Why were the cops called? A neighbor making a “nuisance dog” complaint maybe?
Why did the cops feel compelled to enter the family’s yard once the dog had returned? Why not Animal Control?
Did the cop(s) make some kind of gesture or movement the 1 year old dog felt threatened by?
Why didn’t the cops leave the yard or back away from the dog to see if its demeanor changed?
Was the presence of the cops enough for the dog to feel compelled to “protect” it’s territory and family?
Witness accounts state the dog made no threatening gestures...I’m sure this will be a tad different than the “official” police version of events.
Shooting a dog in front of a child for little reason other than the claim of “baring its teeth” is excessive in my opinion. Regardless of how little knowledge the officers may or not have about dogs.
I really tire of these kinds of stories because they clearly indicate an organization that has crossed the rubicon between rational and irrational. One that wields an immense of power, which is scary in its own right.
I often hear of “a few bad cops” giving all the others a bad name. The question then becomes; “Why don’t the good cops, turn in the bad cops?” The only comparison and I will be the first to admit that it is an unfair one, is to Islam.
We are always told of the radical 10% that are the trouble makers, but we never hear anything from the other 90%, that rebukes the actions of the minority.
Same holds true of police, no matter how poorly or illegally an officer has acted, his brothers and sisters in blue will NOT speak up against him.
Another impediment to cleaning up law enforcement is that when an officer is found guilty of misconduct, the tax payers and not the officer are on the hook for any costs. The officer may lose their job, but the tax payer foots the bill.
So what can we do to fix this situation? Well as my old First Sergeant used to say; “Don’t complain unless you have a solution to the problem.” Well here is my idea.
Any and all monetary damages awarded to a plaintiff as a result of the actions of law enforcement officers, are to ONLY come from the offending departments or organizations pension fund.
Only when it hits home personally by weakening every officers retirement, will the good ones begin to turn in the bad ones. In time, department phycologists and training officers will do a better job of weeding out the nut jobs. Senior staff will do a better job of triple checking addresses before conducting a “no-knock” late night call to a suspect’s home. Officers will advise their partners that a course of action is not advised, rather than just going along.
And once this has happened, law enforcement might begin to gain some of the mountain of trust and respect that they have lost in past few years.
1) How many dogs did the "To Protect and Serve" crowd kill last year?
2) How many dogs did FedEx/UPS/USPS and gas/water/power meter readers kill last year?
These idiots all know dogs are territorial and will think their famiy is threatened and they can learn how to defuse that if they can learn to be sensative to "other cultures".
