Man Shot After Shooting Police Dog: Family Outraged

Pittsburgh Tribune Review ^ | May 7, 2008 | Michael Hasch

[HamiltonJay]

At present the reports are not that he confronted the officers, but they confronted him.

So now anyone carrying a gun is inately a criminal? interesting view.. I somehow doubt most gun owners would agree with it.

[Fundamentally Fair]

This article is missing the words, “honor student.” Perhaps the mother forgot them in her grief.

Yes, yes. Very sad. I heard he was going to join the Peace Corps on Monday. Now he is dead. </sarcasm>

[socialismisinsidious]

So then...you would argue that someone will defend themselves, instinctively, against a dog attack, but that an officer who just saw a suspect fire a gun in his/her direction should....what? Stand down and know that he isn't next?!

The dog is irrelevant. The suspect (who the cops were called to look for b/c of gun fire in the area) pulled a gun out after the police told him to raise his freaking hands. Raise your freaking hands and we can talk....pull out a gun and you are going to be shot. duh.

[DBrow]

“Harper said the dog's handler ordered the canine — a 6-year-old German shepherd named Aulf — to attack after Jackson pulled a gun from under his shirt”

According to the police, the kid pulled a gun, the cop ordered the dog to “disarm”, and the kid fired. If the witnesses are like the family, they will report that the kid was just standing there when a cop suddenly for no reason ordered the dog to attack and kill the innocent honor student who was turning his life around waiting for a hiphop record contract, who had no choice but to defend himself.

Police dogs are trained tightly. If a dog was told to disarm me, he'd keep me too busy to shoot. If I saw a police dog coming at me (and I were truly an innocent bystander) I'd raise my empty hands over my head and trust the dog's training to not escalate the situation. Drawing down on the dog would be, literally, the last thing I'd do.

It would be a tougher call if I didn't know it was a police dog, but in a city that's unlikely- you usually are engaged with the police before a canine is unleashed.

[Clock King]

What was the dirtbag doing with a gun?

2nd Amendment. We don't know for sure, now do we?

[Abathar]

"However I can’t say that if a dog was coming after me and I had a gun that I would not do the exact same thing... to expect any human to take a dog attack so they can stay in compliance with an order is a bit unrealistic."

I agree completely.

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

The cops tried to use non-lethal force. Who was the guy going to shoot next?

[KC_Conspirator]

He did shoot a member of the police force, and that dog will get a police ceremonial burial too.

And that scumabg drug dealer that was going to shoot the cop was rightly shot dead and removed from the genepool. And this family should be sent a bill for all the trouble that cretin son of theirs caused.

[burroak]

He’s directly above you. ^ ^ ^

[RJS1950]

NO, the scumbag was warned that the dog would be sent in and the dog handler in most cases is close at hand. Aiming at the dog is no different than aiming at the human handler that will be nearby. If there were no dog and the cop approached him gun drawn would he have had the right to shoot at the cop holding the gun on him? Fire a weapon when surrounded by armed police and expect to die, better him than one of the police.

[IMissPresidentReagan]

I respectfully disagree, as one could just as easily say that it's okay to shoot at an officer when he points his weapon at one, as it is survival instinct. I understand your argument, and judging by the “witnesses” it seems a strange situation. Unfortunately, the majority of these “witnesses” only witnessed glimpses of the entire exchange. Usually, before police dogs are sent into “attack” mode, a suspect is either wielding a weapon or getting ready to rabbit.

I don't know the situation, and wasn't there. Again, I think the loss of life on both ends is tragic.

I tell my clients the biggest mistake they can make is not complying with an officer's commands. The two rules I stress to some of my “repeat customers” are, 1. DO NOT SPEAK and 2. Comply fully with everything officer commands.

We have, as a society, lost a great deal of respect for police officers. Part of that is their own doing with corruption, planting evidence, harassment, etc.; however part of it is because it's “cool” to buck authority as well.

I see a lot of unethical behavior from officers of the law in my line of work as a defense attorney, but I would like to point out that the majority of officers I meet and interact with are nothing more than hard working citizens who want to do their job the best way they know how. A large majority of officers do not relish the idea of aiming their weapon at someone, much less firing it.

All that being said, I've learned in my time here on earth that there are always two sides to every story, and the truth is rarely, if ever represented solely by one side.

[Joan Kerrey]

Is there an email address or street address where one can send donations, flowers etc. to the family of the dog?

[KC_Conspirator]

Present reports my ass. All there is being reported are lies by this guys worthless family.

[Wallace T.]

Why did the cops put the police dog at risk when the suspect pulled out his gun? They had sufficient cause to shoot him on the grounds of imminent danger to themselves and thus not risk the dog’s life.

[Graycliff]

(At present the reports are not that he confronted the officers, but they confronted him.)

Are you trying to make some kind of point? Please explain further.

[eastforker]

Long way away from being PETA. Police dogs are great tools as bomb and drug sniffers, cadaver dogs etc. But puting them on the front line to confront armed criminals and then complaining someone shot an officer is insane. And don’t think for a moment that a cop wouldn’t shoot your dog dead if he even remotely thought he was in danger.

[HamiltonJay]

That is not remotely what witnesses have reported to date.

The man had his hands in is pockets... they may have told him to show his hands, may not, I don’t know.. but the gun was not pulled until the dog was set upon him, and as of yet no report has been made that the man threatened any human with the gun after it was pulled, only that he shot a dog that was set upon him.

If police believed this guy was the suspect and armed, I’m sure at least one cop if not more had a gun pointed at him before the dog was released. To sick the dog on him, and force the escalation of the situation is questionable at best. Any reasonable person seeing a dog coming at them is going to likely defend themselves, survival instinct. To expect someone to just “take an attack” because some cop ordered it is insane.

I am not defending the suspect and saying he was in complete compliance with the officers, he may not have been, but by whats been reported so far, your argument seems inane.

I don’t care if you have 4 cops with guns pointing at you.. you send in a dog in attack mode, it is an unrealistic expectation that any human being should take the attack without defending themself. Survival instinct is what it is.

We’ll see what comes out of this, but what it sounds like so far is an investigation is in order, and it will be conducted.

[Starwolf]

If a civilian orders a dog to attack, its a felony, if you defend yourself against a police dog who is ordered to attack you, its also a felony. SOmehow that just doesn’t play right for me.

[Sax]

My son wrestles and he get get our 100lb dog in a choke hold, no sweat. I feel a little more for the dog’s ego and play fight a little more fairly - they cannot protect their neck. Sure you might get a bite, but once you get under their windpipe they forget about biting.

Nothing better than using an oven mitt so the dog knows they can bite down a little harder when wrassling without hurting you. The dog loves a good fight.