scared cop tries to shoot dog, hits 4 year old girl instead

An Ohio cop was called to a residence to give medical assistance to a woman who had cut herself.

While in the house house a dog ran at him so he shot it (always there 1st reaction) except he missed and shot a 4 year old girl in the leg instead.

So cops are so freaking eager to shoot our dogs they don't even check if children are in the line of fire before shooting.. So many other people come into contact with dogs every single day without having to shoot them,

Mailmen, meter readers, freaking animal control., why do cops just start effing shooting?

A 4-year-old child was struck by a bullet fired from a Columbus Police Officer’s gun in Whitehall.

10TV has confirmed a patrol officer was answering a call on Chandler Drive just after 3 pm. Friday when a family in the area started screaming for help because of a medical emergency.

Columbus Police said the officer responded and as he was trying to help an injured woman, a dog inside the home charged him.

Investigators said the officer shot at the dog but missed and struck the child in the right leg.

www.10tv.com...

a reply to: alienjuggalo

Why's a cop trying to provide medical care? He's not qualified or licensed for anything except BLS and basic first aid.

eta: I'm envisioning it being a toy poodle or a Yorkie, but that's just me.

originally posted by: Bedlam
a reply to: alienjuggalo

Why's a cop trying to provide medical care? He's not qualified or licensed for anything except BLS and basic first aid.

Maybe he stayed at a Holliday Inn Express the night before ..

Haha. I had a delivery/door to door sales type job once. I was told to stand straight up, no crouching, keep hands straight, and put the bag between me and the dog if necessary. Not once was I given the option to shoot said dog. There were times I wish I had that option. There are some scary dogs out there. I kid, I would not shoot a dog.

So since he missed then the dog attacked him right?

Or was the dog doing what dogs do and running up to people they don't know to sniff you and what not...
Very sad to hear a little girl was hit.

a reply to: alienjuggalo

I saw this a few hours ago and almost made a thread. Anyway, the article i read said that the dog attacked him (could be his version to justify shooting it who knows, cause we also know how dog nonviolently behave in general), and that is was either ricochet or shrapnel that hit the girl.

I don't know either way, and I'm tired and too lazy to look through my twitter feed for *that* story, so I'll leave it at that.

At first I was all "omg he shot a 4 year old" but I can't be that obtuse.

originally posted by: Sremmos80
So since he missed then the dog attacked him right?

Or was the dog doing what dogs do and running up to people they don't know to sniff you and what not...
Very sad to hear a little girl was hit.

I'm really hoping that he's asked that very question. I would love to hear him say that the dog just ran up to him to smell him, like most dogs do. I would also love it if he's asked how he feels knowing that not only did he shoot a young girl, but that he was also about to shoot an animal who was just trying to see what's going on and who's in his yard.

I hope he feels like crap.

a reply to: alienjuggalo

Poor little girl.

That was my first thought.

a reply to: alienjuggalo

Next thought...

Fire the stupid cop!!!!!

a reply to: alienjuggalo

I cant envision how someone calls 911 and asks for help with an injury and they send police. That just does not click for me. In this day and age you have to know the cop is going to show up and try to shoot the injury claiming it assaulted him by getting blood on him. But he will tase it first, then beat on it for a while to tenderize it.

Its amazing how many police in other countries fail to shoot anything and still manage to get the job done.

I hope the little girl is alright and I would really like to hear the story from the person who called for help in the first place.

a reply to: Vroomfondel

Exactly...

People that want to hurt them self's don't want the police around.

And it seems every time the pair is around, one ends up dead...

a reply to: alienjuggalo

Its coming right for us!...POW!

On a lighter note, the dog is ok, right? ...right? ...Hello?

a reply to: Vroomfondel
911 dispatch codes their calls for response type. I'll give you an example from where I work.

Alpha calls = non emergency ( no lights and sirens). No police, no fire. Just EMS
Bravo = Fire, EMS, and Police if needed. Sometimes emergency, sometimes non emergency traffic.
Charle, Delta, and Echo. Always emergency traffic, always Fire and EMS, and sometimes police.

Echo calls are cardiac arrest therefore police always go to help and do investigations per Medical Examiner if warranted.

Some smaller cities we run with, fire will not run medical calls. This is due to a pissing match between agencies. So when we have emergency calls go out in these areas, police respond. This is because they are all trained as medical responders and can do CPR as well as basic care if needed. It is a blessing to have them respond in these areas as they will even drive us to the hospital in our ambulance emergency traffic, when we have a critical patient where both medics have to be in the back.

I know this goes against some people's views who hate any and all police, but I for one am grateful majority of the time when they show up and help us.

Police and fire also have smaller districts here than we do. For example they can be anywhere in their district in under 2 minutes. We have to make it under 9 minutes even though some places it can take us 15 minutes emergency traffic. In a cardiac arrest or critical pt such as someone who needs a tourniquet etc, police can save their life.

a reply to: alienjuggalo

What is the problem with all this lately? Is it a lack of protocol? What is the protocol for entering a home of somebody who is hurting themselves? What is the protocol for a dog who is approaching the cop in the dog's own home? Are there standard procedures for these scenarios? If so, were they followed?

I just have a hard time believing that shooting a dog in the dog's home when you're there to help the family is standard procedure. And if you are to protect yourself from the dog, why can't you do what mail carriers, and animal control people do? They don't shoot dogs. Or children.

Is it really just a problem of needing to standardize procedure across the board so there is accountability? So often I hear "the officer did what he thought was best" in scenarios that are pretty common. Why are they left with doing what they think is best? Why can't there be a protocol in place so there's no room for doubt?

Why does this crap still happen?

a reply to: LoverBoy

I don't hate any and all police. I do hate the ones who have no respect for people they are meant to serve and protect. And it seems like the number of police who fit that description is far outweighing the ones who don't. Sadly, that is how it looks to me. But, I live just outside Chicago. Our cops aren't the friendliest and that has been known for a long time now...

a reply to: Cuervo
If it is known then yes they will make entry given the circumstances.

I have only experienced 2 cases where dogs were killed intentionally.

1. 4 year old was attacked by family pitbull inside residence. We arrived and were treating the boy and the dog was trying to get through the screen door. The dog did get through the door and charged us. He was killed. It was justified.

2. A woman had 2 stray dogs pin her against her house. We arrived with police and the dogs attention turned on us. We made it back to our ambulance but they charged an officer and were both killed. Again completely justified.

911 typically will ask if possible to put the dogs up. Usually a family member or patient will do this if possible. If not then at least warn us that the dog can be protective or aggressive. If it comes to me or the dog, I hope the officer there does put the dog down if it charges me trying to hurt me.

a reply to: Vroomfondel

I understand and my comment wasn't directed toward you in that aspect. From my experience at work, here, the good far outweigh the bad.

We did have a case where an officer was sleeping with a 15 year old explorer. The adult was female and explorer male. She was charged and fired. Other than that, nothing crazy.

a reply to: alienjuggalo

The report does say that the dog charged the officer, so it wasn't just a case of a dog being there and the cop shooting for no reason. Unless someone claims the dog didn't charge, and wasn't a danger, this seems more like a case of an accident, trying to defend and missing, to strike the child. Glad the kid wasn't killed, in any case, and hope all are honest about the dogs actions, no matter what they were. I do find it curious that we don't hear the size of the dog, or have a picture, or any comment from the people in the home, such as the child's parents and dog's owners.

Maybe this was an unfounded shooting, and maybe it wasn't. Some dogs do attack, after all. I still remember video I saw on a show some years back, wherein a dog owner sicced her pit bull on an animal control woman who came to pick the dog up, for complaints by neighbors that the dog was vicious. The owner demanded the animal control woman leave, and told her she was going to send the dog out to attack, and then did it. The dog was all over that poor woman. That sort of dog, I could see a cop pulling a gun, and some that are cool with their own families are not cool with strangers entering the house. I have known people with dogs whose homes I would NEVER enter uninvited, even when the dog knew me, because they guarded against anyone the owners didn't specifically invite in. Maybe the dog in this home was one like those.

I'll wait for more evidence before assigning any fault here.

originally posted by: LoverBoy
a reply to: Cuervo
If it is known then yes they will make entry given the circumstances.

I have only experienced 2 cases where dogs were killed intentionally.

1. 4 year old was attacked by family pitbull inside residence. We arrived and were treating the boy and the dog was trying to get through the screen door. The dog did get through the door and charged us. He was killed. It was justified.

2. A woman had 2 stray dogs pin her against her house. We arrived with police and the dogs attention turned on us. We made it back to our ambulance but they charged an officer and were both killed. Again completely justified.

911 typically will ask if possible to put the dogs up. Usually a family member or patient will do this if possible. If not then at least warn us that the dog can be protective or aggressive. If it comes to me or the dog, I hope the officer there does put the dog down if it charges me trying to hurt me.

Thanks for the response. Those two cases sound justified but what I'm wanting to know is if there is a an actual procedure for that. Like, is there a section in a manual somewhere that says "how to handle dogs in private residences" and, if so, are they very detailed? Would it have covered your two scenarios you gave as well as the one in the OP?