Cop shoots 'attacking' dog in front of 10 year old owner

[ZaneNBK]

Average weight for a fullgrown pitbull is about 55 lbs, the range is usually somewhere between 33 and 77lbs (at the very fat end). Either that was one hugely fat pitbull or the officer is trying to cover his ass. Judging from the officer's history and the possibility of being disciplined if the family's story is true I'm more inclined to believe the family.

Pitbulls are very protective and assertive dogs usually. Generally if a pitbull is mild enough to get along with other dogs (two in this case) and live with a family with small children then it wouldn't be going ballistic on strangers unless they had a family member in a headlock or something. Either this wasn't a pitbull or it was an ultra-mild pitbull (or pit mix) that probably wouldn't have reacted threateningly without provocation.

Volunteering at the shelter I've had people come up to me ask me if a little 20 pound dog that stands about a foot high (and looks somewhat like a terrier) was a pitbull. 🙂 Either the cop is lying or he doesn't know what a pitbull is and made a mistake. We all have to pay for our mistakes, it's how we learn.

If the police had more evidence that this was a drug house than just a bunch of cars parked outside then I could see that an action like this might've been acceptable.

 

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: PSYWVic


If I came over to your house and shot your dog right in front of your young daughter, would you settle for just the value of the dog and a couple of hours of therapy as compensation?

Well, for one I wouldn't keep such a big dog in the house. Secondly, I wouldn't allow my 10 year old kid to answer the door, especially if I lived in a city. Third, I wouldn't sue.

How much do you think is fair? Did this guy do $10,000 worth of harm? $100,000? $1,000,000? How much damage did he do?

Edit: I wouldn't sue unless the cop just did it for *no* reason. Since we don't know that, it's hard to say.

 

[Jzero]

I fault the newspaper for printing such a sensationalistic article without knowing the whole story, and then slanting it to make the cops look bad even though the truth is unclear.

 

[pyonir]

Originally posted by: Jzero
I fault the newspaper for printing such a sensationalistic article without knowing the whole story, and then slanting it to make the cops look bad even though the truth is unclear.

well stated.

 

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: Jzero
I fault the newspaper for printing such a sensationalistic article without knowing the whole story, and then slanting it to make the cops look bad even though the truth is unclear.

I third this

 

[Cyberian]

It's a damn shame that Phoebe had to see her dog get killed, but that really has nothing to do with the facts of the incident.

I would like to see the dog weighed and identified by breed.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42

Originally posted by: PSYWVic
If I came over to your house and shot your dog right in front of your young daughter, would you settle for just the value of the dog and a couple of hours of therapy as compensation?

Well, for one I wouldn't keep such a big dog in the house. Secondly, I wouldn't allow my 10 year old kid to answer the door, especially if I lived in a city. Third, I wouldn't sue.

How much do you think is fair? Did this guy do $10,000 worth of harm? $100,000? $1,000,000? How much damage did he do?

Are you proposing then that it be made illegal to own large dogs or to allow children to answer the door??

Read again: the dog was outside, that was the problem.
As for not suing, I agree and disagree. Frivilous lawsuits or ones with ridiculously large awards piss me off. On the other hand, if someone wrongs me and I can prove it, they will pay for it, in the courts if necessary.

What do I personally think is fair? If this were me, I would not be interested in monetary compensation. If the cop is lying, and the family is telling the truth, then the cop should be disciplined, terminated if necessary. I hate that "cops have hard jobs so they should get off and not be disciplined for making a serious mistake" attitude so many people seem to have. I got news for that crowd: we all have hard jobs, not just cops, and if we make a serious mistake, we get fired. The biggest difference between us and cops is that people die when a cop makes a mistake.

 

[ThePresence]

Originally posted by: LordMaul

Originally posted by: ThePresence

Think about the scenario, and let's put you in the place of the kid.

You are walking out of your house, and your 3 dogs come bolting around the corner of the house. 2 of them stop, but you large, but playful(which you know) pitbull keeps on running like hell towards the cop, not slowing down in the least. The cop sees this thing flying at him, pulls his gun, and caps the dog. You scream like a little girl and go running at the cop, swearing or screaming shaking your fists and attempt to beat the cop down. The cop still hgas his gun out, and plugs you.

Who is wrong here?

A dog will not listen to "stop or I'll shoot".

So what?

If Brutuskend's dog had mauled the cop, possibly killed him or scarred him for life, who would the bad guy be then?

I was agreeing with you! Read the posts! 🙂

 

[Zebo]

I won't even get into the idiot statements about pitbulls being made here but will say the maximum I've ever seen some given when a dog is killed by famers here or police is the value of the animal since the law treats animals as personal property.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: Jzero
I fault the newspaper for printing such a sensationalistic article without knowing the whole story, and then slanting it to make the cops look bad even though the truth is unclear.

I agree... lmao. OT, though, this is all too common, it's how they make their money, stirring controversy.

 

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: PSYWVic

Are you proposing then that it be made illegal to own large dogs or to allow children to answer the door??

Where the heck did you get this at?


Read again: the dog was outside, that was the problem.


Yeah, for some reason I thought that meant the back of the house as in inside, but it says behind. So, my bad 🙂

If I had a dog, I would keep it outside, like I said. In a fenced in yard, making sure my yard was big enough for the dog.

As for not suing, I agree and disagree. Frivilous lawsuits or ones with ridiculously large awards piss me off. On the other hand, if someone wrongs me and I can prove it, they will pay for it, in the courts if necessary.

What do I personally think is fair? If this were me, I would not be interested in monetary compensation. If the cop is lying, and the family is telling the truth, then the cop should be disciplined, terminated if necessary. I hate that "cops have hard jobs so they should get off and not be disciplined for making a serious mistake" attitude so many people seem to have.


I agree, if the cop is lying, he should be disciplined.


I got news for that crowd: we all have hard jobs, not just cops, and if we make a serious mistake, we get fired. The biggest difference between us and cops is that people die when a cop makes a mistake.

Their job is more dangerous than the average lay-persons. It's no reason to let them go carte blanche for everything they do, but it is still worth weighing.

 

[UltraQuiet]

I got news for that crowd: we all have hard jobs, not just cops, and if we make a serious mistake, we get fired

When your job involves the possibility of death every day, every time you stop a car or knock on a door then you can compare your job to theirs.

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: DaveSohmer

I got news for that crowd: we all have hard jobs, not just cops, and if we make a serious mistake, we get fired

When your job involves the possibility of death every day, every time you stop a car or knock on a door then you can compare your job to theirs.

Then Jehovah witnesses must have the hardest job on the planet!😉

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: DaveSohmer

I got news for that crowd: we all have hard jobs, not just cops, and if we make a serious mistake, we get fired

When your job involves the possibility of death every day, every time you stop a car or knock on a door then you can compare your job to theirs.

If they can't hack it, then they should quit. Last I checked, no one was ever forced into being a cop. Hell, the pay's not even that good.
And it's not like cops are the only ones with dangerous jobs, far from it. I would consider being a night shift 7-11 clerk more dangerous than being a cop.
And I didn't say that I oppose cops, I oppose the people who stand up for bad cops with feeble excuses like the one you just gave.

 

[UltraQuiet]

If they can't hack it, then they should quit. Last I checked, no one was ever forced into being a cop. Hell, the pay's not even that good.

You're right no one forced them. It's a sh!t job. What you ought to do is just say thanks.

And it's not like cops are the only ones with dangerous jobs, far from it. I would consider being a night shift 7-11 clerk more dangerous than being a cop.

You should reconsider. That's the silliest thing I've ever heard.

And I didn't say that I oppose cops, I oppose the people who stand up for bad cops with feeble excuses like the one you just gave

There's nothing feeble about it. You've labeled this guy a bad cop based on one side of a story and something that happened twelve years ago. He felt threatened and he protected himself and his partner. Good for him.

 

[HappyPuppy]

Kids lie all the time for various reasons.

 

[Mday]

;_; pete the dog ;_;

 

[Nefrodite]

sorry, dog doesnt get benifit of the doubt if it runs at you😛

 

[Shelly21]

I have to side with the police officer here.

 

[waggy]

heh if a 85lb pit-bull is running at me (and i feel its going to attack) and i have a gun its dead.

hell even if a 50lb one is doing it it would die. a 50lb pit-bull is still far stronger then i am at 145lb. IF it gets ahold of me with its teeth im in trouble. No way would i take the chance.

IF it was a pit-bull why didnt they keep it on a chain or in a fenced in back yard? i know a few people with them and yes they are nice dogs (when trained right) but i woiuldnt take the chance.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

He could always have handcuffed then choked the dog.

 

[sandorski]

No opinion on this story, but check out this one.


😱

 

[gopunk]

why can't they just show a picture of the dead dog and we can all decide whether or not it was an 85 pound pitbull.