Posted on 01/20/2010 5:22:40 PM PST by The Magical Mischief Tour
A couple in Calhoun, Tennessee calls NewsChannel 9 after their dog is shot to death right in front of their home. They didn't call police because the chief is the person who pulled the trigger. He says the dog has been a nuisance for months.
Police Chief James Burris says while the dog had never bitten anyone, he had seen him growl, and get aggressive, and he was worried what he might do. That's why he shot the husky three times Wednesday morning, not knowing the dog's family was only a few feet away in their home. Now, they want to know exactly why he was killed, and why they weren't warned.
David Jaynes owned the dog, named Little Man. He says, "I hear a gunshot, then a God awful noise I still can't believe was coming from my dog."
Jaynes woke up to his dog being shot to death just outside his home, and the man pulling the trigger was the police chief. "I came out of the door and I saw the policemen up by the road and I saw my dog laying here where the first pool of blood is, walking around, blood coming out of his face."
His mother, Susan, says, "He was standing outside with the gun and told us to get back inside because he had to put the dog out of his misery, and then we went in and he shot it again and again."
The blood still marks the trail of the three shots that hit Little Man in the head. Jaynes has raised him for the last year, since he was a puppy. "Really hurt, sad, shocked I can't believe the police chief shot my dog for really no good reason."
But we spoke with Calhoun Police Chief James Burris who says he had a reason. "The purpose of killing him, was fear of what he might do to these children at the school, people in the town." Burris says since the fall, they've received complaints of the dog running through the neighborhoods without a collar or tag, but they couldn't find the owners to give them a citation. But Jaynes say he had both, and even showed us a photograph of Little Man with a collar clearly on.
Wednesday morning, Burris says he saw Little Man digging in the trash at a gas station and called the animal control officer. Burris says, "Tried to catch the dog, dog bristled up on him, growling at him, like he's going to attack. Jerry said I'm not going to fool with him, I said okay, I'll follow him."
Burris says the dog ended up on a front porch, and he had no idea it was where the dog lived, or that his family was home at the time. He says, "Didn't want to do it, didn't like doing it, but it was matter of having to do it."
Burris says he did follow the city ordinance which gives a law officer the right to kill an animal if it's a hazard. But, the family says Little Man never acted aggressively.
They did admit he had pulled his collar off a few weeks ago. The dog's body was picked up by the garbage truck, so Jaynes could not get him back to be buried.
It’s okay. He was a cop. They’re special.
Another tough-guy douche with a government issued licensed to kill.
Sounds to me like the chief’s dog should be the next county hazard and a citizen needs to take action.
There is no hell hot enough for this guy. Although it’s a terrible story, it’s better we find out who this guy and take away that gun before he starts people for being “annoying.”
whats a matter with these idiots ,you cant learn how to use a catch pole morons?
If “improper discharge of a firearm within city limits” is a valid crime, it would certainly apply with this bozo. If it took three shots to kill a family pet who can’t shoot back, this dummy should have his ability to possess a weapon revoked and the person who issued his “training” seriously questioned.
I wouldn’t want to be in the same town with this guy. He clearly can’t be trusted with a gun. And he’s the Chief of Police?
I think they need to fire this guy and find a new one.
before he starts shooting people for being annoiying
and he will. sooner or later he will shoot someone.
He should have planted on gun on the dog and claimed self defense.
It has always been in the LEO’s manual - the first thing you do is shoot the family dog.
This jackass doesn’t meet the standards for a street cop much less the Chief of Police. He should be fired, and promptly.
This is really upsetting however I don’t think it is ever safe for a dog to run loose within town limits especially when it is a well armed community.
Trigger happy cop.
Once, I respected police officers. But that was years and years ago.
And we all know what comes next....
I'm also sure that all such dogs have been captured or killed, also documented. Unless, of course, this is the ONLY time a dog has gotten out in this town.
It's a good thing that in this town you usually don't find people in a house when you shoot in it's direction.
A little investigation will shed some light.
Watching the video at the link gave me a better impression of the police chief, he just seems to be getting a bit too old for the job. Times have changed but he hasn’t kept up which has caused his judgement to be off.
The COP was wrong to kill the animal. The owner shouldn’t have let it roam loose. He has some responsibility in this also.
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