Cop took just 3 seconds to shoot dog

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | Thursday, January 9, 2003

[JohnHuang2]

The Tennessee policeman who shot and killed a family's dog during a terrorizing traffic stop took just three seconds to slay the animal after it jumped out its owners' car, reports the Cookeville Herald-Citizen.

Law-enforcement authorities released a videotape of the incident yesterday, which shows the three-second time frame on the tape's counter.

The Cookeville police officer who shot the dog, Eric Hall, has since been reassigned to administrative duties while the incident is probed.

As WorldNetDaily reported, the Smoak family was returning to their home in North Carolina on New Year's Day when three police cars swarmed their vehicle on Interstate 40 in what appeared to be a traffic stop.

The Smoaks appear on CNN

A Tennessee Highway Patrol officer broadcast orders over a bullhorn for driver James Smoak to toss the keys out of the car window, get out with his hands up and walk backwards to the rear of the car. Smoak obeyed and was subsequently ordered onto his knees and handcuffed at gunpoint. Officers similarly handcuffed his wife, Pamela, and their 17-year-old son with their guns drawn.

As the troopers were putting the family members inside the patrol car, one of the Smoak family dogs, a boxer-bulldog mix named Patton, came out of the car and headed toward one of the Cookeville officers who were assisting the THP troopers.

"That officer had a flashlight on his shotgun, and the dog was going toward that light, and the officer shot him, just blew his head off," Pamela Smoak told the Herald-Citizen. "We had begged them to shut the car doors so our dogs wouldn't get out, [but] they didn't do that."

The Smoaks had been pulled over by mistake after someone reported seeing the car getting on the highway with cash flying out from behind the vehicle. James Smoak, it turns out, had mistakenly left his wallet on the roof of the car when he stopped to get gas. Someone within the THP reportedly thought a robbery had occurred, though it turns out none had.

Hall claimed he was acting in self-defense.

"I yelled at the dog to get back, but it attempted to circle me to attack, so I felt that I had no option but to protect myself," the officer wrote in a police report.

Police Chief Bob Terry told the Herald-Citizen, "We are aware there is a lot of criticism out there over this incident, and we want to take [Hall] off the road and let him perform other duties while we get this all resolved." Terry stressed that Hall was not being punished for killing the dog.

The Herald-Citizen reports that "to an average viewer, the scene recorded on the video may not demonstrate the aggressiveness or the threat the officer said he experienced as the dog came toward him."

Terry said he will have two unrelated police agencies perform independent reviews of the incident.

"We once again extend our deepest concerns to the Smoak family for their loss," Terry said. "We know this was a terrible experience for them, and we truly wish that we could undo the events that occurred on the night of Jan. 1."

The Smoaks recently told their story on CNN's "Connie Chung Tonight."

Speaking of Patton, son Brandon Smoak told Chung, "He's the gentlest dog that I've ever been around. He's like Scooby Doo. He wasn't mean at all."

[from occupied ga]

What a horrible suggestion!

Yes, but I'm a horrible person :-)

[KarlInOhio]

Cops are tried and convicted here every day before the evidence is in!

The very fact that there is any evidence shows that there is at least one good cop in this whole mess. I was expecting that any video equipment during this event would have had an "unfortunate malfunction" and we would have had to rely on the word of officers instead of our eyes and ears.

I doubt that the shooting was against any policy. More and more the first action by the police in any action is to shoot the dog if it even looks crosseyed at the cops. They just shot the family pooch instead of the dog of someone they could say was a drug dealer or had an address similar to a drug dealer's.

[1Old Pro]

A sickening, sad story about another incompetent cop(s). The problem is the officer deserves punishment, not the insurnce carrier or the county taxpayers if they are self-insured.

The cop should have to personally pay pay the family $500 to buy a new dog and $10,000 for their grief so they can take a 2 week vacation in Hawaii and mourn their loss.

[Last Visible Dog]

I think the biggest point in this debate is the Police were 100% wrong and negligent from the beginning. Even before they told the Cops they had dogs, the Police were very much IN THE WRONG. A report of “money flying out of a car” is not even a report of a crime so the Bozo Police were absolutely wrong from the start. There was NO reported crime and no evidence of a crime…except maybe littering. Now if we turn our brains on we would realize that someone reporting they see money flying out of a car could possibly be mistaken (it was night time). ALL of those policemen NEED to be fired and see SOME jail time. The public entrusts the police with the right to use deadly force – this is a solemn and serious duty – if ANYBODY abuses this entrustment they MUST be fired and punished. This is serious stuff – forget the dog part – the shooter welded deadly force with reckless abandon – he could have kill a person very easily.

Police SERVE the Public – at least that is the way it supposed to be. Currently it looks like many Police feel the public is subservient to them. This is a dangerous slippery sloop.

[from occupied ga]

not the insurnce carrier or the county taxpayers if they are self-insured.

Odds are 99.99999999999% that they are self insured and it will come out of the taxpayers' pockets.

[mel]

Excellent point.

[SerpentDove]

>>But if it had been my dog, I would have cried and then comforted the cop and told him not to feel guilty.<<

You can't possibly mean this. If you are sincere, then you are what's wrong with this country. Tyrants love subjects like you.

[mel]

The family repeatedly pleaded with the police to simply shut the door so the dogs would not get out.

[razorback-bert]

We need the police (911) call and note that was no mention of "armed and dangerous" .

[Nuke'm Glowing]

" Either conservatism has taken a strange turn, or cops have become jack-booted thugs. Which do you think is more likely to be the correct objective answer?"

Well, according to you the Gestapo were just overly eager traffic cops. In this case, the cops were just over eager Nazis. Tell us, which cheek do you kiss???

[Nuke'm Glowing]

LOL, which excellent point? I've made so many....

[Dimensio]

The family repeatedly pleaded with the police to simply shut the door so the dogs would not get out.

Well, yes, but are you going to listen to the request of hardened criminals like this family?

[SerpentDove]

>>But their blasted dog attacked a cop. <<

Not true. Please limit your posts to truthful ones.

[dcwusmc]

FINALLY!!!! Two things I can agree with you on: Your comment and your tagline. (And, yeah, I have a problem with that. So what?) :^)

[Stone Mountain]

The people in involved told the cops to shut the doors on their car so the dogs would not get out. The police ignored them and then shot the dog. It's preaty clear cut that all parties that conducted this affair should be punished. The person that called in to the police should have a HUGE law suit against her.

I agree with everything except your last comment. If the lady was calling in the report maliciously so as to screw with the family, then there should certainly be a suit filed. However, if she made an honest mistake, and called in with what she thought was evidence of a crime, she shouldn't be punished. If she were, this would set a terrible precedent, and would discourage people from calling in crimes that they were witness to - I certainly would think twice about reporting a crime if I knew that I would be subject to a lawsuit if I were mistaken. The police, on the other hand, are supposed to be specifically trained to handle matters such as these...

[TaZ]

Hey, I like your tag line, but I think you should edit it to read the following:

The most dangerous man, to any government, is the man who is able to think for himself and is well-trained in the use of arms.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

"...to an average viewer, the scene recorded on the video may not demonstrate the aggressiveness or the threat the officer said he experienced as the dog came toward him."

In other words, "Who you gonna believe? Me, or your own lyin' eyes?"

[dcwusmc]

THIS is what cops are for... not shooting family pets or doing knockless takedowns or what ever... Yet suckups like you and patriciaruth seem to like kneeling before them.... I hope your chains rest lightly...

[Dimensio]

The killing of Mrs. Weaver was outrageous, and I'm sure that most FReepers will agree to that. It was unjustified, and the shooter deserved to be jailed or even executed and the 'system' instead protected him. That the general populace isn't as outraged at that case (mostly due to lack of information, as many people are ignorant as to the facts of Ruby Ridge) does not make this shooting any more justified.