Posted on 01/03/2003 4:20:59 PM PST by Copernicus
'Felony stop' leaves family traumatized
Mary Jo Denton
Herald-Citizen Staff
It was the most traumatic experience the Smoak family of North Carolina has ever had, and it happened yesterday afternoon as they traveled through Cookeville on their way home from a vacation in Nashville.
Before their ordeal was over, three members of the family had been yanked out of their car and handcuffed on the side of Interstate 40 in downtown Cookeville, and their beloved dog, Patton, had been shot to death by a police officer as they watched.
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About that time, he heard the officer broadcast orders over a bullhorn, telling him to toss the keys out the car window and get out with his hands up and walk backwards to the rear of the car.
Still not knowing what he was being stopped for, Smoak obeyed, and when he reached the back of the car, with a gun pointed at Smoak, the trooper ordered him to get on his knees, face the back of the car and put his head down.
When he did that, the officer handcuffed him and placed him in the patrol car. Then the same orders were blared over the bullhorn to "passenger" and Pamela Smoak got out with her hands up, was ordered to the ground, held at gunpoint, and handcuffed. Next, Brandon was ordered out and handcuffed in the same way.
Terrified at what was happening to them for no reason they knew, the family was also immediately concerned about their two pet dogs being left in the car there on the highway with the car doors open.
"We kept asking the officers -- there were several officers by now -- to close the car doors because of our dogs, but they didn't do it," said Pamela Smoak.
And as the officers worked in the late evening darkness, their weapons drawn as the Smoaks were being handcuffed, the dog Patton came out of the car and headed toward one of the Cookeville Police officers who was assisting the THP.
"That officer had a flashlight on his shotgun, and the dog was going toward that light and the officer shot him, just blew his head off," said Pamela Smoak.
"We had begged them to shut the car doors so our dogs wouldn't get out, and they didn't do that."
As the dog was heading out of the car toward the officer, "we had yelled, begging them to let us get him, but the officer shot him," she said.
Grieving for their dog and in shock over their apparent arrest for some unknown crime, the family could only wait. At one point, one state trooper did tell them they "matched the description" in a robbery that had occurred in Davidson County, Pamela Smoak said.
The ordeal went on for a time after that, the family terrified and in grief over the dog.
Excerpted-Click here for complete account
I agree. The officers at the scene can only operate on the information they have been given. However, you cannot treat a potential FELONY ARREST like you treat a traffic infraction stop. If they were told that this was a potential carjacking with a hostage possibility, then that is handled completely differently than a speeding stop.
I assure you that simply because a shot was fired, the officer who fired it WILL have to go before the local review board to justify the use of force, even if it was "just a dog." Police do NOT use their firearms on whims.
Bull dogs are pretty tame creatures. Personally, I wouldn't shoot someones dog, unless it bit me first. That's right, I would wait until the dog actually bit me before I unloaded on it.
I personlly couldn't live with myself shooting someones family dog, before it even bit me....
Now if a couple of pit bulls were bearing down on me, that would be a different story......
Why should that be a surprise?
It's legal to dismember and suck out the brains of a child on his birthdate, so why should you be surprised? Let's get honest here. The ACLU defends only parts the first amendment, but not the second. And why not?
I can verify that. I grew up in a small town (pop. 8000) in upstate NY. We had one major bully in high school. Beat me up pretty bad once. After graduation in 1966 he gets in some trouble with the law and decides to join the army. I went on to college, ROTC, and into the army in 1970. Didn't go back to the old hometown for many, many years.
So I finally go back to the old town for my 30th high school reunion, all the way from California. Who do I end up sitting next to at the banquet, but my ole buddy, the bully. I got his life story. Turns out that in the army he was an MP. After discharge right after the Viet Nam war, he goes home and joins our little town police dept. Turns out that another of my classmates (leader of the local hoods in HS) got elected mayor, and appoints bully as Chief of Police! So the Mayor, the Chief, and the City Attorney (another classmate of mine) are running the city into the ground until the State DOJ nails them on felony bribery and corruption charges, and puts them away for awhile. All three were at the reunion while on probation.
Turned out that bully and I had a bunch of drinks and had a good old time swappin' war stories that night. But he still thinks like a bully.
Read the article, Hair... the kids were in the car following the car that was stopped. The car that was stopped had a man, a woman, and a 17 year old boy (What was the age of the younger sniper?) along with the two dogs. I know several 17 year olds who are 250 pounds and six foot six. Just how were they supposed to "read" this situation?
I would be very surprised if there is a "policy where a family on vacation is accidently thought to be a felon because his wallet fell off his car." There probably IS, however a policy on how to do a "felony stop" and a policy on when to use deadly force against a potentially dangerous animal. In this case, there was a series of events and decisions made which resulted in the officers at the scene being instructed to affectuate a "felony stop" on the car. They did that, probably following their training and with proper procedures, and unfortunately, a family pet was killed. This is tragic... but it does not mean that the officers, acting in the line of duty, according to their training, are "jackbooted thugs" operating as "loose cannons" or "cowboys."
I am quite surprised at the Freepers on here who, because they sympathize with the family and feel bad for the dog, are willing to ruin the careers and lives of police officers who, most likely, were following proper procedures and WHO, had the event actually been a carjacking, would have been in exteme danger and hailed as heroes for rescuing a potential victim.
Bad cases make bad law.
Hair, I am NOT exagerating. Such things happen, sadly, quite often. The police CANNOT safely assume that such events ARE innocent... for their own safety and that of the public, they have to assume worse than innocent. The police responded as if it MIGHT have been a carjacking because carjackings DO HAPPEN and people DO GET KILLED. An attacking or advancing dog may be innocent (actually all dogs are innocent) but it is still a very real threat and potentially extremely dangerous.
I assure you that the dogs that I have owned would react extremely aggressively and angrily if one of their people were being treated as the police were treating this family. The police cannot yell "Halt, or I will fire" to a dog... he cannot understand and will continue his agressive behavior until someone with authority HE recognizes stops him.
Someone posted that he, personally, would allow the dog to bite him first, before taking action. That's nice, but the police do not have that luxury... nor should they be expected to take a potential arm-breaking bite before acting. Police officers are permitted BY POLICY to use deadly force to prevent injury to themselves or others... they do not have to wait for the injury first.
With hostile goons training a weapon on you at a felony stop? You'd move your hands?
Tell me where to send the flowers.
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