In case you havent heard about this yet

[Habibs Hens]

I hate DOGs on the best of days but I saw that VIDEO and I am all for Mr Leon

That copper was a fool and discharged his weapon purely because he could due to his power

it was UNNESSASARY to kill that dog

yes he went for the cop PER SAY

in other words he was barking and jumping but the owner was saying don't shoot and also telling his dog to stop

the dog did not try to bite but did the classic warning of raising its front paws up in warning

and the next things shots where fired

I thing the cops could have easily grabbed the DOGS leash and subdued it or tasered it

if you do watch the video and watch it very carefully

you will see the copper is guns out provoking the dog to jump ready to shoot

that dog was going to get shot no matter what

 

[oldrooster]

I hate DOGs on the best of days but I saw that VIDEO and I am all for Mr Leon

That copper was a fool and discharged his weapon purely because he could due to his power

it was UNNESSASARY to kill that dog

yes he went for the cop PER SAY

in other words he was barking and jumping but the owner was saying don't shoot and also telling his dog to stop

the dog did not try to bite but did the classic warning of raising its front paws up in warning

and the next things shots where fired

I thing the cops could have easily grabbed the DOGS leash and subdued it or tasered it

if you do watch the video and watch it very carefully

you will see the copper is guns out provoking the dog to jump ready to shoot

that dog was going to get shot no matter what

That is if the cop had a taser, the county seat where I live has BANNED Tasers because it has killed one man locally and a handful across the nation. I know that the city officals are over hyper for fear of a lawsuit for "death by tazer"....

 

[sezjasper]

I hate DOGs on the best of days but I saw that VIDEO and I am all for Mr Leon

That copper was a fool and discharged his weapon purely because he could due to his power

it was UNNESSASARY to kill that dog

yes he went for the cop PER SAY

in other words he was barking and jumping but the owner was saying don't shoot and also telling his dog to stop

the dog did not try to bite but did the classic warning of raising its front paws up in warning

and the next things shots where fired

I thing the cops could have easily grabbed the DOGS leash and subdued it or tasered it

if you do watch the video and watch it very carefully

you will see the copper is guns out provoking the dog to jump ready to shoot

that dog was going to get shot no matter what

A little off topic (sorry) but I see you are from the UK - do the police there carry guns now? When I was there (many years ago) police carried those little clubs and that was it.

 

[hemet dennis]

level heads never seem to prevail in these situations. All they had to do was allow the owner to get his dog and put him more securely in the car. #1, It's not like the guy would "get away" #2. The dogs owner didn't do anything illegal and the arrest was unjustified. That dog did exactly what he should do if his owner was under duress. I hope he sues the crap out of the pansey *** cops!

First off I did some research on this and found the video that was about 3.35 long.
The dog owner came to where the police had a different situation with a house and an armed suspect that wouldn't come out had his music playing very high. Then was parading the dog up and down and yelling at the police. After they got the guy in the house is when they went to arrest the dog owner for interfering with the police. The dog owner has a record of doing this. So he brought the dog to where he planed to have a confrontation with the police and didn't secure the dog in the car. What happened is just what he wanted to happen. now he will file another lawsuit against the police (he has at least one other pending).
If they allow a suspect to "put him more securely in the car" he could also get a weapon, there trained not to let someone back to their car.
Or he could have hopped in the car and took off, so now they would have a car chase that would endanger people.
The owner was interfering with the police on purpose, and knew he would be arrested (wasn't his first rodeo).
He will sue the cop and the department (not his first time) as that was the plan.
The owner is the only one to blame for the dogs death.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Agree with hemet dennis. While this is a very sad and emotional thing to watch and I was horrified to see the dog shot, it is the owners fault. Of course I wish it had turned out differently and they had been able to get control of the dog but when things are going down and you also have a loose and aggressive animal who is a serious bite threat there isn't a lot of time to stand around and find other ways of protecting everyone. The owner was also interfering at a crime seen. Yes, others were taking video as well but they were standing back, out of the way where they were told to stand, this man was not. I have Rottweilers, they are a vastly powerful dog with a tremendous bite. Would any of us want one jumping at us? I know I sure don't and if it came to that you better believe I'd shoot one before I got attacked. This was a crappy situation that could have been completely avoided if the poor dogs idiot owner had simply loaded up his dog and gotten the heck out of there in the very beginning instead of doing what he did and then blaming police when his dog paid the price.

 

[Matthew3590]

Both are at fault. The cop is more to blame because he took an animals life. If you have to treat a police dog like an actual officer you then cops must show the same respect for your animal.
Why is it that when cops put on that uniform and gun they forget what a dog is. They ASSume that all dogs will kill you. A cop will pull a gun on almost any breed of dog as if they are disposable.

 

[Habibs Hens]

A little off topic (sorry) but I see you are from the UK - do the police there carry guns now? When I was there (many years ago) police carried those little clubs and that was it.

only airport police and armed guards for high risk areas will have a rifle or shotgun of sorts but handguns on an officer is not common

common police patrol or call outs will not have guns

the truncheons are long gone now its a retractable baton but they tend to use their torch more often as a weapon (large mag light)

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I have to agree with Hemet Dennis on this one. I'm positive there is more to this situation than we've seen. The owner is at fault. I hate seeing animals injured, but what I saw was a large dog lunging at the police officers. If it is true that they were just dealing with an armed person, and the person they just arrested may possibly be armed, they have larger things to worry about than a dog trying to protect it's owner. You don't know if this guy intended for the dog to be a distraction so that he could do something worse to the police. Point is, you just never know. I would rather see a dog shot, than a police officer injured or killed.

I do think people should be more educated on how to handle potentially aggressive animals (Or rather, how NOT to handle them) but I'm mostly happy that everyone in this situation was able to go home to their families at night, considering the alternative. I don't think it was so much about the aggressiveness of the dog, but rather the overall safety of the situation. Also, police can't just fire at will. The paperwork required after a single shot is fired is tremendous, and the risk for seeing serious trouble is huge. Most police I've known would rather never have to fire their guns at all during their career. One friend would actually be relocated across the state, should he ever fire his weapon at a person.

I'm sure adrenaline played a large part in the cop's decision, but from what I saw, the safety of those in the immediate area were at risk, there were few alternatives to safely get the dog under control AND deal with the arrested man. It was horrible, but I don't think it was the wrong decision.

 

[cupman]

I wish I had a job where I could completely fail and the masses would come to my defense. Heck, not to mention the two weeks off paid for failing.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

In some states it is illegal to video record the police. (Q9 and rebelcowboy, this is your cue)

As I understand it, the courts have ruled that you have the right to film any LEO on the street. Something about being a employe of the people an working in the public eye so they have no expectation of privacy. I dont know the actual cases involved to link to them though.

As for the video, I do think they guy is fishing but the LEOs bit an may have made him a wealthy man.