Killing of family dog unfolds on videotape (Dog shooter gets desk duty)

tennessean.com ^ | 1/9/03 | LEON ALLIGOOD

[Rebelbase]

Three minutes and seven seconds tells the story of a dog named Patton.

The dog, which was shot at close range Jan. 1 by a Cookeville policeman during a felony traffic stop, belonged to the James Smoak family of Saluda, N.C. At the time, the Tennessee Highway Patrol suspected the Smoaks

[Henrietta]

AND they are arrogant... breaking the law themselves with impunity. They speed, drink, do drugs, and don't even know the laws they are suppose to enforce and then they wonder why the general public dislikes them.

Yeah, when you swagger around with a gun on your hip and act like an @$$hole, it's really no wonder why a large percentage of law-abiding folks like you and me loathe cops. I wouldn't cross the road to spit on one if he/she were on fire.

Here's a great idea for surveilling cops, so that they can't "invent" incidents for their police reports (a little unrelated to this story, but I thought about it while reading the he said/she said on the severed finger thread).

We should make all cops wear wires so that they can't make up bull$hite reports about who said what and who did what, and how "suspects" were acting. Right now, cops make up stories in order to make it look as if their actions were justified, and then write a report. Why not just wire them, and have it go via satellite to a tamperproof digital archiving system? We should be using technology to keep track of police, not citizens. Police are not trustworthy, and so they should be monitored.

[Joe Hadenuf]

After examining the video several times, this is worse than I expected. This was a small dog, and it didn't appear threatening. This family dog was unnecessarily executed, right in front of it's owners.

And after the idiot shot the dog to death, I am surprised that the other officers didn't start shooting the family members, as all the leos on the scene jumped upon hearing the shotgun blast.

Totally insane......

[zeugma]

You can mark me down as another who applaud and cheer. Police are a menace to society.

[Middle Man]

'The animal ''singled me out from the other officers and charged toward me growling in an aggressive manner,'' Hall wrote...'

Perjury is the native tongue of law enforcement in their reports and on the witness stand.

[Politically Correct]

It is clear from the aftermath of this event, his life was NOT in immediate danger.

Yep, in retrospect, probably not.
But like I said before that makes you a monday morning quarterback.
And in reality we don't know that the dog wasn't trying to get to the cop to chew on him in defense of his family.....now do we?

[PatrioticAmerican]

Cops have become the enemy. Looks like we need to protect ourselves and our family pets from lethal force used by cops at thier whim. I am getting sick and tired of cops using lethal force every time they get paranoid, and they get paranoid every time the wind blows.

Arm Up! They Have!

[FreeTally]

Yeah, after the fact we know that. But that was not the information fed to the officers.

You just continue to make our point. They had no REAL information. And sheesh, it was a damn station wagon with luggage and a family. Instead of doing a little investigative work and not taking a single sketchy phone call as truth, they burst on to the scene and demand everyone get out of the car and lay down - not even knowing if anything had occurred.

Just by pulling them over, one officer could have gobe to the window, asked for the driver's license. Guess what, when he failed to find his wallet(and Im sure he would have indicated he must have dropped it at the gas station he was just at), they could have put two and two together and determiend no felony had occurred.

No family traumatized, no dead dog, end of story. But, its just too dangerous for these wimps to approach a car like a typical stop. Its no fun either not getting to bark orders at someone who you have no idea what or if they have done wrong.

The entire point is this: No one has the right to be a cop. If a cop screws up IN ANY WAY THAT VIOLATES THE PUBLIC's TRUST, THE COP MUST BE FIRED! Not adhering to that policy is why so many people distrust and hate cops.

[Liberal Classic]

Excellent post. I believe you're correct in saying the vast majority of law officers are good folks, who would lay down their lives for ours. You're also right to point out there are a few bad apples. However, the only thing that you left out that I think is pertinent to the discussion is those officers who have not received the training and indoctrination that they should have.

In my layman's opinion, poorly trained officers cause more problems than those few bad apples. A wrong decision in a spit second is what causes tragedy to happen. The number of truly crooked officers is small, but the number of poorly trained and skilled officers is greater and has much more potential to cause harm. Though I haven't seen the video, the officer didn't shoot the dog because he was a cowboy rather because he may not have had any training as to how to deal with loose animals. Thus the changing story of the breed of the dog. The officer reacted in fear, fear for his life, fear for not knowing how to react due to lack of training.

[Dead Dog]

'A breed which is widely considered one of the friendliest dogs on earth.
"

Sometimes too friendly, ever try getting a 90lb bulldog of your leg. It ain't pretty.

[motzman]

Well, last Saturday night while freeping at about 10:30 PM, I heard a loud crash come from outside my house, like somebody or something threw the two "old-school" style metal garbage cans I have against the side of the house.

Naturally, I went to investigate and then saw that a pickup truck had apparently slammed into the telephone pole outside of my house, and was trying to get itself out of the huge pile of leaves at the curbside (which STILL have not been picked up by the town).

As I put on my official George W. Bush Carhartt work coat and prepared to investigate, I noticed the next door neighbors were walking towards the scene very quickly and deliberately.

As I stepped outside, I saw the whole picture unfold; the guy in the truck had hit a Ford Explorer, which was legally parked on the street in front of the house next door, same side of the road. The guy in the pickup had hit the parked truck, then careened over to the front of my house and got stuck in the leaves. The guy was trying to get away, but didn't realize that his passenger front tire was bent underneath the pickup's chassis.

Now, this scene's unfolding and they don't need me in there anymore, so I settle back to watch the festivities. Guy in pickup truck (a Jets fan returning from getting drunk at the game) is clearly blotto. 4 local (Cedar Grove, NJ) police units respond, and one of the officers starts giving the driver the old drunk tests.

Here's where it gets interesting.

I'm no lawyer, but I think a DWI involving a hit and run with property damage can be a felony. As the officer was dealing with the drunk guy, the neighbors English Bulldog runs out from the backyard, directly towards the cop dealing with the suspect. The cop sees the dog, clearly says (to the perp) "Hang on a second, sir" and turns to face the dog. As the dog approaches, the officer gets on one knee, and the dog comes up and starts trying to play with the officer. Another officer comes over, holds the dog by the collar, and starts to bring the dog over to the neighbors who were at the time inspecting the damage to the parked truck.

At no time were any weapons drawn. At no time did I think the dog was going to be shot. At no time did I think the cop was in any danger. Neither did he. I thought nothing of it until I read this disgusting story. Any defense of these cops as "reacting" is total BS, watch the video. The cops themselves created this situation, and should pay.

I think the shooting officer should be fired immediately and and be sued in Civil Court. The others involved in the dog shooting fiasco should suffer severe consequences for their incompetance. End of Story.

[Wolfie]

The scary part is that although the cops made one boneheaded decision after another, the authorities claim that they were following standard operating procedure.

[Wolfie]

Sometimes too friendly, ever try getting a 90lb bulldog of your leg. It ain't pretty.

"He's got a little Mississippi Leg-Hound in him, Clark. Once he gets goin', it's best to just let him finish up".

[kako]

me thinks your tinfoil is showing from under your hat.

No tin foil here.

It just a fact of human nature that when you give someone special toys or powers they become itching to use them.

A vague, anonymous phone call somehow gets construed into a robbery/car jacking because cops love to make felony stops. They're cool, manly and such a great adenilun rush.

A town that gets a SWAT Team is sure to suddenly have occasion to use them.

BTW, you are so quick to shift all blame to the dispatchers so you must have heard the 911 call and the subsequent communications to the patrol officers. Care to give us a link so we can see how it was all their fault?

[Dead Dog]

Best Christmas movie since "Bing Crosby danced with Danny F'ng Kay".

[Politically Correct]

You just continue to make our point. They had no REAL information.

No, you continue to miss the point.
The officers were told that a robbery had taken place. That was the info given to them. Nothing about a wallet. Nothing about money in the street.
Robbery....you know money or property taken under threat of force.

You're asking the policeman on the street to be psychic.
He was told it was a robbery and a description of the car the suspect is in. Now I don't know about you but I don't think I'd just saunter up to the window and ask for a drivers liscense......no, you do a "felony stop".

Again, the dispatchers screwed up and the result is a dead dog. I am not all that sure that the policeman is at fault. It's all very unfortunate. The dispatchers need to be more carefull in how they gather information.

[arjay]

I am embarrassed and ashamed of the attitudes shown by posters against police officers.

Sure, there are some bad cops and they should be pointed out and removed from the force. The cop who shot the dog was totally wrong in doing so. But, that does not justify tarring all cops with the same brush.

I appreciate the men and women who put their lives on the line every day to protect my family. I will support the police officer unless I am given reason to do otherwise.

The dog shooter should be punished. The other officers acted appropriately according to the information they were given. It appears to me that folks are letting their emotions run ahead of their discernment.

[American Blood]

So because none of the cops you've met "seemed smart", this naturally must mean that all cops are stupid huh? You still didn't answer my simple question from the previous post.

[Freedom2specul8]

I remember reading where the family repeatedly requested that the cops shut the car doors so the dogs wouldn't get out. Do you know if that was ever confirmed? I wonder why it wasn't mentioned after viewing the tapes..

[motzman]

I am not all that sure that the policeman is at fault.

It is reasonable to defend the police when the situation calls for it; this is clearly not one of those cases. This small dog posed no danger to anyone, and any cop that feels "threatend" in this situation has no business being an officer.

[Dick Bachert]

Thank you and you are correct. It's the "Barney Fife Syndrome."

I'll incorporate your comments into future posts of this piece.

Again, thanks.