“Police shot a dog in front of its owner in Hawthorne, California, because they didn’t like the owner recording them:”
I think its as simple as they have realized they can get away with it.
This is 100% straight up ‘God complex’ where lives can be taken, or spared. Cops are trained to believe they are the deciders of whether people and pets live or die, and it’s okay either way. It’s THEIR decision and theirs alone.