When the rich man's dobermans charge the gate at the sight of a stranger - a policeman, do the cops immediately shoot the dogs? I DOUBT IT!
Now, we have all seen cops driving down the road talking on their cell phones, so we know they have them. When this dog situation arises in a warrant-less investigation, why can't the cops call the owner from outside the fenced yard & ask them to control the dogs, or the dogs will be shot? Before long, cops will be shooting threatening cats.
Why can't the average Joe get the same consideration as Jon Corzine or John Edwards?
This country becomes more tyrannical every day.
They stomp cats.
The worse danger here is in that condition of "feeling threatened." It has already been used more than once to justify shooting unarmed and unmoving people and can refer more to the surrounding situation as much as to the individual target. I believe that shooting of individual people in these situations will become as common as shooing of pets is now and there will be no punishments. The cop only has to say he "felt threatened."
I believe that the shooting of dogs as SOP is practice for and desensitization to the shooting of citizens though, with the police use of drones, technology is probably overtaking that progression even now. Shooting of citizens will become much less "personal."