one day the police are going to do something like this to an unstable person or someone who really hates the cops. Think how that might turn out

id kill them for that, seriously i would hunt the cop that shot my dog and murder him in cold blood

IMHO....Judge signed warrants with no evidence based soley on words of officer.
Which is illegal and improper condut for a judge or office of the court.




1. Get good lawyer
2. File lawsuit against cops involved,judge who illegaly signing baseless warrant, and department for reckless endagerment, assault with deadly weapon, armed burglary, and attempted homicide, animal cruelty, and a butt-load of pain and suffering for the emotional and finacila damage done to the entire family.
3. File grievance with state bar association and ask for a live hearing to discuss the actions of the judge and how it could affect future convictions in that district.
4. Demand investifation by state bar into improper conduct by all judges in that area.
5. Demamd a public appology and admission of fault, along with financial compensation.

There has been a lot of stuff like this happening in my area the past few years. The police overreact and use excessive force, people get killed, and it comes to light that it was all a misunderstanding.

Very frustrating, and the "justice" system here is so backwards that they usually get away with a slap on the wrist. Even the ones that are tried by feds get to keep their pensions or use PTO for the trial... I don't understand.

As soon as I can, I'm moving to the boonies. Seriously.

wtf is with cops always shooting the dog.

Maybe they were looking for WOMD

I would want to know who gave the information to the cops that they based the warrant on.

Was it a confidential informant or someone trying to get out of a charge by making up names.

The part where the cops bust some drug dealers and try to get them to roll over on other drug dealers is likely where the cops got this information.
These busted drug dealers have no problem guessing and hoping they can find someone totally uninvolved to rat on so they don't get killed by there real suppliers.

In many cases the cops still think they raided the right people but were just unlucky and did not find anything so they will never give out where they got the information.

mafia style invading homes shooting what ever moves?great example of social civilized world?or great example of troops at war*?barbaric? not even a little barbaric?is this the kind of society we want to live in*?safety?how safe was that*?a posible mistake causes death to a dog,gun shots inside your home,posibly causing trauma to kids,and posible escalation of death to a person do to fear reaccions,how safe is that for a first world country?civilized?more and more keeps coming out the same type of events.thats not counting the ones on the streets.police'? looks more like gangs to me.even mafia people got payed as well.was it ok for them to do the stuff they did for a paycheck? i read some were here,its not good to fight fire with fire,is that not what police is doing?burning every one else in the way as well.

There are a few things wrong with this story.

#1. A single X-Box video game (stolen or not) is not enough to get a warrant by itself to search and entire home. A Stolen X-Box amount to nothing more than theft. As most of us should know, theft can be a tricky subject at times. Each State is different so I decided to look up the theft laws before commenting.

In the State of Iowa the penalties for Theft are like most States in the US. where the degree of Theft is decided primarily by the worth of the item(s). 5th degree Theft in Iowa is a simple misdemeanor and is defined as any Theft involving the value of $200.00 or less. 4th degree Theft involves values of $200-$500 and is considered a serious misdemeanor. If the value is between $500 and $1000 it is considered 3rd degree Theft and it is an aggravated misdemeanor. A value of $1000 but less than $10,000 is 2nd degree Theft and is a Class D Felony and anything exceeding $10,000 is 1st Degree Theft and is a Class C Felony.

Right now at just about any store in the US you can buy the new X-Box Kinetic for around $299.00 and if you want to buy the "sports bundle" or the "holiday dance bundle" the value goes up to $399.00. Even at it's highest price this is still a 4th degree Theft in the State of Iowa or a "serious misdemeanor". This alone should not be enough to get a warrant.

#2. The warrant also makes mention of not only an X-Box but of "legal and illegal drugs". Now I have a few issues with this. First of all, legal drugs are just that. LEGAL. Why would you need a search warrant to search for something that the home owner is within his rights to have and obtained through legal methods? That makes no sense at all.. unless these people are suspected of selling these legal drugs illegally. Now this is a big issue in the US. There is no shortage of people who legally obtain anti depressants or pain medication and sell them. As an example, a person can legally obtain a prescription for Loritab. This would normally cost you around $25.00 to $35.00 for a bottle of about 30-40 pills which people then turn around and sell for $5.00 each. This would give you around $115.00 for a bottle and anyone who can do math can see just how much profit that is. However, even to obtain a warrant for this purpose you would need a witness making an accusation that this is happening. Much like a crack house. Police know where the crack houses are.. but they can not just raid the home without having some type of evidence. Most of us know what type of evidence is needed. This is why police use informants and make undercover buys. To gather evidence showing the sale of drugs from a home. That is what they use to obtain a warrant to raid and there is nothing in the article to suggest that any of this actually happened.

Much can be said for the "illegal drugs" listed in the warrant as well. What evidence was given to the judge in order to obtain the warrant? Again, no mention of this in the article.. or is there? At the end of the video the newscaster mentions prior legal issues with this family. The Father had previously been charged with possession of Meth and the son has been arrested for assault. However, you can not obtain a warrant based solely on what you did in the past. Again, you would need to show the judge probable cause to suspect that drugs are on the site and again, nothing in the article or video suggest that this was the case.

Based solely on what is listed in this article I am of the impression that police suspected the young man had stolen the X-box and in order to obtain a warrant they used the Father's previous legal history with drugs as the excuse. However, police can not get warrants for past behavior, they had to present some type of evidence that drugs were on site. So these police either lied to a judge in order to get a warrant or the judge did not follow the law himself and gave police the benefit of the doubt and issued the warrant. In any event, either the police or the judge or both at the very minimum are guilty of Judicial Misconduct.

The shooting of the dog concerns me. On one hand, I understand the concept of a threat. If you are being attacked by a dog, as much as I hate to say it, I can understand shooting the animal. That being said, there is nothing to indicate the dogs had attacked at all. The witnesses state that both dogs were running away at the time that they were killed. So at that point, where is the threat? Clearly there is none. As another poster pointed out, if Joe Citizen were to shoot a police dog, he would be charged with (at the very minimum) animal cruelty. Most States have charges that specifically distinguish the difference between any dog or a police dog. In some States killing a police dog is the same as killing a police officer.

For anyone interested here is information for Jefferson County Iowa's D.A. Office.
Telephone: (641) 472-9201
Fax: (641) 472-9202
Email: jeffcoatty@lisco.com

I posted a comment similiar to this in another thread: The states calls its violence law, but that of the individual a crime. It is sad to think that if this inoccent individual had shot a police officer defending his dog or grandma, that he'd either be 6 feet deep or spending the rest of his life in jail, while the police officer(s) who roughed up the grandma and executed the dog are going to get away scot free.

Jesus Christ, what the hell is up with cops and dogs? Do cops have some secret vendetta against them?

I know pretty good solution for situations like this. Every LEA officer should have camera mounted camera, sending live feed (and of course recording). Would be perfect if they have one camera pointing forward and one backwards.
This is already in operation in some countries like Northern Ireland.
In matter of fact I think that would prrevent a lot of police brutality, but also would give evidence against aggresors.

Of course unions would never allow it.

not agreeing or disagreeing, but this is a usefull bit of info.


a simple check of Iowa Courts Online shows that Chris Spaulding has the following criminal convictions: Filing a false report (lying to the cops), harassment 2nd (threating to kill someone) OWI, Domestic Abuse (wife beating), Interference with Acts (fighting with cops) Drug Paraphernalia, and Violation of a Protective Order (stalking) Matt Spaulding even has Felony Drug Dealing and Felony Assault convictions from November of this year.

Originally posted by ThetaNuRucka
not agreeing or disagreeing, but this is a usefull bit of info.


a simple check of Iowa Courts Online shows that Chris Spaulding has the following criminal convictions: Filing a false report (lying to the cops), harassment 2nd (threating to kill someone) OWI, Domestic Abuse (wife beating), Interference with Acts (fighting with cops) Drug Paraphernalia, and Violation of a Protective Order (stalking) Matt Spaulding even has Felony Drug Dealing and Felony Assault convictions from November of this year.

That info is in the OP's link, it is also lacking in the small print, as was the TV report. No matter, use of weapons is serious business, shooting dogs is pathetic if used routinely. There are obviously too many of the wrong people in policing, but they will also be backed by the law. Everything has become so cocked up.

If there is any serve and protect going on it is between the cops themselves. Nowadays police main priority is to go home at the end of their shift, regardless. They protect each other from even the slightest hint of a threat. A dog, is potentially a threat so... pop. Any "rumor" of drugs is enough to make them afraid of "doped up crazies". So they go heavy and raid, instead of knocking.

And even if none of that is true, and someone makes a mistake about an address or informant, then it all sounds good as an excuse later. "Doped up crazies with attack dogs guard stolen goods!" Next....

Originally posted by SilentNoise
This is where you'd almost wish people had CC video in their house so that the police couldn't lie their way out of it. And it would also give people something to rally behind. Instead they'll keep it under wraps for a few months until everyone forgets about it and then they'll dismiss any wrong doing as they were just doing their jobs etc.

At this point, I'm not sure who's to blame more for the abusive cops, the people who forget about stuff after just a few weeks and no longer hold them accountable, or the cops in full body armor that think they can shoot anything that moves and having it being justified...

When (if) I ever get the money, I will be putting video surveillance in my home and vehicles. I've thought about this for years. My neighbor has cameras all over his property and videotapes everything. He is a former cop.

The US cops watch way too many movies!

The military worldwide has got to get real and WAKE UP and stop these stupid actions, and other atrocious killings going on all the time. Thanks for letting us know about this case!