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

[who knows what evil?]

Maybe Officer Hall needs to sent to a "target rich" environment for additonal training with his firearms. May I suggest Iraq?

[Nuke'm Glowing]

"Bump #274. That guy is a fistulated abcess."

To be honest I agree. However, at age 46 I just got a call I never thought I would. So goodbye, good luck and remember that if you are on my tour plan to keep the sand out of your God Damn barrel.

p.s.---You bleepin USMC mudwhores owe me a drink still when this is over in our favorite to be determined piece of shit mudhole.

[Rebelbase]

Whoa, Take care and God bless you, be safe.

[oldvike]

Maybe Officer Hall needs to sent to a "target rich" environment for additonal training with his firearms. May I suggest Iraq?

I was thinking maybe a PETA convention.

[wardaddy]

I finally just got the chance to see the video for the first time folks.

Makes my blood boil.

Know thine enemy.

I'd like a few hours alone in some woods with those Barney JBTs and their hardware and give me any old deer rifle with optics....no problem.

Panicky Pussies.

[shootist]

PUNK cop = street trash

[palmer]

Just watched it too. Right after the shooting is the most emotionally wrenching. Before the dog gets loose one of the officers asks what kind of dog it is as he looks in the car. Clearly the officers are concerned. Once the dog is loose there are two officers concerned about it and it is legitimate concern.

I think a good test of whether this cop is any good is if the townpeople turn out to support him. Not just his relatives and the other cop's families, but the whole town with their dogs. If that happens then I would be inclined to believe he's a decent cop who made a mistake.

[palmer]

sorry forgot to turn off the tag line, pls ignore

[wardaddy]

The owners informed the cops they had dogs and asked the door to be shut.

These are the bottom end of JBTs we'll all be facing when they come for our guns as they surely will one day.

Scary...at least to me.

[Travis McGee]

The cops got caught by their own video... this time. Without the video, they would all swear that the dog was a rabid pit bull leaping for the poor officer's throat.

[Wonder Warthog]

"One other note, the mother started screaming as soon as the dog started toward the police officer. Did she initially think that the dog could have been a threat? She appears to have been positioned where she couldn't see the shooting officer (There was an officer between her and the shooting officer) and the dog wasn't heading for the highway. Why was she concerned?"

Because the car was stopped on a road shoulder with there was passing traffic, likely to hit the dog and kill it. I suspect the idea that the poor mutt would be blown away by the jack-booted jerk/Gestapo wannabee never entered her mind until it happened.

[Wolfie]

Damn... Got a source? I'd love to pass that along...

Modesto Police Call Shooting A Mystery

[NittanyLion]

Unlike the cop-hater brigade here I make my judgments based on facts.

Have you seen the video? (I assume you have, since you have the "facts")

[who knows what evil?]

FOX News now reporting that the Smoak family has started legal procedings. I live in east Tennessee (though I'm a 'Yankee', thank G-d), and I hope they bankrupt those b*stards in Cookeville...every last one of them.

[Admin Moderator]

Would both of you mind toning it down a bit, or taking it to the SmokeyBackRoom if you can't? Its understandable to get heated with each other, but let's keep the main forum clear of things like ***wipe and ***hole.

Thanks, AM

[adx]

The cops got caught by their own video... this time. Without the video, they would all swear that the dog was a rabid pit bull leaping for the poor officer's throat.

That's the part that really worries me. If it wasn't for the video footage and all actors being clearly within its FOV, it'd simply be the cop's words vs. the family's. And guess whose words get more weight?

Wonder what it would take to integrate a camcorder into an officer's personally-carried gear? Some of the work done for the military along those lines could be applicable. That way you not only get the view from the cruiser's camera, you get to see what's in front of the officer themselves.

There would likely be some benefits. Good cops accused of brutality or other wrongdoing could simply point to their video footage and false claims be dismissed, which would save a lot of time, money, bad PR, and hassle defending against lawsuits and appeals (it'd also be a lot harder to demagogue when you have clear video footage of incidents in question from multiple angles). Bad cops, on the other hand, would be caught red-handed and hopefully bounced from the profession.

Technofixes aren't a panacea, certainly (I could imagine some "equipment failures" at a critical moment, for example). It would help eliminate a lot of the confusion when you have a clear audio/video record. Better training, better screening of recruits, and applying common sense would work much better as a solution.

[justshutupandtakeit]

A fuzzy video is not "fact" as should be apparent from the use of the Rodney King "video" to incite the Riots a decade ago. They are always subject to interpretation and the interpretations are subjective. Cop-haters will claim it shows Stormtroopers at work while the supporters of law enforcement will claim it shows a mistake at worst.

[justshutupandtakeit]

Thats funny because I live where the police are the most impolite in the world and have rarely gotten a hostile attitude from them I my dealings with them.

It is unfortunate that dealing with the lowest of the low, lunatics, scam artists, deviants, mopes, cheats, crooks, drunks, addicts, wifebeaters, rapists, molesters, smartasses, ignoramouses and pissants can lower one's tolerance of the rest of humanity's foibles but what can you do? Send them to sensitivity training.

[justshutupandtakeit]

I use my brain every time I post. I'm funny that way.