Young Female Cop Shoots Family Dog.

[ridestrong 1]

Wednesday, Feb 3rd. A young female cops responds to a canceled 911 call, per department policy. Upon arrival the officer opens a gate to the fenced in property which had a sign stating, 'please keep closed for dogs'. The officer states that she was approached by 3 "vicious" dogs when she pulled her gun and shot one of the dogs (German Shepard). At that time the other 2 dogs ran away.

The family heard the gun shot and came outside to find a "small young female officer" standing in their driveway, gun in hand, and their dog lying dead a few feet away. Family had rescued the dog from a pound as a puppy, and states that all 3 of their dogs are docile and harmless, however will bark if strangers approach the property.

The officer stated she felt as though her life was in danger when she shot the dog. No warning shots were fired to scare the dogs off and she did not use pepper spray to ward them off.

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I'm sure this happens every day, but it sounds like it didn't have to in this case.

*I am not afraid of dying... I am afraid of missing life.*
----Disclaimer: I don't know shit about skydiving.----

[cloudseeker2001 0]

Police will kill people's dogs for fun........make no mistake, I have seen this before.

"Some call it heavenly in it's brilliance,
others mean and rueful of the western dream"

[Belgian_Draft 0]

If a dog approaches me and is barking I always assume it is not friendly until proven otherwise.
With that in mind it is hard to say just what happened. The only ones who know for sure are the officer and the dogs, and the dogs aren't talkin'.
Having had the pleasure of the company of canines almost all my life, I can say from experience that dogs that are friendly towards family can very often be aggressive towards strangers. Dogs also get braver when in numbers. Just a couple months ago I had to have my pet put down when she became extremely aggressive towards a little girl. Completely out of character for her as she had not even barked at a person before.

HAMMER:
Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a
kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the
object we are trying to hit.

[shermanator 3]

first firefighters, now cops... what is the world coming to? guess she will get her time in jail too, now.

CLICK HERE! new blog posted 9/21/08
CSA #720

[Andy9o8 0]

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No warning shots were fired to scare the dogs off

You're kidding, right?
You forgot to mention "The officer didn't even attempt to reason with the dog."

OK, here's a news flash. You know Brian, the dog on Family Guy, who talks and drives? He's fictional.

[rehmwa 2]

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No warning shots were fired to scare the dogs off

You're kidding, right?
You forgot to mention "The officer didn't even attempt to reason with the dog."

ya know, I think this small young female officer (who is likely a meat eater, white and a Texan and republican) didn't even try to understand the impact of today's unjust societal impact on a typical household dog before the gun just leaped into the air, and of its own volition, just starting shooting all over the place. If the dog would just have freehealthcare, daycare, housing and food, and maybe a small electric car, a TV and a WII, then the dog wouldn't feel threatened by a hugely overpaid police officer (though I'm conflicted, because she is a government servant and in a union, she can't be that bad, but one needs to hate cops).

Won't someone PLEASE think of the PUPPIES?

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[AggieDave 6]

I've used pepper spray to get some dogs away before. However, pepper spray does not work on many large dogs or rabid dogs.

Thanksgiving before last I was charged by a "family dog." A pit bull. Ears back, mouth open and running towards me. That dog was killed with a single round between the eyes. Why? I'm not going to jeopardize my well being for someone's in ability to contain their dog.

As for what really happened in the non-linked story that was posted, who knows, since we only have one side of the story.

Firing a warning shot? Doing that for anything will get typically get the officer in very serious trouble! Warning shots are something made up in TV land and are not used in real life.

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states that all 3 of their dogs are docile and harmless

Do a search of the internet of dog attacks. That comment will be said by the owner in literally every single case. It is meaningless!

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Andy9o8 0]

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pepper spray does not work on many large dogs or rabid dogs.

Or after a guy's dumb enough to say "yes" when his wife asks, "Do my thighs look fat in this?"
I'm just saying.

[MNM604 0]

The real problem here may very well be lack of experience on the officers part. While I have never been one to just throw officers under the bus, I can say from experience that too many young officers (under 5 years experience) often find themselves in situations that may have been avoided with a little more of an up-front thought process. What are the possible threats?? in this case, there may be a dog or two (hence the sign if it in fact did exist and was visible). Once she was in the situation, she most likely did not feel that she had any other option. Another factor is that there is not enough training for officers for how to handle being around dogs, in fact, most are scared to death of dogs. Either way, you can beat the family will get a nice chunk of change, not that it would replace the animal.

[rhaig 0]

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Do a search of the internet of dog attacks. That comment will be said by the owner in literally every single case. It is meaningless!

having had comment from someone actually qualified to speak from an officer's position, I think we can all agree that it's tragic that a family pet is dead, that none of us will ever know what actually happened, and declare this thread dead and move on.

(yeah... like that'll ever happen)

--
Rob

[ridestrong 1]

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The real problem here may very well be lack of experience on the officers part.

This is my thought in this particular situation. I am all for officers firing on dogs if need be, but I think she had plenty of 'outs' in this case.

She knew before entering the property that the dogs where there. By the sound of it she could have stepped back out of the gate, this was a canceled call, so there was no hurry.

True the officer is the only one that really knows what the situation was, but from the details of the story she likely could have taken other steps to avoid having to shoot the dog. My guess is a more experienced officer could have handled this differently... but maybe not.

*I am not afraid of dying... I am afraid of missing life.*
----Disclaimer: I don't know shit about skydiving.----

[Andy9o8 0]

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My guess is a more experienced officer could have handled this differently...

Maybe it's time to stop guessing.

[ridestrong 1]

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My guess is a more experienced officer could have handled this differently...

Maybe it's time to stop guessing.

Saw that coming...

*I am not afraid of dying... I am afraid of missing life.*
----Disclaimer: I don't know shit about skydiving.----

[labrys 0]

Why did you think the officer's gender was important or relevant enough to include in your subject title? Would you have done the same if the officer was male?

Owned by Remi #?

[kallend 1,644]

So looking at the steps leading to a dead pet:

Someone makes a 911 call.

911 call is canceled.

Officer responds anyway, per department policy.

Officer enters private fenced yard with dog warning sign.

Pet dog(s) approach officer. Breed is known for aggressiveness.

Dog shot dead.

Question for those with 20/20n hindsight:

What could have been done differently so the outcome would have been better? Change department policy over canceled calls? people should Keep labradors or retrievers instead of aggressive breeds? Officer seeing warning sign should call in instead of entering private property unannounced? Other?

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[Belgian_Draft 0]

Good questions.
One I would like to add: If the call had been for a fire and not canceled, what would the firefighters have done when confronted by a barking dog of unknown aggressiveness?

HAMMER:
Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a
kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the
object we are trying to hit.

[AggieDave 6]

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One I would like to add: If the call had been for a fire and not canceled, what would the firefighters have done when confronted by a barking dog of unknown aggressiveness?

No, many times they will send police for a canceled fire call to verify!

As for responding for canceled emergancy calls, there is a very real reason why. I don't have any numbers here, but I can tell you from personal experience that a large number of "canceled" calls are actually family violence situations in which the victim called. Many times those are 911 hang-ups. On call back from dispatch the agressor answers the phone and cancels the emergency call.

So what do you think, should PD still respond and verify? I think to help prevent family violence that officers should still respond and make sure every person in the residence is safe.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Belgian_Draft 0]

I think every canceled 911 call should be checked out by an officer.
But what of firefighters? My question concerned a call that wasn't canceled. How do professional firefighters handle dogs that show aggressiveness?

HAMMER:
Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a
kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the
object we are trying to hit.

[AggieDave 6]

I've seen FD do many things about dogs that they can do, including spraying them with a pressurized water based extinguisher. I've also see the higher pressure hoses used. The 100+ decibel airhorn on the truck/ambulance works like a champ too.

Beyond that, they typically call PD and/or ACO. In many cities/counties ACO aren't licensed peace officers, so they can't respond code to an emergency. If an aggressive dog won't let them near a person in need in an emergency, then PD is typically called and a code-3 response. OC spray is sometimes used, sometimes a slap from an ASP, sometimes a round from a duty weapon.

Firefighters are typically resourceful, but they won't hold hands and hope a dog will go away if someone's life is in danger. Same for police officers.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[ridestrong 1]

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Why did you think the officer's gender was important or relevant enough to include in your subject title? Would you have done the same if the officer was male?

It was part of the original story on the news... My impression was that they brought into question the fact that the officer was a small young rookie female that she was more intimidated than say an experienced male officer.

I'm not saying what she did was wrong, cause I don't know for sure. But for some to say we shouldn't second guess some police actions is absurd.

*I am not afraid of dying... I am afraid of missing life.*
----Disclaimer: I don't know shit about skydiving.----

[Belgian_Draft 0]

I was on a volunteer fire dept. many years ago in a very small community. Dogs were not a problem though almost every farm had a couple running loose. I think it was because nobody tolerated an aggressive dog so they were culled out long before they could be a problem.
I imagine Fido wouldn't like the looks of a fire axe much.

HAMMER:
Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a
kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the
object we are trying to hit.

[AggieDave 6]

In some less rural areas you actually have people breeding aggressive breeds then raising them to be anti-social and aggressive. Its a kind of status symbol in some groups, to have a highly aggressive dog. Many of those people fight those same dogs as well!

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[ridestrong 1]

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In some less rural areas you actually have people breeding aggressive breeds then raising them to be anti-social and aggressive. Its a kind of status symbol in some groups, to have a highly aggressive dog. Many of those people fight those same dogs as well!

That is a problem.

*I am not afraid of dying... I am afraid of missing life.*
----Disclaimer: I don't know shit about skydiving.----

[ZigZagMarquis 8]

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Either way, you can beat the family will get a nice chunk of change...

Why?

[futuredivot 0]

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what would the firefighters have done when confronted by a barking dog of unknown aggressiveness?

I skipped his happy ass across the yard with a shot from the attack line. Very effective, yet unlikely to injure. Unfortunately, cops don't drive firetrucks.

You are only as strong as the prey you devour