Power? Knowing their dog can kill on a whim.
I'll go out on a limb and suggest that it's possible that they owned dogs for a variety of functional reasons, not for amusement.
I continue to be amazed at people who insist on owning vicious animals...what is the fascination?
The type of person who owns a vicious dog, encourages macho behavior, arrogantly ignores warnings and citations and lets the dog run loose is exactly the type of person society is better without.
Sorry anyone gets killed but if it had to happen this owner is exactly the perfect candidate for removal from a civil neighborhood. The dog only did what the community should have done in my view.