Multiple levels of police fail
Officer draws gun on woman and tells her to restrain her unleashed dog. While she’s grabbing for the dog, the officer opens fire on the dog. Way to be sure of your target! The officer shoots the dog. The officer then points the gun at her and her sister. And, to add insult to injury, tickets the woman for violating leash laws.
The latter being all that should have been done in the first place.
A common theme in these stories is that the victim is always identified. And no one identifies the officers involved. Name them and shame.
September 2nd, 2011 at 11:13 am
Damned, this is so dumb.
The most effective way to fend off a dog is pepper spray.
OC causes dogs to flee in terror.
These tards need to stop discharging firearms at the pavement for no good reason. I swear, they are all holding somekind of dog killing competition … I guess shooting a dog is compensation for not being able to just shoot “civilians” without getting a reprimand.
September 2nd, 2011 at 11:57 am
This is why dog owners hear “shoot the dogs” and then shoot the cop in the head first.
September 2nd, 2011 at 12:23 pm
When I get home tonight it’s going on the list.
September 2nd, 2011 at 12:47 pm
Phelps wins on so many levels it’s scary. It’s like he’s in my head!
September 2nd, 2011 at 1:13 pm
Why gunfire?
Why not just back off first?
Strange that cops will run behind cover if someone is shooting (heck they WAIT till nutjobs run out of ammo before advancing) but blow away a dog who is on a leash?
Methinks this will find it’s way to court.
September 2nd, 2011 at 2:29 pm
Thankfully the dog survived.. The officer fired 5 shots at him and did not kill him… Fucking psycho cop… Off topic sort of… I wonder if the dude up in Penn will get the death penalty for shooting the officer who was going to shoot his dogs?
September 2nd, 2011 at 4:07 pm
Paul has a good point–if someone was shooting at him, he’d seek cover.
A cop’s gun is only for stopping threats of imminent serious harm to himself or someone else. Clearly he thought he was in danger, which rather begs the question–Ofc Dipshit, you really want us to believe that the dog was a threat to your continued well being…but you weren’t seeking cover?
September 2nd, 2011 at 4:19 pm
Pitbull in a Petworth alley? That’s a Glockin’.
Had some friends that lived up in that neighborhood about 10 years ago. I think it’s gentirfied a bit since then, but I wouldn’t set foot in a Petworth alley after dark with a pitbull and a 12GA. I still remember a crackhead stealing the OEM radio antenna off my girlfriend’s Civic, in broad daylight, on a busy street, ten feet from the porch five off-duty cops were drinking on. We only saw him because he started dancing into the alley with it, and even the cops said, no thanks, antennas are cheap.
September 2nd, 2011 at 5:43 pm
^^
Wonder why crime is such a problem, what with the whole cops letting the criminals walk away after committing one.
September 2nd, 2011 at 8:20 pm
I think there are some sociopath police officers who like to shoot dogs just to watch the owners freak out.
Read “The Sociopath Next Door” by Martha Stout – but leave the lights on – it is non-fiction and one scary book.
September 3rd, 2011 at 10:47 am
Let’s see if I got this right. It was the DOG that was out of control?
September 3rd, 2011 at 11:31 am
You know I think if you hurt or shoot a police dog you could be charged with murder.For some people there pet is like there child.I think in this case the officer should be charged with a crime.
September 5th, 2011 at 8:51 am
If a dog comes at me (just a joe-smo), is it legal to shoot it? I’m guessing that the dog-bites would be less painful than losing my house to the lawyers and my private showers.
September 5th, 2011 at 9:38 am
I agree with the officer on this one. First, if the dog was agressive, then turning to seek cover would have led to an attack. Obviously the officer thought the dog was agressive. You people were not there and are relying on the statements of the owner. So many dog owners claim their pet would not harm anybody or anything, but in reality any dog will attack given certain circumstances that are only relevant to the dog….not the owner. I own several Corgis….great animals, but I do not leave them alone with children, they will bite (herding instinct?). I used to own a great dog, a beagle, who hated trashmen for some reason. The dog would go crazy when he heard the trucks and try to escape the backyard. When he was successful it was a race between which one of us would get to the trash collectors first.
Bottom line…animal was not leashed, the officer felt threatened and perceived the dog was agressive. Turning to seek cover would have generated the wrong response in the dog. Standing your ground with the owner near by would probably also generated the wrong resonse….I would have shot.
September 5th, 2011 at 10:58 am
I was mauled by a large breed dog as a kid while riding my bike. While my mom took me to the ER, my dad went to the neighborhood where it happened. The dog launched after him and my dad shot it dead. I carry now, and any dog that attacks me or my family is a dead dog. I’m with the officer on this one. An unleashed dog is danerous. Pepper spray? Give me a break. Back off? Yeah, that’s good, act like prey. Keep your dog fenced or under control and this sort of thing won’t happen.
September 5th, 2011 at 11:20 am
budahmon – You’re supportive of the coppointing the gun at two women after already discharging it (ineffectively) at a non-agressive dog? Please. Read the article and visualize instead of empathize and you’ll find the cop in gross err.
PS: I only use officer in respect.
September 5th, 2011 at 11:43 am
No, I’m not in favor of the officer pointing his gun at the individuals, but you were not there….it is their word that you are taking as factual. Second, how do you know the dog was non-agressive. Oh BTW, he hit his target so he was effective..
September 5th, 2011 at 12:44 pm
I fully appreciate that a cop should be able kill dangerous animals, but this stupid cop should never have told the woman to restrain the animal.
If he needed to use his gun then he should have told the woman to get AWAY from the animal, not restrain it!
He put put the her life in danger with his reckless behavior – he needs his gun taken away.
September 5th, 2011 at 1:42 pm
Whole thing could have been avoided if the dog had been on a leash. I had a neighbor who had not one but two pit bulls who bit three different people, yet the owners always said they are nice dogs.
As to a bite not being that bad, well, bullcrap. A pit can latch-on and do serious muscle damage in no time.
September 5th, 2011 at 2:30 pm
I don’t think people understand either dogs or police officers.
Dogs aren’t “nice” or “mean.” Dogs only understand pack and non-pack. Powerful dangerous dogs can be loving, loyal and protective to family members but dangerous threats to everyone else. Dobermans, for example are legendary for being great with small children but anyone whom the dog perceives as threatening the children is dead.
Police officers are trained to express a dominating body language so that they can project authority and control a situation. The dogs read that body language as a threat to their pack and respond defensively. Basically, cops are walking canine provocateurs.
Still, it does seem that cops shoot a lot of dogs these days compared to the past. That suggest a shift in training, culture or law that creates more unnecessary conflicts.
September 5th, 2011 at 6:40 pm
I don’t worship police, especially in corrupt big city PDs.
But.
Just watch the video, observe the low IQ thuggish black woman, the dog owner.
Think. Is she telling the truth? What’s a chance of that?
Is she telling partial truth, say 10% truth?
May be, may be not.
Don’t jump to conclusion, not in ghetto story. A good possibility you will land in shit.
September 6th, 2011 at 6:09 pm
You’re a cop in foot pursuit of a suspect (with your gun drawn) in a neighborhood infested with habitual violent criminals.
You suddenly encounter a pit bull – not leashed or restrained as required by law. Many of the thugs in this area keep pit bulls because they’re supposed to be dangerous.
The dog comes toward you.
Do you:
Run away?
Try to holster the gun and bring out a canister of pepper spray (if you have one), and then try to ward off the dog with the spray?
Order the dog’s owner to restrain the dog, and if the owner doesn’t seem to be doing so, protect yourself by shooting the dog?
I have a scar on my leg that wasn’t there a few months ago. I got it from walking within about 18″ of a leashed dog – in front of the entrance of a supermarket.
Going about in public in such an neighborhood with an unleashed pit bull is like brandishing a replica firearm. It may be harmless, but it looks dangerous to others. Guess what? It draws the same sort of response as a genuine threat.
The fault in this case is the owner’s and no one else’s.