Posted on 03/09/2011 7:45:20 AM PST by Immerito
MONROE, N.C.--Concern in Monroe after an officer shot and killed a dog in front of high school students. One of those kids emailed us saying the officer acted inappropriately.
Police say a German Shepherd was chasing a student at Central Academy of Technology and Arts. Investigators say the dog was acting aggressive and charged when the officer approached so she shot the animal.
What if, what if, what if?
It DIDN’T.
That doesn’t mean that there wasn’t a RESONABLE chance of hitting a student. There also might not have been a reasonable chance of hitting a student. We don’t know, but the fact that a student WASN’T hit argues in the officers favor (as far as gun handling).
Saying that a weapon can’t be discharged because people are “around” isn’t going to work. I’ve spent thousands of hours on the firing line and in actual live-fires with soldiers, cops and civilians around me. Nobody was injured by direct fire or a richchet, ever. That doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen under different circumstances, but it didn’t because of training, organization and skill.
If the students weren’t in the line of fire, if the officer was sure of the backstop or impact material, then the shooting might have been “safe” (though not necessarily justified). I would say that the risk to the students (what percentage?) would have to be weighed against the urgency of the shooting. Sort of an Expected Value (EV) kind of thing. The dog wasn’t a madman with a knife, but it was “chasing” students. So, the lower urgency of the “chasing” dog should be weighed against the actual risk to the students.
Looks like another weenie PC department. The female chief says that the police don’t like to shoot anyone but....
As usual it most likely involves an officer who cannot handle him /herself physically and therefore resorts to shooting as the first response to any percieved threat.
Charging? Probably more like Ned and Jimbo on South Park “quick, he’s coming right at us”. I am inclined to believe that US Police like to shoot dogs. It apppears to be their default behavior whenever they see one. They would fit right in with the Baghdad cops, who are also big on shooting dogs.
Are you suggesting that the police may never, under any circumstances, fire their weapon if there are any bystanders in the area? Seriously? It’s time, then to take the firearms away from our police officers, and issue billy clubs like they do in England./s
The dog was shot from the back of it’s head. If it was chasing a student at the time, than the student was in the DIRECT pathway of the bullet.
When you are at the range, I doubt you will fire your weapon if you see any people DIRECTLY in the path of your bullet.
And, if this is true:
“thank you the voice and all we are asking for is the truth and we cant get that..noone knows what the children here are going through but yet they want to get on here and down grade the RETIRED POLICE DOG these children loved.”
Then this cop shot a retired police officer, in the eyes of the law.
You can’t envision a scenereo where a police officer would rightly fire upon a dog that is charging? Are you suggesting that the only time a LEO may fire upon a charging dog is when the LEO is the one being charged by the animal? Seriously? This article states there was a student that the dog was charging. Is it really difficult to see that the officer was protecting the student?
I am suggesting that if the dog was, as claimed by the officer, to be chasing/charging at students (hence the reason it was shot) and since the dog was shot in the back of the head, the officer was foolish for firing a weapon when the student(s) being chased were conceivably in the bullet’s path.
Where is the evidence that the dog was “lunging” at people?
It was shot in the back of the head (I assume—read the comments) because it had someone pinned behind a tree. The to (last) comment seems the most cogent. I will say, reading them really makes me depressed about the state of education, but that’s a whole other thread. Again, do you have some information you’re not sharing with us or do you just hate cops this much?
“This article states there was a student that the dog was charging. Is it really difficult to see that the officer was protecting the student?”
The article says that the [female] cop claims the dog was charging.
This is the same dog that was shot in the back of the head.
You can be inclined to believe whatever you like. Doesn’t give it any weight, however.
Where is ANY evidence? I haven’t seen anything at all presented that appears to be evidence.
“It was shot in the back of the head (I assume—read the comments) because it had someone pinned behind a tree. “
Which means, of necessity, that when the dog was shot, a student was in the direct pathway of the bullet, if the student was literally “pinned” (i.e., literally INCAPABLE of moving away from the dog, as opposed to capable, but electing not to do so).
Whatever. BTW, the Baghdad cops were trained by mostly American cops and they shoot dogs on sight as SOP. Coincidence?
The evidence lies in the facts that the cops first claim they shot an aggressive, loose dog, then they elected not to press charges against the dog owners.
For any responsible dog owner (and there are many of them on FR), that contradiction should raise nice, bright red flags with regards to the implied rightness of the cop’s actions.
All I can say is you clearly hate cops. (that’s the ONLY evidence being presented to me here). So, it is useless for me to go any further with this discussion. I will not change your mind because you have no further information, and I certainly don’t. I’m sorry you are so blinded by your feelings. It must be awful for you. God bless you.
Where is the evidence that the officer was firing upon the dog with students in the direct line of fire?
“the Baghdad cops were trained by mostly American cops and they shoot dogs on sight as SOP”
No connection.
The Bagdad Police are Muslim pigs. The Koran considers dogs unclean animals and Muslims hate them.
Yeah, exactly. The American cops managed to somehow train the Iraqi cops to act like Iraqi cops acted while Saddam was in power/s. Do you have any evidence of any kind that Iraqi cops did not shoot dogs in Iraq before 2003?
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