Never mind last post. I did not read far enough
Seems to me that the owners of the dog should have controled the dog on command. This was not memtioned.
English bulldogs while being sweet are not the brightest dogs in the world. It took us for ever to teach ours to obey the command to sit and even then it would not stay still more that 5 seconds before it would get up and explore some more.
The English bulldog would have wanted to go and meet everybody. Most peoples first reaction to it is stark terror when one approaches them (even if the owner has it on a lead), even when the owner tell that person that the dog is friendly. The jutting jaw scares people and most dogs. A macho cop who does not know the breed would shoot first no questions asked. It is a real pity because I do not think that there is a sweeter dog around.
We do not know what manner of bulldog the people had. It would have been your basic English Bullie, or, if it was an American Bulldog, you can see how the cop may have fired in fear. In no way am I excusing such behavior, but I am saying we do not have all the facts, nor do we know the breed of dog involved.I have to disagree. Bullies just have a mind of their own, but they're very smart. And as agressive as marshmallows.