Posted on 11/30/2008 3:54:13 AM PST by ShadowDancer
Three Pit Bulls Turn On Owners
POSTED: 10:07 pm EST November 28, 2008
UPDATED: 10:31 pm EST November 29, 2008
ROYAL OAK, Mich. -- The owners of three pit bulls that attacked two sisters said they are considering legal action against police.
Three family pets turned on the women Friday afternoon biting and chasing them until police were called.
A man, his 22-year-old wife, her 17-year-old sister and the sister’s infant were all living in the same Royal Oak home.
The man left the house at about 11 a.m. The 22-year-old woman said the dogs became unruly when her sister tripped over one of them. Then the behavior escalated and the animals began to attack the sisters.
The 22-year-old grabbed the infant, ran to a neighbor’s house and called 911. The 17-year-old locked herself in a bedroom. Below is an excerpt of the emergency call.
The 17-year-old caller: "I was just attacked by dogs and so was my sister. A pit bull."
911 operator: "Do you need an ambulance?"
17-year-old caller: "Yes."
911 operator: "Where are the dogs?"
17-year-old caller: "The house. They're in the house!"
Police arrived minutes later and saved the young mother.
“They were able to get the 17-year-old out of a window. They went in to snare the other two dogs but they were too vicious they had to be put down in the home,” said Lt. Corrigan O’Donahue.
Officers used a Taser on the other dog. Now, it's being housed at the Oakland County Animal Control Office.
Local 4 spoke with a neighbor who did not want to be identified. The woman said she was leery of the dogs for some time. “They were walking them and they would growl. And I would tell them they had to have them on a leash or I'll call animal control.”
The sisters were treated at an area hospital. Police said their injuries are serious but not life-threatening. The baby was not hurt.
The 22-year-old woman and her husband said police used excessive force against the dogs and that they are consulting an attorney and animal rights activists.
“I deeply regret the circumstances that led members of the Tennessee Highway Patrol to conduct a felony stop on the Smoak family and the subsequent shooting of their family pet by a member of the Cookeville Police Department,” wrote Col. Fagan. “My sympathy goes out to the Smoak family for the loss of their beloved pet, Patton. While we cannot change the course of events that occurred on January 1, 2003, we can take measures to ensure such an incident does not reoccur.”
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal jury has awarded $9,100 to a family whose dog was shot by a state trooper in Cookeville during a 2003 traffic stop. The jury in the civil suit said Wednesday that Highway Patrol Sgt. David Bush used excessive force when restraining driver James Smoak.
A patrol car video of the dog shooting was widely shown on television. The Smoak family of Saluda, N.C., had been wrongly identified as suspects in a robbery.
The family was ordered by officers to kneel on the highway shoulder when their dog, Patton, escaped from the vehicle through an open door that the family had repeatedly asked officers to close.
Cookeville police officer Eric Hall shot the 55-pound mixed breed pit bull, which could be seen wagging its tail in the video. Hall said he thought the dog was about to attack.
The Smoaks already settled with the city of Cookeville for $77,500 in a separate lawsuit
As much as you disgust me, I hope you never have to go through something like the Smoak family did.
Officers used a Taser on the other dog.He tried to bark, "don't tase me bro" in the pitbullian language.
they are consulting an attorney and animal rights activists
I can’t help but recall the trooper over here in Tennessee that shot a dog during a traffic stop. The dog was running toward the officer, but was wagging its tail and showing little sign of aggression.
But I suspect these bulls weren’t wagging their tails at the cops after attacking their owners.
:’)
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