This occurred on the evening of September 8th in a grocery store parking lot in Lubbock, Texas. A complaint call came in stating that a pit bull was
attacking another pit bull in front of the store. A Lubbock police officer was dispatched to deal with the situation.
LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) -
Police on Wednesday released the dashcam video of an officer shooting and killing a dog in the parking lot of United Supermarket, 5001 Marsha Sharp
Freeway on September 8.
Both the dashcam and a police report identify the officer as Clinton Lewis. Lewis wrote in the report, "An aggressive pit bull was attacking another
dog in the parking lot of United Supermarkets. The dog placed myself and others in danger of serious bodily injury. I fired one round into the dog
with my LPD-issued pistol."
Police say they were called to United because of a complaint about the dogs fighting.
When the story first became public some criticized the officer for presuming that the dog was dangerous because it was a pit bull. Others at the time
defended the officer as saying the safety of people was more important than the well-being of the dog.
www.kcbd.com...
I couldn't separate the dashcam video that was embedded in the story on the above link, but I encourage you to watch the video carefully.
WARNING: The video is somewhat graphic and shows the death of a dog. If you are easily upset, please do not watch this video!!!
I'm no fan of pitbulls (especially ones running loose together), but after watching the video several times, it appeared to me that the officer went
up to two dogs who appeared to be
playing, not fighting. He walked up and kicked one of the dogs hard, but when the dog ignored him and went
back to playing with his buddy, the officer shot him at close range in the torso.
The dog immediately lay down, and, sadly enough, its tail was wagging at the officer as it was dying. The other dog went over to his friend, only to
receive a swift kick from the same officer.
Why wasn't animal control called to capture these animals? I just didn't see the need to kick the dogs, and shoot the one dead. There is a world
of difference between two dogs playing roughly, and two dogs fighting. I feel this dog was executed on the spot simply because of its breed. Do you
see imminent danger towards bystanders and the officer? I did not. Would not a taser have been better to be used in this situation?
Please view the embedded video on the link provided and let me know what you think. Were the dogs in a vicious fight, or were they playing together?
Was it necessary to shoot this animal, or could it have been handled in a different manner?
I created this thread because too many dogs are being shot lately. In this case, it appears that the officer was annoyed at the animals and shot one
dead to simply stop the incident, rather than resolving it humanely. Too many trigger-happy police are running around out there. I expect more from
our officers: More intelligence, more compassion, and more humane treatment of animals. Shooting should be a last resort, not the first one.
I welcome a civil discussion on this matter. What do you think? Justified, or not?
MODS: If this story has been reported already, or if it violates some T&C rule, feel free to do with it what you will.