Police SWAT team member shoots man in foot while serving warrant [was shooting at dog]

Louisville Courier Journal ^ | 2/22/03 | Joseph Gerth

[Chancellor Palpatine]

A police SWAT team member shot a man in the foot yesterday as Louisville Metro Police officers tried to serve a search warrant at an apartment complex on Six Mile Lane.

The unnamed officer fired when a pit bull dog ''raised up and lunged at him,'' said Officer Dwight Mitchell, a metro police spokesman.

The bullet hit a man who was visiting the apartment; the man had kicked out his leg toward the dog just as the officer fired, Mitchell said.

The wounded man's name was not available last night.

The dog was not hurt.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

And on top of that, they didn't arrest anybody.

I guess they just went there to kill the dog, LOL.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Dog shooting - boon or detriment?

[Deadeye Division]

Teen in trouble for taunting law's top dog

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/849379/posts

[FreeTally]

Mitchell said the warrant was considered ''high-risk'' because officers weren't sure what they would find inside the apartment.

Um, how do they have a seacrh warrant of they aren't sure what they would find? I thought the warrant had to name what was being searched for.

It seems like in 3 out of 4 of these "mistaken/accidental shootings", no one is ever arrested. Odd.

[Double Tap]

The dog was not hurt.

Thank goodness for that.

[ambrose]

Dumb Cop Killing Pig Alert.

[ambrose]

Errr, make that a simple Dumb Pig Alert ...

[Chancellor Palpatine]

That struck me as odd, too.

Sounds to me like a judge signed it when he or she should've held out for more info - of course, this was the same narco squad where two detective just got convicted for forging judicial signatures on warrants, faking informant payments, etc.

[ambrose]

My favorite part of the article:

He also said investigators were trying to determine whether the man in the apartment was trying to stop the dog as it lunged at the officer, or was trying to protect the dog.

[FreeTally]

of course, this was the same narco squad where two detective just got convicted for forging judicial signatures on warrants, faking informant payments, etc.

Really!? I didn't make the connection. Now it gets even wierder.

My original comment was kind of sarcastic and I was poking fun at a poorly worded statement. Im guessing he meant they were serving a warrant for something, probably crack dealing, and they didn't know how many people may be there, or if they were armed or not. Hence, "we didn't know what we'd find". But it is funny that the story said the "warrant was called 'high risk' because they didn't know what they'd find", when warrants have to be specific about what they are looking for, and they ahve to have pretty good proof they are going to find it.

Probably bad journalism. Its ironic this happens to be that juridiction where the cops were using phoney warrants. This may be another case of that.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[general_re]

Does Kentucky law allow someone to personally sue the officers for misconduct, or just the department? Is there a liability issue here for individual officers?

[Chancellor Palpatine]

They get a twofer for that one - prosecuting the guy they shot, and a defense for the civil case.

The best part is that the dog went on to not hurt anyone, belying the whole "it was a dangerous animal and had to be put down" theory of cops killing dogs.

[FreeTally]

LOL!!!

I read that, but it didn't sink in until you pointed it out.

"Mr. DA, the department has concluded that the occupant was trying to block the bullet that was fired by the officer, with his foot."

[Crowcreek]

Now how long will it take for some kook to post, speculating about how soon the kooks will come out of the woodwork?

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Methinks everybody gets nailed on this one - and I bet warrants there really tighten up - the judges should insist.

[Crowcreek]

" kill the dog, LOL."

"There's nothing wrong, sir -- We just stopped by to shoot your dog. Have a nice day!"

[general_re]

If this warrant turns out to be less than kosher, they'll get no sympathy from me. Now that I've got a family, I'm much more of a law and order kind of guy than I used to be, which means I fully support public crucifixions for dirty cops - a few dirty cops make the majority of good ones less effective, IMO.

[rolling_stone]

The shooting is the first to be investigated since Chief Robert White instituted a new Public Integrity Unit to investigate all shootings.

The announcement came in the wake of the shooting death of James Taylor by a Louisville police detective on Dec. 5. The detective fired 11 times at Taylor, whose hands were cuffed behind him, after Taylor pulled a box cutter knife from his pocket and threatened the officer, police said.

Yeah right a guy with his hands cuffed behind him pulls out a box cutter and threatens an armed police officer....I guess it took 11 shots to end that threat.. The guy should have been searched before getting cuffed. (maybe he was?)I don't know maybe the guy was a circus performer, triple jointed and a contortionist escape artist and did pose a threat....if the story is true it belongs in Ripley's Believe it or Not and a Darwin award for the guy.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Just from what they said it looks less than kosher, and a narcotics hunt.

If what I think happened happened, that narc squad will get cut up, and everybody assigned to be meter maids.