Killing of family dog unfolds on videotape (Dog shooter gets desk duty)

tennessean.com ^ | 1/9/03 | LEON ALLIGOOD

[Rebelbase]

Three minutes and seven seconds tells the story of a dog named Patton.

The dog, which was shot at close range Jan. 1 by a Cookeville policeman during a felony traffic stop, belonged to the James Smoak family of Saluda, N.C. At the time, the Tennessee Highway Patrol suspected the Smoaks

[HairOfTheDog]

Watch the video. The dog did not have an aggressive posture. He was running around not sure where to go with his new-found freedom.

[Drango]

"He was a pitbull, and he was flashing gang signs, and he had these BIG POINTED TEETH"...

LOL, the dog was carryin' too.

[Republic of Texas]

There is more than one kind of Bulldog, and even pitbulls can be friendly if raised correctly. All this conjecture is meaningless, if the cop just shut's the freaking door!

[Wright is right!]

"That was not a bulldog. It had legs! It may have been some kind of mix."

I saw the video and it looks as though the dog could easily have been named "Fluffy" or "Buffy." If that dog was a threat, then I'm an astronaut.

It could easily be argued that the officers, in NOT closing the car doors, were spoiling for some action. This is an especially pungent emotion in the over-revved dull-witted LEO when confronted with a benign situation. Once they get that testosterone pumping at 2 gallons per minute, the LAST thing they want is to have it go to waste.

Reminds me of a boss I had on a job some 20 years ago. He pulled me into his office, ready to commit verbal gang rape on me for a full hour. Only problem was, I admitted my error and apologized within the first 5 seconds. This set him off even WORSE.

Michael

[Red Jones]

well I think that everyone with common sense and decency likes dogs a whole lot more than cops.

[Ben Ficklin]

The woman that made the call to the police needs to be prosecuted for a false police report:

She stated that the car was traveling at 110 mph.
She stated that the occupants were throwing money out the window.

Were it not for the woman making these false statements, the chain of events would not have happened.

[Republic of Texas]

" "That was not a bulldog. It had legs! It may have been some kind of mix." "

Oh, why didn't you say it was a mix? Nevermind then. Fire away. Hopefully this guy won't pull over Tiger Woods.

[LaraCroft]

That's why these 'people' are supposed to be trained to make snap decisions.

All this reminds me of those two videos making the rounds of cops, pointing their gun at suspects, firing the gun and then immediately screaming, "IT WASN'T ME, IT WASN'T ME" at the camera. Hello... these jerks don't even train, they have more gun accidents and accidental discharges than the general public, they shoot more innocent bystanders than the general public, and they are somehow vested in the right to haul you to jail for whatever offense they dream up. Anytime I see a cop with his gun out, I hide.

AND they are arrogant... breaking the law themselves with impunity. They speed, drink, do drugs, and don't even know the laws they are suppose to enforce and then they wonder why the general public dislikes them. Cops also forget that the majority of people are law abiding to a fault, good hearted, and decent. They think they can treat everyone like an inner city gang banger.

2 seconds.... gee.. he had a shotgun, seems like he could have waited a bit longer than onethousandone, onethousan.... to kill the poor thing. If he gave a rats ass about anything that is.

[from occupied ga]

The felony stop portion looked good and well done.

What felony? There was no evidence of a crime. No crime had been reported. These JBTs just got an thrill by shoving around some innocent citizens - you know the ones that they claim to "protect and serve" or is that terrorize and extort?

[johnny7]

Recorded voice;

“The number you have reached, 911, is not available at this time. If you want to turn in a weapon, press 1. If you want to snitch on a neighbor, press 2. If a dog is bothering you, press 3. Thank you for calling. This phone call has been recorded for your safety.

HA!

[Ben Ficklin]

Police hope to stem dog shootings with more training

[Hatteras]

I am merely telling you that I heard the owner on a local radio station refer to the dog as a "bulldog", that left me with an "English Bulldog" impression. In the article, the writer says that the family described the dog as a "Mixed Breed Bulldog" and the third description is from the police where they called the dog a "pitbull".

The only thing I know for sure is that my impression that he was an English Bulldog was wrong based on the video but it is unclear beyond that.

If this dog is really a "Pitbull", the Saturday Night Special Pitbull you can buy at the fairgrounds flea market for $100.00, than I would be more inclined to justify self-defense on the part of the shooting officer. That dog in the video was indeed agressively coming after the cop. Whether it planned to bite him or beat him to death with his tail can not be determined from the video. A lot of pitbull owners are coming up with different names and ways to describe their dogs because of the negative image of the name "pitbull". Show me a clear photo of the dog, that's all.

[mg39]

"Imagine your family pet being shot in cold blood right before your eyes."

I know what would happen, despite the extremity of it, and the result would be a cop explaining why he discharged his weapon at a dog and then at a man.

That cop needs to be made a school crossing guard.

[Republic of Texas]

I'd like to see a photo as well. That's the point. You can't tell what kind of dog it is from the video, all you CAN see is a dog wandering around, WAGGING IT'S TAIL.

[T. P. Pole]

Here's my thoughts.

Don't police have the "right" to search a car without consent if they can see things in plain sight? If they close the door, there is less that they can see.

I would suspect that not allowing the doors to be closed is standard procedure. This way, even if the detained do not give consent for a search, they can do a quick check. Once the doors are closed, that "free" seach can't happen.


As for the cops, I have no problem originally with the cops that did the stop. As far as they knew, it was a legit felony stop. But their wanting the door kept open (probably so they could search the car, again, an automatic reaction) is what caused the rest of the problem.

So, can we fault the cops for the felony stop? No, not really (at least not the cops actually on the street doing it). Can we fault the cops for not allowing the door to be closed? Here's where the problem starts. It is the probable policy of leaving the door open for the search that causes the rest of the event.

Can we fault the cop for the shooting? I haven't seen the video, so I don't really know.

Bottom line, it was the policy of leaving the door open so that they could do an illegal search that caused the killing.

[HairOfTheDog]

Good grief! Read my other posts. Defining what kind of dog it is does not excuse shooting it. I find it abhorrent that the dog was shot. You are firing a little too quick yourself this morning.

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

...That dog in the video was indeed agressively coming after the cop...

Bull!

It was just prancing around. The kid's story of the flashlight appears dead on.

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

The cops, as part of the government have NO rights. They have responsibilities.

If this was my family and my little dog, I'd come back for that peice of crap.

[mamalujo]

yes, I agree with you 100%, I would love to hear the tape of her calling in.

I'll bet she went home called all of her friends and told them she had foiled a burglary

[Hatteras]

"WAGGING IT'S TAIL"

I had a German Shephard attack me and tried to rip my throat out after he approached me "WAGGING IT'S TAIL".

I'd like to think I would have won that fight as I was able to get my hands up to deflect him and thankfully the owner jumped in and I was left with only a little loss of blood. You cannot determine what is going through a strange animal's mind. I love dogs, have had all kinds of dogs all my life and have two at home right now. But, I still approach all strange dogs with cautious confidence.