[Red Jones]

officer hall is an idiot, but the bad culture among the police encourages this. Then the stupid dumb ass jerk-off police chiefs refuse to bring order in their ranks. This man should've been fired already. I don't think it's proper to jail police when they do bad things, just fire them, but fire them quickly and without excessive consideration for the officer's point of view. The citizens are the ones who matter here, not the cops, if the cops don't know that, then they shouldn't wear the uniform.

[EBUCK]

I don't think it's proper to jail police when they do bad things, just fire them,

Why??? Please explain why cops should be held to a lower standard, with less in the way of consequenses, than normal folk.

[OldPossum]

If they don't fire this guy, somewhere down the way the police department might be facing some severe charges. He's obviously a man of poor judgment and shouldn't be entrusted with a badge, much less a gun.

I hope the family gets some sort of financial settlement. That won't, of course, make up for the loss of their beloved pet.

[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.

[montag813]

officer hall is an idiot

I hate to day it, but most policemen are very stupid.

[Hatteras]

"officer hall is an idiot, but the bad culture among the police encourages this."

First, you may be right but, you can't tell that from the video. I'll explain.

Officer Hall was called as a backup by the Tennessee Highway Patrol who were handling the felony stop. Officer Hall's duties were to position himself where he could cover the THP as they made their arrests. He did so. The THP was controlling the arrest and it was their decision not to heed the heads up from Mr. Smoak and make sure the dog was secured. Ofc. Hall took up a position out of camera range in the dark to the right.

When the dog jumped from the car, the dog immediately headed for Ofc. Hall. The policeman was retreating back into the camera frame when he finally pulled the trigger.

The very act of backing up means he was giving the dog an opportunity to turn away. He did not fire immediately and he did not walk toward the dog and shoot it.

I don't know for sure, because I am not Ofc. Hall and I wasn't there but, I'm leaning toward believing Ofc. Hall when he says he perceived the dog to be a threat because of two very important things. The second officer's reaction. He turns and levels his gun at the dog a split second before the dog is killed. Secondly, the wife's reaction as the dog ran past her. As I mentioned earlier, she was so shocked after the fact that the police actually shot her dog. Why was she screaming? Did she think the dog was going to attack the officers? She certainly didn't think the officers were a threat to her dog. This tells me that Officer Hall was not the only one who perceived the dog to be a threat.

The video shows that Officer Hall's first reaction was to avoid shooting the dog he perceived to be a threat and only did so when the dog lunged at him. You can not determine what kind of dog it is by the video but the size does put it in the pitbull range. If anyone, the members of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, not Ofc. Hall, was responsible for the dog's death.

But, pictures are worth a thousand words, why doesn't Mr. Smoak release a photo of this sweet little family pet?