Posted on 01/08/2003 11:35:54 PM PST by JohnHuang2
Mean that a human life is more precious than a dog's? Of course I do.
I love animals, but I have seen dog attack injuries and have no Disneyland illusions about what a dog attack can do.
My worst true story is the one where the family dog ate the baby while the mother was out buying dog food.
Don't kid yourself. Dogs are wolves.
That's all the time he had. Most decisions to fire have to be made "in a snap."
If you think that a police officer should hesitate to defend himself from serious injury rather than kill a dog, then you might as well join PETA.
As I stated, grief first and then compassion, yes. But I'm an old Christian family doctor who has treated police officer injuries and dog bite injuries, so I concede that I am not a Disneyland kind of person.
Maybe police officers should just automatically slay any dogs in any vehicles they stop.
That way, the potential threat (from the dog anyway) would be reduced to zero.
Their safety is paramount, after all.
I knew I was going to take a lot of flak for my stand, but that's what makes FR fun.
I'm comparing your hatred of police. And no, I would not compare Hall, the other four officers involved in this stop, or all police in the US in general, to the Stasi or Nazi's either, as you have.
It's o.k. I deserved it. ; ^ )>
Gimme a break. There is no comparison between what this cop did to a family's dog and what the a-holes from PETA scream about when you bite into a Chicken McNugget.
As for snap decisions...why wouldn't a warning shot be in order? And aren't these cops trained to assess these types of situations in seconds so that they don't have to use deadly force? If not, then ol' Barney shouldn't be carrying a firearm.
And if you've seen the video, you cannot tell me that the demeanor of the dog warranted the response it got. An attacking dog would have gone straight for him with its head lowered.
And one last question. If this overpaid, undereducated, doughnut eating flatfoot was so highly trained that he can assess a situation in "snap" and respond appropriately...why didn't he just closed the damned car door as he was requested to?
A fine idea, though.
Warning shots are not authorized, because what goes up must come down somewhere. Besides, firing a firearm, wherever it may be aimed, is using deadly force and there's only one justification for the use of deadly force.
And aren't these cops trained to assess these types of situations in seconds so that they don't have to use deadly force? If not, then ol' Barney shouldn't be carrying a firearm.
Shoot/don't shoot training, using laser or IR guns, is fairly common and has been for as long as I remember. Please note I am not a LEO, but have been peripherally in that community for a while. (Emergency management volunteer communications...)
Thanks for clarifying but I should have been clearer. I was thinking more of a shot into the ground near the dog before it approached. (If it did at all, which isn't extremely clear from the video.)
And what is the range of 50 or so shotgun pellets fired into the air? Certainly not that of a round even as small as a .22. Even if he did loose a round into the air, the area of the traffic stop looked to be fairly remote...on the side of a highway...no lights from any structures. There looked to be a lot of "somewhere" out there. Still, better safe than sorry? Who can say?
I am not a LEO either but my father-in-law is a 30 year police veteran, now retired. He spent most of those years on the street in New York. He has seen the video and also shares my opinion, which is this:
The officer panicked and fired. Period. He should be disarmed and removed from contact with the local citizenry. To defend his actions and hold him up as an example of a normal law enforcement officer, just doing his job, does a disservice to all other police officers with a brain...or a backbone.
There are of course a few who simply hate police and will be against them no matter what. On the other hand it is beyond my comprehension at the number of, well, idiots, (sorry but no other word apllies) who think it is perfectly alright for a cop to kill a friendly dog who approaches him.
They also think it is just ducky to terrorise (maybe that is not even a strong enough word) a family with no real information to go on. Heck that type of conduct is reprehensible even if they knew the family was a bunch of terrorists.
Somewhere, somehow, the police have got to use just a little bit of common sense. This was obviously a family on a trip. I repeat: This was OBVIOUSLY a family on a trip. Sure the police should still use some caution because on some really rare occassion it might actually be armed felons.
Just how far this country has slid can be implied by the following fact: In ancient Rome, it was illegal to shackle a Roman Citizen for any reason. The Romans were not a bunch of Peta, Hippie Loving Flower children either. They did understand the concept of dignity tho. Apparently a whole lot better than a lot of people on FR do.
I am not sure that PETA has any reason to have a problem with this. Because I am not sure that is any real chicken in that McNugget.
I guess these guys really do have donuts for brains! You don't have to go far in the south to find some rodeo with coyboys who would be more than happy to round up a cow for a very small fee, maybe for free! They must be really bored with their job. Even if they actually thought there was a robbery going on they overeacted at the getgo!
Good point. Got me. I was going to type 'chicken sandwich' at first but changed my mind. Don't know why. I suppose I subconciously yearn for some "pieces-parts".
Not only that. Every shot fired is a shot that can't be used again - why waste one firing at nothing? My training has been that if one's going to bother to fire a shot, it had better be on target and effective.
The officer panicked and fired. Period. He should be disarmed and removed from contact with the local citizenry.
I agree here, but then I begin to disagree...
To defend his actions and hold him up as an example of a normal law enforcement officer, just doing his job, does a disservice to all other police officers with a brain...or a backbone.
I fear that this officer is an exemplar of the attitude amongst the younger, more recently trained police. That is what is frightening...
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