Man Wants Punishment for Dog Shooting

AJC.com ^ | 01-10-03 | JOHN GEROME

[Wonder Warthog]

"Barney Fife is alive and Living in Cookeville."

You insult ole Barney by comparing him to this incompetent jerk of a jack-booted thug.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

James Smoak, who owned the 1 1/2-year-old pit bull-boxer mix named Patton.

G-d dammit!

The owner himself stated that it was a BULLdog-Boxer mix. NOT a Pit bull! What the F is wrong with these idiot reporters?

How tough is it to get the facts straight? Or are they trying to get sympathy for the cop because he was almost the victim of a nasty old Pit bull?

[EBUCK]

Yah, I guess when it gets down to that level then incompetence is a defense, but that kind of failure should be held up to the leadership of that department and they should be held accountable for hiring someone like that.

[EBUCK]

Judging by the language seen here since this broke I imagine that there are probably some "real" threats coming in...

[EBUCK]

I agree FULLY!!!!

DeMilitarize the Police!!

[Area51]

An officer makes a mistake for whatever reason and someone may die from that mistake. But we shouldn't consider it murder. He was on the job, at worst he made a mistake. That's how we should view it.

Sorry but I take strong issue with that. First, any police officer takes the position KNOWS that they are holding the public trust.

It is given to them to PROTECT, not abuse. When they fail to protect, that level that the Public holds them to is deminished. BY their own deeds. And further. When a Cop kills, we MUST hold them to the same LEGAL standard as they hold the rest of us. Otherwise it is Tyranny.

[Diplomat]

Officer Hall did nothing wrong here. He is the victim of the Tennesse Highway Patrols stupidity. I've heard this dog described as small by several posters. I couldn't get the video to download and play clean, so I can't make a size judgement myself. But wouldn't a full grown pit-boxer mix be a medium to large size dog? Small dogs are toy poodles, pugs, pomeranians, etc. Pits are classified as medium and boxers are larger sized than pits. Having some experience with pits and mixed pits, I would NOT have hesitated to shoot the dog that came after me either. Pitbulls are EXTREMELY loyal to their family who treat them well and make excellent guard dogs. Furthermore, pits have very powerful bites, but more importantly, they lock-bite their prey. In otherwords, it or their prey must die for them to give up the bite. This is why they are often used by dog-fighting aholes.

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. This statement is where the true problem with this police action lies. Can someone please explain how the THP concluded a FELONY ROBBERY had been committed by the discovery of a wallet on the highway with money spilled from it and STILL IN IT when recovered? This is what mystifies me, the stop never should have been made and the wallet should have been taken to the police lost-and-found. No one reported the wallet stolen. So why do the police get to assume that to be the case with a wallet that CONTAINS cash?

[EBUCK]

Neither did I but the audio was pretty poor and spotty in some areas...could (a small chance I admit) have been that we can't hear it.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

If it was concluded that they had probable cause what was that PC based on, obviously not "robbery" because they are still trying to determine how that happened.

I've wondered that too. If they have a report of a robbery, why didn't they just go to the gas station where the cell phone busybody made the call from? Surely they would have found no evidence of a robbery. And most certainly they would have found at least one attendant that would have set the record straight before they tear off down the highway looking for something or someone to shoot?

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

``It's kind of taken a life of its own where people are judging without knowing all the facts.''

Well, hellfire Barney! If it's alive...that means you can kill it! Shoot it! Shoot it! Shoot it!

[GovernmentShrinker]

The PC was based on the officers having been TOLD that a robbery had occurred and that this car was thought to be carrying the suspects.

[chimera]

The reporter is wrong. The owner said it was a bulldog-boxer mix. It had no pit bull component. That makes a big difference. Bulldogs are generally quite passive, as are boxers. Pitbulls can be aggressive, depending on breeding/training (or lack thereof).

[KEVLAR]

That does not happen very often at all. Usually it is a "justified shooting", just like this one.

[EBUCK]

Is that the NAMVET of FR fame??

You are right, I was shaking my head....

[EBUCK]

There is so much mis-info floating around, how can you expect reporters to check their facts when we are so hungry for new info??? [/sarcasm]

[Diplomat]

Yes, I just read that post too.

Still doesn't change the underlying problem which is how can this stop be justified to begin with.

[rwfromkansas]

Cops are not above the law. If they commit cruelty to animals, they should be charged and locked up like the rest of us would be.

Mr. Hall could have simply kicked the dog if he felt it was a threat.

[EBUCK]

The dog was at most a 20 pound dog (maybe 25) and my full grown pitt/stafordshire is a 65 pound dog. No comparison....

[rwfromkansas]

Hopefully he has been threatened and I hope the bastard is scared out of his freaking mind.

That said, anyone to make a threat would be rahter stupid....they will get caught easily and rightfully charged. Still, I can't help but feel a bit happy that Mr. Hall is going through hell.

[Sender]

Officer Hall probably received only a handful of actual threats and thousands of people who said they'd just like to kill him.