Cop took just 3 seconds to shoot dog

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | Thursday, January 9, 2003

[rolling_stone]

Greaat Point any former paperboy will understand. Considering the people that came out of the car were obviously a family, once could conclude that the dog not in a travel carrier was most likely a harmless family pet. I still can't understand why a swift kick or stroke of the shotgun butt couldn't have been the first line of defense against such a meager threat. If it was a drunk human staggering towards him what would have happened?

[takenoprisoner]

Well you were more avenging than me with your BB. Nonetheless, and for the most part, the paperboys in my neck of the woods were kids without shotguns and on their own against the cannines along the given paper route. If only I had the power of this Cookesville dog killer then. Hey, "I felt threatened. "

[takenoprisoner]

If it was a drunk human staggering towards him what would have happened?

In my view, he would have done as he did in this instance, he would have shot the poor stupid drunk...which is why this moron needs to be fired and disgraced from the profession of LEO.

[Swordmaker]

If the cop had ever been a paperboy, back when there were "paper boys," then the moron would have known the difference between a real threat and a perceived threat... When to kill and when not to kill.

Sorry, I don't know of any paperboys who are required to make "felony stops" and expose themselves to such dangerous situations. My daughter was bitten in the face by a "friendly" pitbull and required plastic surgery to correct the damage done by the "friendly" dog who was wagging its tail as it approached her. The dog that bit my daughter was not operating in a strange situation where his family was being treated in a manner he did not understand. I have had many dogs in my life... and everyone of them would have attacked ANYONE who was mistreating one of our family members. That same daughter that was bitten was later SAVED from being attacked by one of our dogs who jumped on the badguy and bit him bloody. That same dog probably would not be able to distinguish a rapist from a police officer handcuffing one of her own and would attack either with the same agressiveness and enthusiasm.

A boss I once had was bitten by a pitbull who was on a chain that was too long for safety. As my boss knocked on the front door of a house a the dog on a 50 foot chain, tethered 30 feet away, attacked him. His left arm was bitten to the bone and the dog's jaws had to be PRIED off of his arm before the dog would let go, even with the dog's owner screaming at him to stop. Officer Hall did not need wait for such a bite before defending himself.

There are some on this thread who advocated a "warning shot" to scare the dog... or shooting to wound the dog. "Warning shots" are NOT PERMITTED under police procedure. Shooting in the air is forbidden because what goes UP must come DOWN and could hit a truly innocent somewhere in range. Shooting toward the ground can result in bouncing bullets and also may hit bystanders. Police are not trained to shoot to wound; too many police officers are killed by a wounded perpetrator. But that is not really germaine to this incident.

Officer Hall was carrying his short barrelled 12 gauge shotgun which had a flashlight mounted on it. The dog was either jumping toward Hall aggressively or Playfully toward the light (if you accept the Smoaks' story that they and General Patton played keep-away with a flashlight)... either way, Hall had no time to aim the shotgun except in the general direction of the dog. If the dog thought it was playing with a flashlight, then General Patton inadvertently aimed his head at the end of the shotgun when it went was fired and he took the shotload in the head. If Hall was defending himself as he stepped back, he shot at a moving target in mid-leap and the head shot was probably more luck than intentional. I do not believe that any shot at that range connecting with the dog would have been survivable (at best the dog would have been maimed and been put down after considerable agony and suffering).

[Swordmaker]

Vilig, I had not seen the others or I would not have posted... I have had my share of "senior moments"...

[takenoprisoner]

....which is why this moron needs to be fired and disgraced from the profession of LEO.

Upon second thought, maybe we need another solution. Since once disgraced in the manner this homicidal maniac with a badge deserves, he could become a serial killer blaming us all for his disabilities.

[takenoprisoner]

That's why I inferred only former paperboys need respond. We paperboys all dealt with "threatening" dogs along our routes.

We didn't blow their heads off....Get it?

[dcwusmc]

Sorry. Guess I'm mellowing out in my dotage... :^)

[takenoprisoner]

"We didn't blow their heads off...."

You see, with no weapon(shotgun) in hand, we had to turn and run in most instances to collect or deliver at a later date.

[rolling_stone]

Apparrently not speeding found one hour later 60 miles from the report of cash flying/(60mph)

''I was not speeding, but he was with me everywhere I went. If I went into the left lane, he went into the left lane,'' Smoak said.

http://newsfrombabylon.com/article.php?sid=2696

[rolling_stone]

I'm sorry but based on my experience, this was an avoidable incident, that was screwed up from the radio call to the tragic ending. Deadly force is only justifiable as a last resort, unless of course you are with the Cokeville PD


http://www.cookeville.com/news/1015603550/index_html

How is this for an explanation, even though it is from Florida its conclusion seems appropriate.

"Diamond emphasized that it is illegal to use lethal force against a domesticated animal if the threat can be avoided in any other way _ such as entering one's home and closing the door, he said."

http://www.keepandbeararms.com/information/XcIBViewItem.asp?ID=2902

Actually got to give this guy credit for one shot one kill because the Cokeville Dept. has had problems with errant animals in the past

"Last year's "Loose bull shot by police," also by Mary Jo Denton, described a thrilling police action in which four Cookeville police officers and six shotgun blasts were required to corner and kill an elusive bovine."

[Diddle E. Squat]

The statement of an hour is a very rough estimate from an article paraphrasing the driver, who has a vested interest in framing the story and the benefit of hindsight. I'd prefer to know at what time the call was logged by 911, and then compare it to the time the family was stopped.

[rolling_stone]

Do you think his parents following them hauling their grandkids were going 110 mph also?

"He drove off with his wife, Pamela Smoak, beside him and their 17-year-old son, Brandon, in the back seat. Smoak's parents followed in another car that carried the other Smoak children, 13-year-old Jeb and 9-year-old Danner."


http://cgi.citizen-times.com/cgi-bin/story/26229

[Diddle E. Squat]

You are completely ignoring my original post that her statement of 110mph was an exaggeration. Most people when they say a car is going 100mph(or 110, in this case) don't actually mean that literally, but rather are trying to accent the point that they mean very fast, beyond the normal. But yes, I believe it likely the grandparents were also speeding, given the witness' statement.

That's a rather cheap debate trick which doesn't enhance your credibility.

[DAnconia55]

Actually the family did do something wrong. Apparently the car was flying down the road at a high rate of speed,

So speeding is now reason for a guns drawn felony stop?

And excuses the lack of control of deadly force?

Not that the vile cop-hating scum that spew all over these threads

If you're not with us, you're against us. And there's a LOT more of us, than there are of you.

[DAnconia55]

Like the Jews in Germany earlier this century and in Isreal since then today?

We haven't started rounding up cops yet. Hardly a real comparison.

[DAnconia55]

How likely is it that a woman would lieand call the police to claim a car doing the speed limit was traveling 110mph, vs. how likely she was telling the truth about the car speeding?

I suggest you do a test and see if a wallet can remain on the car even at 50 MPH.

I bet not.

More than likely this was an nosy old bitty, who can't drive herself.

[eno_]

Like the Jews in Germany

More like the Stasi in unified Germany. Do you seriously compare this thug, who is more akin to Nazis, to the Jewish victims of Nazis? That is one of the sickest malapropisms I have seen.

[patriciaruth]

mailperson or meter reader could kill the family pet under similar circumstance because he/she felt threatened? Is that ok with you too?

Yes.

[DWSUWF]

"...The original article left the impression that this was a pitbull. I would have shot a pitbull coming after me too. However, this was a just a little yappy dog that could not have inflicted any real damage on anyone..."

Just saw the tape on a morning news show...

It was a small, yippy little dog that neither looked dangerous, nor behaved aggressively.

That cowardly, room-temperature-IQ pig can count his lucky stars that it wasn't my dog.

I wouldn't let an outrage like this pass without reprisal.