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MrLimpet
Idaho Police Officer Facing Wrath After Killing Dog
FILER, Ida. (CBS Seattle) – A southern Idaho police officer has been placed on administrative leave after video showing him shooting a dog went viral.
TorqueyThePig
When that happened I noticed several people outside of their houses, and a cable company contractor watching the situation unfold. It was at that point that I put my firearm back in its holster and took out my baton.
...
I didn't because I was worried somebody watching was filming and would of put the video on Youtube.
So you didn't shoot the dog because people were watching? Not because it was probably "overkill"? What a guy!
TorqueyThePig
reply to post by Ektar
I wasn't there so I won't Monday morning quarterback.
I will however, add a personal story. Just to note this is coming from an animal lover and a pit bull owner.
I was dispatched to a neighborhood to look for an aggressive dog that was chasing people.
When I arrived I located the dog which was a pretty big pit mix. I also located the house in which it belonged to. The gate was open and there was another dog hanging out in the backyard.
When I approached the loose dog it began barking and growling at me. It then lunged at me in which I kicked it in the nose. He backed off and immediately lunged at me again. This time I side stepped and removed my firearm from its holster. At that point I aimed at the dog and at the same time yelled at him to get back. I even said out loud, I don't want to shoot you buddy.
He again lunged at me. As I began to depress the trigger I swear time slowed down. When that happened I noticed several people outside of their houses, and a cable company contractor watching the situation unfold. It was at that point that I put my firearm back in its holster and took out my baton.
When he lunged again I "poked" him rather hard in the snout with the baton. Luckily at that point he backed off and walked back into the backyard through the open gate. At that point a coworker arrived and secured the gate.
Could I have shot the dog? Yes. I didn't because I was worried somebody watching was filming and would of put the video on Youtube. I didn't want to be harassed by people saying that I made the wrong call. I also felt bad because being a dog person I know that it is the owners fault as to why the dog is the way he is. Luckily in my specific situation things worked out positively.
I will say this though. Being in a situation like that is extremely stressful. It happens so quickly and it is very easy to make the wrong choice.
I also have seen two occasions where our officers did not shoot the dog and were bitten. One officer had a chunk taking out of his calf and was out for a couple months recovering.
Was the the dog in the video like that?
TorqueyThePig
reply to post by Sremmos80
Being scared of bodily harm or being killed is a natural human emotional response. Just because someone is scared of being harmed doesn't mean they shouldn't be a police officer.edit on 12-2-2014 by TorqueyThePig because: (no reason given)
thisguyrighthere
FraggleRock
How many people have been in a similar situation with dogs barking and carrying on? It's a pretty regular occurrence I'm sure. What doesn't appear to be a regular occurrence is those dogs ending up dead. This situation is the result of having a culture of law enforcement who's first instinct is always to their firearm.
Imagine USPS, FedEx, UPS, food delivery, Mormons and Jehovahs Witnesses, etc... all killing peoples dogs.
They seem to get along fine without drawing a weapon and shooting Fido.
Why can't cops handle situations at least as well the Mormon kid on a bicycle?edit on 12-2-2014 by thisguyrighthere because: (no reason given)
nixie_nox
The owner has no one to blame but himself.
Two dogs should not be in the yard unrestrained. Period. What was a service dog doing running free outside? They are expensive. It could of been hit by a car.
The man should never be allowed another service animal.
With all the yelling and barking, why didn't the owner come out and get his dogs? What was he doing?
The dogs were growling and lunging. The cop had a right to shoot it.
For all the people trying to complain that the dogs tails were wagging, if a perp is walking up to you holding a gun but waving hi with the other hand, are you going to think he is harmless? That growl was enough to determine the dog's intentions, not to mention he was blocking the cop's path, it was an aggressive behavior.
I know that ATS loves to hate a cop no matter the circumstances, but I am angry at the owner for this one. One more animal dead because of complete morons. Pretty typical.
Also for those saying the cop should of gotten into the car and left the dogs, here is another scenario: cop gets into the car and leaves the dogs. A little girl tries to ride her bike down the street, gets attacked by loose labs and has to go to the ER.
nixie_nox
here is another scenario: cop gets into the car and leaves the dogs. A little girl tries to ride her bike down the street, gets attacked by loose labs and has to go to the ER.
Sremmos80
nixie_nox
The owner has no one to blame but himself.
Two dogs should not be in the yard unrestrained. Period. What was a service dog doing running free outside? They are expensive. It could of been hit by a car.
The man should never be allowed another service animal.
With all the yelling and barking, why didn't the owner come out and get his dogs? What was he doing?
The dogs were growling and lunging. The cop had a right to shoot it.
For all the people trying to complain that the dogs tails were wagging, if a perp is walking up to you holding a gun but waving hi with the other hand, are you going to think he is harmless? That growl was enough to determine the dog's intentions, not to mention he was blocking the cop's path, it was an aggressive behavior.
I know that ATS loves to hate a cop no matter the circumstances, but I am angry at the owner for this one. One more animal dead because of complete morons. Pretty typical.
Also for those saying the cop should of gotten into the car and left the dogs, here is another scenario: cop gets into the car and leaves the dogs. A little girl tries to ride her bike down the street, gets attacked by loose labs and has to go to the ER.
Then the dog would be put down at the point, but we don't have that situation, we have a dead dog after 2 min of the cop arriving. The cop was scared of getting bit and going to the er... so he shoots the dog??? What attempt did he make to have the owner get his dogs inside? You don't think he had an opportunity to do that? Why not taze the dog? That can put down a man with a gun, should do fine with a dog. Or his pepper spray?
Sremmos80
TorqueyThePig
reply to post by Sremmos80
Being scared of bodily harm or being killed is a natural human emotional response. Just because someone is scared of being harmed doesn't mean they shouldn't be a police officer.edit on 12-2-2014 by TorqueyThePig because: (no reason given)
IMO it does. If he is going to harm others just to protect him self that quickly then he doesn't need to be a cop. They should be able to suppress that feeling and handle the situation with the least amount of harm possible. Not skip procedure out of fear
AK907ICECOLD
reply to post by MrLimpet
IMO I would have pulled out my gun and shot the cop to wound not to kill. For intrusion and murdering my family member. If they treat their dogs as a officer, I treat my pets like family. No difference.
One more reason I'm armed to the teeth, and promote gun ownership.
When police are getting shot more and more by citizens in high numbers, we may eventually be left alone by LEOs and flip the fear for once and the people gain more control of our country.
I am so sick to hear of this story. I hope that that cop gets fired!