Cop took just 3 seconds to shoot dog

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | Thursday, January 9, 2003

[JohnHuang2]

The Tennessee policeman who shot and killed a family's dog during a terrorizing traffic stop took just three seconds to slay the animal after it jumped out its owners' car, reports the Cookeville Herald-Citizen.

Law-enforcement authorities released a videotape of the incident yesterday, which shows the three-second time frame on the tape's counter.

The Cookeville police officer who shot the dog, Eric Hall, has since been reassigned to administrative duties while the incident is probed.

As WorldNetDaily reported, the Smoak family was returning to their home in North Carolina on New Year's Day when three police cars swarmed their vehicle on Interstate 40 in what appeared to be a traffic stop.

The Smoaks appear on CNN

A Tennessee Highway Patrol officer broadcast orders over a bullhorn for driver James Smoak to toss the keys out of the car window, get out with his hands up and walk backwards to the rear of the car. Smoak obeyed and was subsequently ordered onto his knees and handcuffed at gunpoint. Officers similarly handcuffed his wife, Pamela, and their 17-year-old son with their guns drawn.

As the troopers were putting the family members inside the patrol car, one of the Smoak family dogs, a boxer-bulldog mix named Patton, came out of the car and headed toward one of the Cookeville officers who were assisting the THP troopers.

"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," Pamela Smoak told the Herald-Citizen. "We had begged them to shut the car doors so our dogs wouldn't get out, [but] they didn't do that."

The Smoaks had been pulled over by mistake after someone reported seeing the car getting on the highway with cash flying out from behind the vehicle. James Smoak, it turns out, had mistakenly left his wallet on the roof of the car when he stopped to get gas. Someone within the THP reportedly thought a robbery had occurred, though it turns out none had.

Hall claimed he was acting in self-defense.

"I yelled at the dog to get back, but it attempted to circle me to attack, so I felt that I had no option but to protect myself," the officer wrote in a police report.

Police Chief Bob Terry told the Herald-Citizen, "We are aware there is a lot of criticism out there over this incident, and we want to take [Hall] off the road and let him perform other duties while we get this all resolved." Terry stressed that Hall was not being punished for killing the dog.

The Herald-Citizen reports that "to an average viewer, the scene recorded on the video may not demonstrate the aggressiveness or the threat the officer said he experienced as the dog came toward him."

Terry said he will have two unrelated police agencies perform independent reviews of the incident.

"We once again extend our deepest concerns to the Smoak family for their loss," Terry said. "We know this was a terrible experience for them, and we truly wish that we could undo the events that occurred on the night of Jan. 1."

The Smoaks recently told their story on CNN's "Connie Chung Tonight."

Speaking of Patton, son Brandon Smoak told Chung, "He's the gentlest dog that I've ever been around. He's like Scooby Doo. He wasn't mean at all."

[Chancellor Palpatine]

But if it had been my dog, I would have cried and then comforted the cop and told him not to feel guilty.

My ass. I'd have told the trigger happy, Barney Fife acting redneck that he'd best be watching his back the rest of his days.

[Republic of Texas]

The "ten percent" theory is accurate in sales as well.

[Nuke'm Glowing]

Yes, God forbid the cops do what the innocent family requested and shut the door to the *** damn car. These JBT's thought they could have some fun. That's the bottom line. These are not legitimate LEO's, these are more of the new generation that is setting up a true "us" against "them" mentality. Add it up. The idiots in Virginia arresting people in bars. The JBT cutting the woman's finger off while handcuffing her in Detroit. The JBT's with the weekly story of the no-knock raids at the wrong address shooting family pets and innocent people. Yup, I'm sure glad he wasted that "menacing" family pet. I guess the family should just be happy they were not executed right there on the spot.

[Republic of Texas]

They weren't too lazy, but if you shut the door, then you don't get to hear your "subjects" beg some more. Also, it is a tacit admission that the people you have subjugated on the side of the road, might be human. It's also harder to kill the dog if it's still in the car.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

In fact, I have a solution. Line cops should be armed only with a billyclub, mace and a stun gun.

As far as I'm concerned, giving them firearms has been a huge mistake.

Yes, there should be a backup crew of gun trained officers that are called in after an unarmed officer sees a gun, but they have proven, time and again, that they cannot interact with ordinary citizens while carrying firearms.

[Nuke'm Glowing]

"However, one must not take the few bad apples and generalize the entire police community based on those few bad apples."

Few bad apples? You haven't noticed the national trend??? These are the military rejects, the guys and gals too dumb so they had to get a GED and couldn't even qualify for the Navy!! (sorry had to get my cheap shot in, go Army!). There are reports of police brutality nationwide now on an almost daily basis on FR and other news sites. Perhaps you should read more before making that statement. The older officers are complaining locally about this new generation...because the new generation would rather do steroids and shoot things than to "protect and serve".

[yarddog]

There certainly are a lot of great guys doing police work.

I had to say that so it doesn't sound like I hate all cops. There are a very large percentage who are either just plain jerks or are on a power trip or both.

The last real encounter I had was when driving back to visit relatives after having been away from the area for most of my life.

I was driving through a small town, (about 2000) population, when a local businessman ran a stop sign. I almost was able to dodge him but not quite. A minor accident.

The police chief who was off duty, was the first one on the scene. He immediately recognized what had happened and told me not to worry, that a uniformed cop was on the way. When the uniformed cop arrived he immediately "took control of the situation" this came second nature to him as he was a control freak. He began to grill me as to whether I was drinking, wearing seat belts etc. This was after seeing the out-of-state tag on my vehicle. The guy was a regular jerk.

He was also a pretty boy, weight lifter type. I will give him credit for writing the accident up correctly. A couple of days later the other drivers insurance company phoned me and simply told me to get an estimate and they would pay it. I did and they did.

I never did tell the cop that I had a first cousin on his small force, and that I was probably kin to the judge and most people in the area.

[Republic of Texas]

Wow. If I ever turn meglomaniac and want to enslave an entire population, a few million like you would be quite handy.

[eno_]

And bring back double-breasted jackets with brass buttons, ties, shiny shoes, and billed hats. This black BDU bullshine should be done away with.

[BibChr]

What's the matter with you? Trying to inject common sense into a thread filled (I can only guess) with 60's refugees still carrying guilty grudges against The Man? What got into you?

< /sarcasm >

Dan

[Nuke'm Glowing]

CNN (believe it or not) actually had the family on Commie Chung's show last night!!!! I didn't watch it but you can see the picture of that in the first post.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Yup - lets make them ordinary civil cervants again, instead of the Lord High Sheriffs of the the locality.

My teeth are gritted so hard that they're about to crack.

Anybody got contact info and a website for Cookeville Tennessee, the Cookeville Chamber of Commerce, the Tennessee Visitors Bureau, etc.?

[jimt]

Hindsight is wonderful. But if it had been my dog, I would have cried and then comforted the cop and told him not to feel guilty.

After you'd been handcuffed kneeling, and after they'd ignored your pleas to close the doors to keep the dogs from getting out?

It was a bogus stop. Had they been "serving and protecting" instead of playing macho cop, this whole tragedy would never have happened.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

.

[myrabach]

I might tend to agree with you had the owner not requested that the doors be shut to keep the dogs inside.

The officers knew there were dogs in the vehicle, it was not a "surprise attack" by no means. The cops were bullies and the tape shows exactly that. There is no excuse for what they have done and I hope the family sues the ever lovin' pants off them.

We do have a police state here folks... just look at that video.

[renosathug]

Watch the video. That dog was waggingits tail!!! Dogs don't wag their tails when they are attacking anyone. The policeman, to use the term lightly, clearly turns and aims his shotgun at the dog, and three seconds was all it took from the time the dog appears to the time he was lying dead at the side of the road. Don't feel too badly, Patricia, you will have lots more chances to apologize for the JBs in the near future. Enjoy!

[ZULU]

"Terry said he will have two unrelated police agencies perform independent reviews of the incident. "

Why bother?? They are hardly disinterested observers.
Cops, Laywers, Teachers, Insurance Agents, Construction Company owners - the bane of modern civilzation. We need them at times, but they have unionized to the point that they have society over a barrel.

This entire incident is disgraceful. You handcuff a guy, his wife, his son and shoot his dog because somebody said they saw MONEY blowing out of the vehicle?? Is this the United States or NAZI Germany??? These guys sound like something out of a bananna republic, not North Carolina.

[LibWhacker]

BTTT! Absolutely. That's the way I see it. Leaving the door open was a deliberate act on the part of at least some of these cops so that they would have an opportunity to kill the dogs and make "the perps" suffer. I've known a lot of cops. Most are great people. But some are real psychos and do not belong in uniform.

[walkingdead]

Yea, all that tail wagging can be quite decieving.....

[unixfox]

I would have cried and then comforted the cop and told him not to feel guilty.

I would have done the same thing. AFTER I beat the living hell out of the cop for violating my rights and killing my dog.