The Smoaks appear on CNN
Posted on 01/08/2003 11:35:54 PM PST by JohnHuang2
The Tennessee policeman who shot and killed a family's dog during a terrorizing traffic stop took just three seconds to slay the animal after it jumped out its owners' car, reports the Cookeville Herald-Citizen.
Law-enforcement authorities released a videotape of the incident yesterday, which shows the three-second time frame on the tape's counter.
The Cookeville police officer who shot the dog, Eric Hall, has since been reassigned to administrative duties while the incident is probed.
As WorldNetDaily reported, the Smoak family was returning to their home in North Carolina on New Year's Day when three police cars swarmed their vehicle on Interstate 40 in what appeared to be a traffic stop.
The Smoaks appear on CNN |
A Tennessee Highway Patrol officer broadcast orders over a bullhorn for driver James Smoak to toss the keys out of the car window, get out with his hands up and walk backwards to the rear of the car. Smoak obeyed and was subsequently ordered onto his knees and handcuffed at gunpoint. Officers similarly handcuffed his wife, Pamela, and their 17-year-old son with their guns drawn.
As the troopers were putting the family members inside the patrol car, one of the Smoak family dogs, a boxer-bulldog mix named Patton, came out of the car and headed toward one of the Cookeville officers who were assisting the THP troopers.
"That officer had a flashlight on his shotgun, and the dog was going toward that light, and the officer shot him, just blew his head off," Pamela Smoak told the Herald-Citizen. "We had begged them to shut the car doors so our dogs wouldn't get out, [but] they didn't do that."
The Smoaks had been pulled over by mistake after someone reported seeing the car getting on the highway with cash flying out from behind the vehicle. James Smoak, it turns out, had mistakenly left his wallet on the roof of the car when he stopped to get gas. Someone within the THP reportedly thought a robbery had occurred, though it turns out none had.
Hall claimed he was acting in self-defense.
"I yelled at the dog to get back, but it attempted to circle me to attack, so I felt that I had no option but to protect myself," the officer wrote in a police report.
Police Chief Bob Terry told the Herald-Citizen, "We are aware there is a lot of criticism out there over this incident, and we want to take [Hall] off the road and let him perform other duties while we get this all resolved." Terry stressed that Hall was not being punished for killing the dog.
The Herald-Citizen reports that "to an average viewer, the scene recorded on the video may not demonstrate the aggressiveness or the threat the officer said he experienced as the dog came toward him."
Terry said he will have two unrelated police agencies perform independent reviews of the incident.
"We once again extend our deepest concerns to the Smoak family for their loss," Terry said. "We know this was a terrible experience for them, and we truly wish that we could undo the events that occurred on the night of Jan. 1."
The Smoaks recently told their story on CNN's "Connie Chung Tonight."
Speaking of Patton, son Brandon Smoak told Chung, "He's the gentlest dog that I've ever been around. He's like Scooby Doo. He wasn't mean at all."
The use of a shutgun by an officer providing backup during a felony stop seems like SOP to me. But does it really matter? A 9mm at point blank range would have had pretty much the same effect.
That's a whole bunch of psychobabble.
For my experience as a child, see post #541 on this thread.
My point exactly.
From the beginning I have been posting a link to the story about the break-down in communiction from the THP dispatcher. The THP themselves concluded their own dispatcher screwed up. From that point on the communication to the Cookeville Police Officers was hopelessly inadequate. Think about it, the THP troopers, given flawed information, locate a car matching the description of the robbery suspect then ask for help from the Cookeville Police. The Cookeville Police then join in the felony stop based on information that is at least as bad. Now you want hold Cookeville Police Officer accountable for not knowing what was going on?
-------------- That would be a wrong assumption. Kill a Law enforcement dog, and you will be charged with Murder!
If a dog owner says "sic-um" (which did not happen here) his dog will be in jeopardy and the owner should be punished. If the dispatcher says "sic-um" to a police officer (which did happen here) the police officer who blindly obeys should punished along with the dispatcher. Any one in the chain of command who allowed this to happen should be looked at very carefully to see if they had any responsibility for this fiasco. If law enforcement wants to go to the circle the wagons mode then all of law enforcement should be held responsible.
So, we give you this. The dispatcher screwed up.
Now how do we get from there to an officer of the law, with four other officers present, and the bad tourists handcuffed and kneeling on the pavement.
At this point one would think the situation defused, now all that is left is to secure the two dogs.
Instead they let one jump onto the highway and promptly shoot it within three seconds.
Betcha they shut the effing door so the other one didn't get out.
No, I want to hold him accountable for not assessing the situation before shooting. Will he shoot me next if he "does not know what is going on"? Police work often involves operating in a fog of unknowing. You give the citizen the benefit of the doubt and presume he is innocent before being proved guilty. You don't "shoot first and answer questions later."
Ah. Lucky for you, Tennessee established a toll free number for busy-body outsiders to call in and complain about the way the good people of Tennessee choose to self-govern themselves there: 1-800-WHO-CARES.
Woah, imagine that: Doggie seatbelts for the personally responsible dog owner, readily available for only $16.99.
He actually took less than three seconds to kill the dog. I re-watched the clip several times last night and need to make a correction. I said Hall panicked, but I was wrong. Only a cold, efficient and concentrated person could've killed this dog the way Hall did. One...two... then boom. The dog was dead.
Hall started moving his body into position (sideways and backward to left) to shoot the dog the very instant the dog exited the car. He got his bead, stepped forward and the dog is lying dead on the ground.
The last few times I watched the clip, I turned the sound off. (I simply couldn't stand listening again.)
It's more complicated than that, and while I sort of agree with your point, I think the sic-um analogy breaks down.
THP dispatcher says sic-um to THP trooper. THP trooper (big-dogs) asks Cookeville Police (young-dogs) to come help while they sic-um. Young-dogs shows up and the big-dogs tell 'em to standby and provide back-up. A new threat shows up and young-dog screws-the-pooch. Bad young-dog.
Sorry about beating that analogy to death. 8~/
And what nifty gadgets do we have to make law enforcement officers personally responsible for their misdeeds?
Not to worry. The People's Federal Kommissar on Doggie Feelings will intervene in this local self-policing issue.
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