Posted on 01/10/2003 11:54:17 AM PST by EBUCK
Man Wants Punishment for Dog Shooting By JOHN GEROME Associated Press Writer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)--A traffic stop following erroneous reports of a robbery ended in heartbreak when the family dog bounded out of the car, his tail wagging, and was shot to death by police.
Now, the dog's owner wants the police officers punished, and the officer who pulled the trigger says he's been getting death threats.
``I don't ever want to see this happen to anybody else. That's why we can't let this go away,'' said James Smoak, who owned the 1 1/2-year-old pit bull-boxer mix named Patton.
Cookeville Police Officer Eric Hall, who shot the dog, said Thursday that people are misjudging him.
``It's been very difficult, but a lot of people who've made comments don't know me,'' Hall said on WTVF-TV in Nashville. ``It's kind of taken a life of its own where people are judging without knowing all the facts.''
Smoak, a seafood salesman from Saluda, N.C., said he has contacted attorneys about the New Year's Day shooting and plans legal action.
He describes the family's ordeal as ``a nightmare we can't wake up from,'' and says he will never forget having to load the dead dog into the car for the ride home.
The incident began when Tennessee state troopers and Cookeville police stopped the Smoaks' green station wagon as they were returning from a vacation in Nashville.
Another motorist had reported seeing money flying from the vehicle as it sped down Interstate 40, and authorities feared there had been a robbery.
They later discovered that the money--about $445--was fluttering from Smoak's wallet, which he had mistakenly left on the car roof after pumping gas.
The patrol car videotape of the stop, released Wednesday by the Tennessee Highway Patrol, shows troopers ordering James and Pamela Smoak and their teenage son, Brandon, out of the car, and the three emerging with their hands up, getting on their knees and being handcuffed.
Then Patton bounds out, his tail wagging, and races toward Hall.
The video shows Hall stepping back, then firing his shotgun. Hall said he thought the dog was a pit bull and that he was about to attack him.
``I noticed that it trained in right on me; the dog's coming right at me,'' he said. ``I yelled at the dog as I was backing up. I screamed at it; it kept advancing and barking in an aggressive manner. It's unfortunate what happened after that.''
Hall, who said he has received death threats, was assigned to administrative duties pending an independent review. An internal police investigation found he didn't use excessive force.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol also concluded its troopers had probable cause to conduct the stop, though officials were still trying to determine how the Smoaks were suspected in a robbery that never happened.
Officers recovered most of the lost money, Smoak said, and officials later apologized, but he said the apologies rang hollow.
``At the scene they told us they made a mistake and that we were free to go,'' Smoak said. ``No one was moved to say they were sorry.''
``The dog was wagging his tail,'' he said. ``It was completely trained.''
Hall said he felt terrible when he learned that the Smoaks were innocent but maintains he reacted appropriately.
``With the knowledge I had at that time, I was so limited that I felt I did what I had to do,'' Hall said.
``If you could have felt what I felt after the whole incident was over,'' he said, ``I thought, 'Oh, my goodness, how unfortunate for that family.'''
Better not. I eat too many doughnuts as it it.
It's very difficult to make the case for capitol punishment in the case of a human who kills an animal.
There are no end of religious, philosophical and political hurdles that effectively make this a non-starter.
I haven't seen anyone on this, or the other related threads calling for judicial execution here.
What I have seen are people who (rightly) would in a similar situation, where it was 'do-able', use lethal force to prevent, or to terminate, this terrorist's attack on their family, beginning with their pet.
Of course, this family was being held, unarmed, in military POW submission postures, at gunpoint, by this terrorist's accomplices, and had no opportunity to defend themselves.
This effectively rules out for the Smoaks all but revenge on the terrorist, exacted at a later and more convenient date, which I cannot advocate, but which I cannot truthfully say that I consider to be morally wrong.
My remark, in post 148, which you refer to is uncomplicated and direct...
”…If Hall were being lynched within my eyesight I wouldn't raise a finger to help him.
Regrets, if any, would be limited to not having some hot, fresh popcorn to go with the spectacle unfolding in front of me…”
Anyone with a passing familiarity with English can clearly see that this remark does not concern itself with the imposition of Judicial Execution, the imposition of capitol punishment by the state.
This remark describes my indifference to a hypothetical lynching of the terrorist.
In such a case I would exercise my sovereign option not to risk my own safety by intervening, and would regret not having a bag of popcorn to enjoy during the spectacle.
This may be abhorrent to you.
I don't care if it is.
Capice?
It sounds like you've spent a downtrodden life being bitten by dogs. Did you ever stop to think that maybe it's YOUR FAULT?
Thanks, I've expanded my argument into about 900 words at my own website. The commentary is at It would have been simple. I guess this topic's time has passed on FR.
My anger is over the stupidity of all four officers involved. If the dog was really a threat, there was a very simple way to neutralize that threat. They could have simply closed the door. I'll even agree that any dog is potentially dangerous. That's all the more reason to close the door! Even if the dog didn't attack, it might have run onto the interstate, caused another vehicle to swerve, and caused a fatal crash. Again, they could have eliminated this threat by just closing the door. I lived in Cookeville for three years, and I thought very highly of most people there. However, this incident leaves me wondering whether they have any training for their police or whether they just leave them in a room with tapes of old episodes of C*O*P*S. Their refusal to close the door showed willful negligence, and willful negligence should be punished.
It would have been simple (to avoid the shooting)
Bill
The punishment should be on all four officers. They were told that the dog might get out of the car. A dog loose on the interstate could cause a fatal accident. A dog seeing his owners treated that way might perceive a threat and attack. The dog's getting loose created a danger for everyone. Refusal to take a simple step to eliminate a danger is willful negligence, and all four officers are guilty. I lived in Cookeville for three years. It's a nice little town, but they need to act against the two idiots that were their's.
WFTR
Bill
"That police officer in Tennessee who shot that family’s dog during a traffic stop? Did you know that this makes dead dog number 3 for this police officer? Yup .. number 3. Now how many police officers do you know out there who have shot and killed three dogs."
Now THAT makes me really worried...and mad.
Thanks for the ping!
Nealz Nuze item is still up as of 8am this morning.
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