Posted on 04/30/2014 4:56:29 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A Dayton police officer followed protocol when he shot a St. Bernard while investigating an aggressive dog complaint Monday evening, officials said Tuesday.
Officer Devin Portis was trying to contain the dog in the 700 block of Edgemont Avenue so that it could be transported to the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center. But it "turned on him," and charged Portis, said Dayton police Lt. Matthew Dickey.
"(Portis) tried to back up and he fell over and then pulled his gun and fired," Dickey said. "It was pretty straight forward."
The case is still under investigation. The dog was injured by the shot, and released into the custody of the animal resource center to be evaluated. Calls to the center inquiring about the dog's name and condition were not returned Tuesday afternoon.
But on Monday night, Josh Cusick, an animal resource center officer, said the dog would "probably will survive, but will need vet care." Police said the dog lost some teeth in the shooting. A vet will evaluate the St. Bernard and test it for temperament, Cusick said.
Shooting the dog is considered a "use of force" and a sergeant with the department will investigate the incident, per police procedure. Officers aren't placed on leave for incidents like this, which Dickey said is similar to the process followed when an officer uses a Taser on-duty. Use of force is allowed whenever an officer perceives he or she may be in danger.
"The definition would be that we're allowed to use lethal force to protect ourselves or someone else from harm or death," Dickey said. "We view dog bites as potential for serious harm. If you do get bitten by a dog, it is going to cause significant injuries, so we view that as a justifiable use of a firearm."
Officers must also consider safety when shooting an animal, such as ensuring no one is behind the animal and could be struck with a bullet should the officer miss, he added.
The owner was cited with failure to control, a minor misdemeanor. The dog was also not licensed.
How many on are antidepressants for “job stress”?
If that doesn’t scare you....
Yeah, I love all those “qualifiers” that wind up being put at the end of stories like this, that of the dog being unlicensed. You know they would dearly love to have levied a fine for that. All these protocols,as we come to hear them over and over, bring the slowly dawning realization we’ve all now come to appreciate, whether it’s dogs or humans, about the wide berth the police enjoy when they make that decision that they’re “ in danger” and so are entitled to shoot. It should be a given that it’s in the nature of the job that a cop is ALWAYS potentially in danger, and that part of the professionalism of the job is knowing whether he’s in the kind of danger that implies he could lose HIS life, the same way the object of his armed agression, in this case a dog, could lose HIS. This by now is an epidemic, and you don’t have to be on the FR Puppy Ping list to know it. Some professional organization like the ASPCA SHOULD make a public statement bringing to the public’s attention that THIS HAS TO STOP! Either that, or advise ALL people that own dogs to NEVER call the Police for ANYTHING. Or if you must, IMMEDIATELY LOCK UP THE DOG. We should know by now what to expect. The police increasingly are there only for limited uses like traffic and safety control, NOT things involving human or animal life-forms.
There you go. Obtain some gunz to protect yourself and your critters. Call the cops later, if needed, to write the report.
If a cop shoots a dog, it’s always “protocol.” St. Bernards are gentle giants, imposing because of their size. But the cop felt threatened, which is what counts. /s
Any dog will come up to a person who enters their territory.
Was the dog growling or wagging his tail.
That is the question!
How come all these millions of people who go onto strange properties DAILY for a living, don't shoot dogs to death during the course of their careers?
How this work????
Hey Mr. 60s, ya know how many dogs are shot to death in their own fenced yards and inside their own homes?
UPS, USPS, painters, gas, electrical, utility people, satellite installers, cable people, FED EX, etc etc etc...
How come all these millions of people who go onto strange properties DAILY for a living, don't shoot dogs to death during the course of their careers?
How this work?
I think that post was ‘/s’.
It might be sarcasm here, however if ya listen to the media reports, every time they talk about it the report ends with:
“There are signs of improvement and next year forecasters believe the outlook of the economy will show even more improvement”.
Like listening to a Tokyo Rose broadcast..
Whoopsss...
That last post came out of no where....lol
And BTW, there are some people who in reality, use that type of rationality...
BTW, if that was sarcasm, my humble apology...
Ya just never know nowadays...
It was. Apology accepted.
I know why it PO’d you. Because it is sadly very much like what they seem to think. Burns me too.
The leftist courts have told these thugs they can detain and search people on the basis of “anonymous tips”. If they (the cops) are eager to do that, why should we expect them to care about a dog’s life?
Sad is right.
Years ago I was pretty much 100% supportive of law enforcement...That is no longer the case. Things have really changed..
LOL! That had me scratching my head:)
After I posted it, I started scratching my head too..
“Cops need to stay in the front yard.”
Copy need to say out of my yard. Kids, well, they will be kids...
“Years ago I was pretty much 100% supportive of law enforcement...That is no longer the case. Things have really changed..”
Same here. Now you have TWO things to worry about. Crooks. And cops.
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