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So why is he wandering around a police stop with a loaded and cocked shotgun anyway? Was he planning on blasting off the head of one of vacationers? Did he not have a pistol? Of what possible use was a shotgun in this instance? He was never more than 10 feet away from the detainees. Perhaps blasting a 8-inch hole in someone's stomach or blasting off their head is your idea of how a cop should behave in this situation, but it's not mine. I have no feeling for the dog, my concern is for what he could have done to one of the people and whether or not I have to fear for my own life the next time I travel through Tennessee.

He was a Cookeville officer who was called in to serve backup to the Tennessee State Police while they made the felony stop. He was effectively supposed to be guarding their backs. So it was the Tennessee State Troopers who left the door open, and Cookeville officer was just unfortunate enough to be the one the dog came toward.

I watched the news report and the video. I find the story quite disturbing for several reasons. The anonymous caller said the vehicle was traveling 110 miles and hour. No one seemed to question that. I wonder how fast it was going. I am willing to bet it was not 110 mph. She said there was money all over the Interstate, but what robbers would scatter their loot? That is a wild assumption - not at all logical.

Arriving on the scene the police should have been cautious but not so eager to cuff people behind their backs. I am on the side of the police, but not when they are out of control. How many felons fit this profile - a mother, a father, and a teen?

Finally I see a dog running and wagging his tail. It's hard to tell much from the vido. We have a very loyal Sheltie. She always warns men with growling and barking. Her threat behavior is quite obvious. She has not bitten anyone. I do not see justification for blowing the family's dog away. If I had a family cuffed (I am not in law enforcement), the family dog could be a threat but not much of one.

I see a big lawsuit settled in favor of the family. The guilty people involved (dispatcher, officers) need some training and a refresher course in constitutional law.

The phoned report reminds me of the story about a woman who never saw an elephant before. It escaped from the circus and was eating grass on her front lawn. She reported that it had two tails. It was twitching the little one. "And what is it doing with the other one?" The lady responded, "It's stuffing grass...oh, you will never believe me!"