Officer Used Baton And Boot To Euthanize Dog Hit By Patrol Car

Reading this story, I came under the impression that less dust is stirred when police 'accidently' kill someone. I know of 1 instance concerning a cat and another compassionate police officer where the officer was charged with animal cruelty. What a wonderful world a 'Yes We Can' attitude can create. An attitude George Bush opened the door to make possible. Plenty of blame to go around.

***Police officials say an officer hit the loose dog with his patrol car when the animal darted out from behind a parked vehicle. However, the methods that the officer’s supervisor used to euthanize the dog have since come under scrutiny, triggering parallel criminal and internal affairs investigations.***
AZ Daily Sun

reply to post by GoldenRuled
I hope that cop is fired and never allowed near a living thing with authority again. Animal Control exists for a reason and thugs like him are a good reason why. That is so far into cruelty, I feel sick after reading it. Not the title...but the actual article. The details are vile...and I'll be shocked if the other cops on the scene back this guy at all.

For God's sake...at some point, SHOOT the poor thing. This was better? He just knew if he fired his weapon it automatically triggers an investigation...so he did THAT. Oh yeah... He needs mental help AFTER they fire his sorry butt. I have two dogs....I'd NOT be told to go back in my house.

reply to post by GoldenRuled


This makes me sick and sad..
Poor puppy. No doubt different measures could have been taken to A. Save that dog. Or B. Euthanize that dog properly. This is just wrong to me.. I know accidents happen but I feel sometimes if we watch the road a little better we could not even hit these animals in the first place. However that is hard to control, accident or not I feel how he handled it after the fact is WRONG!

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Wrabbit, Cruel is the perfect word for this!!

I lived in a private gated community in a rural area with 24 hour security patrols... The car had a .22 rifle in the trunk that was used to dispatch sick or injured animals that wandered onto the reservation and I suppose pets that were hit by cars though I never heard`of or saw an incident where the latter occurred... In the urban area I had previously lived in, animal control people used .22 caliber rifles for the same when called by citizens or police officers to deal with a situation that warranted it. A sheriffs deputy in a nearby town who has decided to run for sheriff used his squad car to squash a raccoon he had judged to be rabid.. It was during lunch time at a local eating establishment and grossed out people that were in the parking lot and watching through the windows while eating... The deputy was interviewed about the incident on a local radio station and said that he wasn't a "marine biologist" but he knew a rabid 'coon when he saw one and didn't want to see it bite anyone or use his pistol and risk having some being hit by a ricocheted shot if he had used he pistol...

reply to post by hypervigilant

That was nice of him to think that far ahead to what could happen. That seems to be more of a rarity as time goes by.

I'm often extremely critical of the police, maybe even much more than critical. But in this case, I'm sorry, but I just can't fault them. Maybe it would have been best if he used his sidearm to put down the poor pooch, but if it was a residential neighborhood, maybe people around, discharging a firearm into the street is kind of a risky move. Ricochet or fragments of the street itself could injure bystanders.

It's distasteful, it's unpleasant, it's bloody unfortunate, but I'm not convinced it was unnecessarily. A dog or car struck by a vehicle, seeing it writhe in pain, dying slow from internal injuries. Maybe I'm a monster, but the first thing on my mind would be to put the poor guy how of its misery.

reply to post by Monger


I would have suffocated it myself. They also have a tazer for those that say he would have been bitten. If it was a rookie, I could see it. He could have run it over again. He could have shot it. Something with a little less gore.

The article said he waited an extraordinary amount of time before doing anything.
It must have been hell for him.
Believe me, a hell he will not soon forget.
The club and boot hitting the poor dog. The sounds. Smells.

I feel for the guy.
What would you do?
Seriously - have you asked yourself that?
What would you do?
Maybe he did the best he could.
Let's stop the hate on him.
I've been called twice to euthanize horses - using my pistol - when a cop, and a State cop could not do it.
We're all different.
Allow these cops to have a heart.
And again - what would you do?
You might talk a big talk - but be honest - would you really do it?
Maybe you would - I hope you never have to find out - and I'm sorry he had to.

peace

reply to post by silo13

It's not that the cop killed someone's property/dog. That is bad enough...and under law a dog is property. Unlike a Cat, that is seen as stray by default. Obviously, had the cops thought to just ask a neighbor..ANY neighbor, they would have learned immediately that this absolutely was NOT a stray animal but belonged to the house he just hit it in front of. Personally, I'd be dangerously enraged after hearing that a cop hit my dog in the street and rather than call animal control or see if the dog belonged to the house it's right in front of, they proceeded to beat it to death.

Again though, I don't even take issue with putting the dog down. I don't know what it's injuries were. Maybe the cops saw compound fractures or something. That would be game over and putting the poor thing down is all that's left.

However... Anyone who hasn't read the story..completely...please do. I FIRST came to the thread, ready to post something about how the OP was being entirely too touchy...then I read the story from start to finish..and literally felt ill by the end of it. He stomped this dog and he BEAT ON this dog for an extended period of time. The neighbors report hearing the hitting going on..... What the hell is his problem??


In terms of 'would I..should I..could I.'. Yes Yes and Yes. Once upon a time in another life as a punk teenager, I thought sport shooting was 'cool'. That all ended one afternoon when I picked a squirrel to shoot. It took 10 direct..and I mean I counted later..I hit it every time..10 DIRECT HITS to bring this thing down from the trees it was still jumping between to escape. The 10th shot shattered a leg...and to make this short, I've never heard a scream like that little squirrel let out before or since. I Pray I never do again..... The 11th round was a head shot to end it.

It wasn't until I'd killed it that I understood why this little thing had been running SO hard and fighting SO hard to live..and I still get choked up today. It was a nursing mother...obvious when that close to it.

SO.... Yeah.. I've killed animals up close and under horrible conditions. That was the last time I ever 'sport shot' any living thing......but it doesn't help me understand this cop and his obscene show of killing the dog. It makes me want to see him lose everything he's got...all the more.

I understand that there is paperwork any time one of these guys has to discharge his weapon....

...but COME ON, man! At least have a heart and take it out quick.

Or, secondarily (IMO) as has been stated, call animal control. Can't help but wonder what the hell this guy was thinking. Doesn't really help the public's image of cops, either.

Y didn't he just run it over again.

Another disgusting human being.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000

Hi Wrabbit -
I read up to the part the guy waited 10 - 15 mins, then for his partner and then more time. That's when I stopped reading. I guess I didn't want to get to the bad part.

My point was? Cop or no? When it came down to actually doing the dirty deed? Was he 'into it' or 'horrified' by it. My only thought that he was too cowardly to do it right off was the time lapse. Again though, it's so hard to say. I know I've had to put animals down IMMEDIATELY because there was no hope and it had to be done to end suffering. It's horrific.

As for the beating and stomping? It's not so easy to kill as some may think - but still it does sound over the tops does it not? On the other hand I had a cat - her head got stepped on my a horse and she just would not die. It was horrible. I am sure anyone watching me put her down - without knowing the situation - would have been horrified and I'd be up on charges. It's all presumption vs. reality.

Anyway, I think we're pretty much on the same track - but if not - at least debating with dignity and that's what ATS is all about so I'm pretty stoked about that.

peace

Several problems I see here. First, the neighbors told the officer who owned the dog. He should have knocked on their door and let them decide what to do. And, by "decide what to do" I most certainly don't mean give them the option of stomping to death, OR running it over again.....WTF people! This was a pet, there are 24 hour veterinary clinics in every city in America. The animal should have been scooped up and taken to a vet. PERIOD.
Second, (and further supporting why the owners should have been told) having worked in animal rescue, I've seen some very unpleasant situations and sometimes things look much worse than they are. I've seen animals with their eyeballs popped out of their head and blood coming out of their mouth who, upon medical attention, lived. Sure it looked horrible, but it wasn't so bad after all. I learned that eyeballs can easily be placed back in the socket, and sometimes blood pouring out of the mouth can be from things other than internal bleeding, often teeth are broken out and there are deep cuts inside the mouth etc. When an animal gets hit and can't get up, or just lays there, it doesn't mean they're mortally wounded, they might have a broken leg or pelvis, they might be in shock or a myriad of other possibilities. Typically animals who are mortally wounded will lay motionless, pupils fixed and dilated. This dog was awake, and yelped when hit over and over again, and even after being bludgeoned was STILL ALIVE and yelped again. I don't believe he was mortally wounded AT ALL.
This officer isn't a vet, it's not for him to judge the situation, and the animal should have been taken to a vet, especially after the officer was told it was a family pet. "Euthanasia" means a good death, and stomping or beating to death is CRIMINAL, not acceptable at all. If you want to get down to it, dispatching animals with a gun isn't considered "humane" either. Shelters, vets, etc meet each year to discuss euthanasia methods, and gunshot is not considered an acceptable method, there were shelters in rural areas using a gunshot to the head to kill dogs and cats and often the animals were still alive when thrown into the pile...this happened so often in so many counties that it was decided this was cruel. As far as knowing how to deal with an injured animal, there are methods to pick up injured animals, many officers have provided aid to animals even "after hours". This guy was just callous and ignorant and criminal.

reply to post by silo13

I think we're on the same page, indeed.

I went back and read this again and I was mistaken...The supervisor was ONE of the Officers trying to kill the dog. The witness describes seeing him specifically at first then described the other Officer's behavior and then that one coming back later to do more when it wasn't dead. I'm trying to avoid details..because it really is beyond belief what they did here. Suffice it to say, the story ends by saying they are looking at criminal animal cruelty charges against one of them with additional charges on making threats (?).

What just grabbed my attention tho... I was thinking this was a night stick or the tactical batons you see on their belts.. That had made me wonder how they didn't manage to kill it after so MANY times......but my God.. this wasn't a night stick. Two references are made to them EXTENDING the baton before raising it to strike the dog. This sounds like a collapsible baton. What were they thinking?? Hey, that's a great tool for extreme pain inflicted on people...works well, believe me...but to kill? They tortured it to death. I can't come up with a better way to say it...and it took more than one 'session' to ..well... I hope they burn for this!

This could have been dealt with better. There needs to be a higher standard set when determining who is allowed to protect and serve the citizens. Screen out these types of stupid morons, before they further tarnish their badge of authority.

I read the article again, just to make sure I had perceived the situation clearly. This definitely could have been dealt with better. I always wish I didn't read it a first, let alone the second time. The only part that redeems law enforcement, in my eyes, is the fact that charges are being filed. Now it's up to the court to decide. If things are as they appear, there is no reason why jail time should be escaped.


@ Silo. I often agree with you, but here I have a different view. Killing is easy. What should be hard is choosing to kill. A person accepting the power of taking life away, should also be able to choose the most humane approach. Bludgeoning something to death should only be chosen when someone faces an imminent threat to their life, or when a slow, painful death is the goal.

reply to post by tamusan

@ Silo. I often agree with you, but here I have a different view. Killing is easy. What should be hard is choosing to kill. A person accepting the power of taking life away, should also be able to choose the most humane approach. Bludgeoning something to death should only be chosen when someone faces an imminent threat to their life, or when a slow, painful death is the goal.

Again, like another poster I think we're on the same page - just a slightly different slant.

Sometimes killing isn't easy - but it has to be done.

Let me try it this way. I keep going back to a film with Robert Redford, I don't remember the name - but - his friend had just crashed in a plane and was burning to death. Robert Redford rushed as close as he could get to the wreckage realizing instantly there was no way he could move the plane off/save his friend who was screaming in the absolute perfect agony of burning to death.
Robert Redford hesitated - but that second of hesitation would haunt him forever. Then, he picked up a stray piece of broken plane and bludgeoned his friend to death in order to save him from burning to death.
It was brutal, horrific and disgusting - but - needed to be done.

I hope that 'went somewhere' for you in my attempt to explain my point of view.

peace

Originally posted by hypervigilant
The deputy was interviewed about the incident on a local radio station and said that he wasn't a "marine biologist" but he knew a rabid 'coon when he saw one...

When did racoons become marine animals?