Jerrod Dooley
Posted on 04/27/2014 10:11:09 AM PDT by DeaconBenjamin
Jerrod Dooley
Candy, the dog
RAINS COUNTY, TX (KLTV) - A former Rains County deputy retained a Dallas attorney on Friday. Jerrod Dooley was fired by Rains County on Thursday after he shot a dog while responding to a burglary call on April 18.
"[The] dog shooting in Rains County this week [was] an unfortunate situation," said Peter Schulte, Dooley's attorney. "Deputy Dooley retained me today to share his side... I ask that everyone keep an open mind about the Rains County incident. It's a horrible situation but I do believe the shooting is justified."
Rains County Sheriff David Traylor said he received a message on Friday by someone claiming to be Dooley's attorney. The Rains County attorney advised the sheriff not to return the call and to forward further calls to the county attorney.
According to the Rains County Sheriff's Office, Dooley was fired for his own safety because of threats. Sheriff David Traylor added that it is the safest move for the department and the deputy.
"That was a decision I know means saying at this point he is guilty of a criminal offense, but it is being investigated toward the criminal side right now," Traylor said.
Homeowner Cole Middleton arrived home around 11 a.m. and discovered his home had been burglarized. Middleton said his guns, iPad and his wife's jewelry had been taken. Middleton called 911 at 12:46 p.m. At 2:41 p.m., Dooley arrived at the home.
Middleton said when Dooley arrived to investigate, he claimed the dog was about to bite him and shot the dog to defend himself.
The homeowner says the dog was shot in the head. He begged the deputy to finish off his cowdog, named Candy, since the dog was suffering.“I was so upset. I went over there to her and she was still alive and I begged and pleaded with him to please shoot her again because I don’t have any firearms. They got stolen. He went and got in his vehicle and backed out of my driveway,” Middleton explained.
Middleton had trained Candy to be a cow dog, and he says his dog was a natural.“And then I had to do the unthinkable, the otherwise unthinkable. I had to kill my dog with my bare hands and put her out of her suffering, praying for this to be over with,” Middleton said.
The Middleton family says the necropsy report by a veterinarian proves that Candy was shot in the back of the head.
Fixed that for ya.
“But the very idea that a cop on the job should have to go hide in his car is laughable.”
I bet if he thought there was a threat he couldn’t have just killed he would have found a workaround that didn’t involve getting out of his cruiser.
She was a healer not a frickin Great Pyranese! They definetly won’t back down and would chase whatever the threat was down.
Maybe because the owner had just been robbed, was about 40 yards away waiting for the law to arrive. And maybe needed to be alerted?? I don’t know, that’s just crazy me thinking out loud.
This happened in my neck of the woods, so I have been following this story pretty closely. The deputy stated he had been bit by a dog a couple of years back and didn’t intend to be bitten again. He was jumpy about dogs. Since he was on what was in essence, an administrative call, not a “crime in progress” call...he could have absolutely waited in the car until the owner got there. The owner was honking his tractor horn to let the deputy know he was coming. He was within range of the house.
Rural areas differ greatly from urban areas as I’m sure you know. The deputy was a new hire and has admitted he was poorly trained...or at least copped (no pun intended) that plea as an excuse.
The deputy needed to be fired. He was a Barney Fife wannabe, imo. I have no problem with LEO. They provide a valuable service with little appreciation and low pay (especially around here). But once this type of thing starts, it’s downhill all the way. It needed to be nipped in the bud.
How can the dog threaten you while you are in your car?
This is not Cujo.
That won't help. I remember a story last year about a cop killing a dog who was closed up exactly as you said. The dog was apparently making a racket and the JBT opened the door, claimed the dog lunged at him and killed it dead. I think it was a poodle, but I might be wrong about that.
Well, many believe that letting a cop in your home without a search warrant is asking for trouble.
Quite true. I don't think the lady in the case in question had a choice.
Fine. He gets a Jury Trial in Rains County, Texas but only if he pays all costs if he loses.
Until then, I call BS.
DRooley
Because he and the dog have work to do? Because he would expect a visitor to refrain from destroying his property? Because most people are not cowardly brutes with low impulse control like the donut gobbler?
because any reasonable person invited to the property would expect the owner to control his dog or put the dog up where it would pose no threat or harm...
the dog jumped out of the truck bed to go after the officer...
if that was the owner’s idea of putting the dog up ...the owner failed the dog and the dog failed his training
Go back and rewatch the dashcam video, the dog crossed the red line just before it jumped out of the bed of the truck. It was the dog that had no impulse control.
This is a totally different scenario than when the cop shot the service dog that ran up to greet him. The cop that shot the service dog should have been fired.
A review of incidents in Melbourne where a dog bit, rushed at or chased a person or animal in a public space, found that there were sixty breeds involved and the German Shepherd and German Shepherd crosses, and Australian Cattle Dog and Cattle Dog (AKA Blue Heelers/ Red Heelers) crosses accounted for 9% of incidents. Surveys of U.S. breed club members showed that both dog-directed aggression and stranger-directed aggression were higher in the ACD than the average of breeds studied, with dog-directed aggression being the more prevalent of the two aggression types. The American Temperament Test Society reports a test pass rate of 79.3% for Australian Cattle Dogs. The average pass rate for all breeds combined is 80.4%.
Cattle dogs are known to have powerful jaws as a breed characteristic.
I am glad to see that you at least recognize the fact a good cattle dog won’t back down either.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.