[Ditto]

I think any human being with a gun sees a dog coming at them in attack mode is likely to shoot. Survival instinct being what it is.

That is an anti-survival instinct. While you're shooting at the dog, the cops are going to be shooting at you. Your chances in that fight are pretty damn slim.

If a police dog ever comes at you, you put your arms in the air, don't try to run, and don't offer any resistance, and the dog will not bite you. That is how they are trained.

[muawiyah]

A lot of those dogs are not trained. They're along just for the show and threat value. Cops that'll sic their untrained dog on you will also let you lay there on the street bleeding to death from a hole in your throat.

It's not worth the risk. However, as this case demonstrates, it may well be better in some towns to fire at the cops first, then the dog.

Don't worry, the lawyers taking this case are going to come down hard on the "trained dog" angle.