Dog slaying: Off-duty officer charged in shooting at dog park

Dog slaying: Off-duty officer charged in shooting at dog park

www.usatoday.com

Prosecutors filed misdemeanor animal cruelty and gun charges today against an off-duty federal police officer who shot and killed a Siberian husky earlier this month inside a private Severn, Md., dog park, according to the Annapolis Capital.



Keith Shepherd, 32, of Severn, Md., will not be arrested on the charges of inflicting unnecessary suffering and pain to an animal and discharging of a firearm within 100 yards of an occupied structure, though. He will be charged via criminal summons and required to appear in Annapolis District Court at a future date.

If convicted, Shepherd faces

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I had posted a previous article on this.. This cop was out of line.. He chose to use lethal force BEFORE exhausting any other forms of defense. He is a coward, although the charge is not very heavy... this opens him up to a civil lawsuit. I hope it bankrupts his arse. I hope he is homeless and offs himself in the next 24 months.

Ok let the bashing begin..

I am not saying other should feel like I do... I am just telling you how I feel about this.

The dog didnt leave marks or scratches on him or his dog.. From what I understand, this husky was just playing rough.

I wonder which cop catagory this cop falls in...
1) Washed up sports star in school.. that was just plain dull and wasn't good enough to play in college.
2) A picked on introvert, that finally finds a way to demand respect.
3) He is obviously not the type that really have a hero mentality, and truely want to change the world for the better.
note: there are very very few of this last kind.

www.usatoday.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 27-8-2010 by Mobius1974]

I don't wish misfortune on anyone. Karma for one's misdeeds will always weigh upon one's soul and that individual will inevitably pay.

I had voiced my sheer disappointment in the individual defaulting to using his weapon AND the us of deadly force to rectify the situation.

It really goes to show sadly, just how clueless people really are.

A loud noise will generally suffice. A shot over the dogs would have worked.

As I had said, an air horn will work.

But this is the sad reality of people wanting to use the killing capability of their weapons upon a voiceless victim.

I am glad to hear some legal justice is being served.
They should make him work for the Humane Society for a month or two shoveling dog poop !

Unfortunately it will never bring back the Dog.

Funny how until public outrage swelled the cops were totally ready to just close the books on this and say TS to the dogs family.

I wonder how many other things the cops are so easily writing off?

I've read a few articles about these charges now and not one has mentioned how these charges will impact his job.

Can he really be convicted of these crimes, pay a fine, spend time in jail and just go right back to work after it's all done?

If we dont trust pervs to the point we keep them on a registry why arent we keeping currently serving yet criminal convicted cops on a registry?

I am really hoping the World wakes up and finally realizes that if you do not spank a child a child cannot learn properly!

Pull this man's pants down in front of the World and publicly spank his Arse til he cries like a baby. I promise you he and anyone else thinking of extending themselves in this manner will never do it again.

Sell tickets to the event and have the proceeds go to the victim's family, I would pay for that! I would even want the owner of the Dog to be able to do the spanking for how ever long they feel necessary to get this anger exercised. A nice big wooden paddle with holes drilled in it so as not to cause too much blistering at first!

The healing capacity of the Gluteus Maximus is highly underrated and is often overlooked as a means to 'corrective action' for both parties involved.

Having him write 500 times, "I will not kill", "I will not kill" does not work! Because money is nothing and even if he did jail time he would sit pretty amongst his peers (whomever they are).

Spank Him! You will get results.

Can't blame the dog, it probably saw the pig and smelled bacon and then instinct took over.

He will get off with a slap on his wrist. If it were a police dog and a civillian would shoot it then they'd sit in jail for 10 years.

I'm sick of out of control cops abusing their power.And I'm sick of them getting a slap on the wrist!
Extra charges are brought wnen someone commits a crime AGAINST an officer, I think extra charges are in order when an officer COMMITS a crime, and they must be FIRED after they do their mandatory jAIL TIME.
Maybe that would teach these A holes a lesson!

reply to post by Mobius1974


As someone who has recently had several altercations with individuals at dog parks, i hope this guy is sued.

Dog parks are notorious for idiots and a-holes.

I'm going to rant a little about my experiences.

My dog is not fixed, there are no rules that require you to have your dog fixed and yet I have been verbally attacked and threatened because I have chosen not to neuter my dog.

He behaves very well, aside from some butt smelling and occasional attempts to mount other dogs. But as most should know, even a fixed dog of any sex will attempt to mount or hump other dogs. It has more to do with dominance than sexual behavior. I have regularly seen neutered males and spayed females attempt to mount other dogs.

My first interactions was with a crazy women who was offended that my dog was sniffing her dogs butt. The next time I saw her at the park she had a spray bottle filled with what she said was "chemicals". We attempted to get the park supervisor to do something about her and her threats but the PSuper did not do anything. This women threatened to spray my dog and me if I got between her and my pet.

The second altercation was from a man who, I believe worked for the humane society. When he saw my dog, he asked if he was neutered and I said no, he asked if I planned on neutering him and I said no. He then brought me a card with a place that will neuter your pet very cheaply. I accepted it and told him to be on his way.

Then when my dog was sniffing his dog, he told his dog to attack my dog, which it did. He said to me, "see, thats what happens when you dont neuter your dog." I told him to mind his own business.

Then at another location in the park two dogs not even near my dog started fighting. He blamed my dog for the fight because of the extra testosterone in the air. I told him to go F himself.

I took my dog and left after this because this guy was antagonizing to the point that I knew I was going to lose my cool if I stayed to hear him continue to run his mouth. I can see how these situations could escalate.

Dog parks suck. Most people are cool and understand normal dog behavior but a percentage of the population are so strongly for neutering and/or so conservative in their sensibilities that they are offended by dogs sniffing or mounting each other that it makes it almost impossible to enjoy my time there.

I can understand the guy asking me about neutering and even giving me a card but thats where it should end. He expressed his opinion and that should be it. There are no laws that you must neuter or spay your pet and there are no rules in the dog park that require it.

It is my choice to not neuter my pet. I have done the research and I am aware of the dangers associated with neutering. All of the "pros" to neutering pet are not based in science. There is no research to back the claims.


The article in the OP is a perfect example of someone over reacting to normal dog behavior. Dogs will get rough with each other when they are playing. And if it escalates, you get in there and separate them. I have seen this happen before and its not a big deal.

If you dont want your dog sniffed, mounted, or playing with other dogs...dont take them to a public dog park where this behavior will most likely happen.

Sorry for the rant on this subject but the article made me think of all the jerks that I have encountered at my local dog park. And it doesnt surprise me that some guy went way too far.