbor, Robert Anderson, said nothing was taken, but the back and garage doors were left open.
To make matters worse, Davida watched the would-be burglar escape but, terrified after seeing his dog shot, didn't say anything to police.
"I saw the guy leave while the cops were interrogating me," he said. "I just assumed it was another police officer."
I used to live in Chicago, and there was another type of cop there: the guy whose dad was a cop and whose grandfather was a cop and whose uncles are cops, etc. Those guys were great. You see one on the street, you can go up and talk to them, even crack a joke. Then I moved to L.A.. Hoo boy, whole different deal here.
bump.
This is getting to be a regular feature of these stories. Police go to wrong house and shoot dog.
I guess it takes some attention away from going to the wrong house.
Slow day or in a canine frame of mind? :-)
here's another cops shoot family pet story:
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/news/archive/local_16146295.shtml
Unfortunately, the source is blocked from posting on FR..
Our local police are virtually Mayberry as compared to what I read about. They don't seem to do much and I haven't heard anyone calling for them to do more. Live-and-let-live mentality.
Lots of dogs here and one that roams the neighborhood. That dog gets along with everyone and every dog. Shooting a dog around here would likely cause an uproar.
I live in Muskego and laughed when i read about this. The police here are so stupid.
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