I'm sorry I know this is wrong but I started cracking up when the news showed the kids consoling each other. I know. I know.
I already dont like cops but this just makes it worse. You might want to make sure if youre shooting at the right target.....
Their story doesn't sound right. If the dog was running towards the kid's mom on what seems (from the video) to be a relatively small front-yard (and house), he would be shooting close to the kid and in the direction of the mother (since the dog was running towards her, supposedly). Suppose it takes even 2 seconds for the officer to draw his gun, while the dog in in action the dog would be really close to the mother, but they never said the officer could have missed and shot "me". Do officers in LaPorte have tasers? A taser could solve all non-life-threatening forceful defense needs as long as the officer is skilled with it (much like an officer needs to be skilled with a gun to use it properly). I wonder what the unrelated call from a neighbor was about...
If I were a cop, then I just wouldn't shoot a dog until it actually did something. Some cops are just p*****s. Oh...look...there's a dog running...bang...bang...bang! Shoot first...think later.
Mace requires the agitator to be in close(r) proximity and does not stop the agitator it justs handicaps temporarily whereas a taser allows the officer to paralyze the agitator.
Not only that, but depending on the wind you can inadvertantly incapacitate yourself or innocent bystanders. Experienced first-hand back in highschool when someone set off a can of pepper spray in the classroom...
It's sad how in today's society we automatically take the world of a 14-year-old and his mom over the word of a cop. I'm not saying what they say happened did not happen but shouldn't we at least wait until we know for sure?
Sadly, having known some downright cruel police officers in my time, I have no trouble whatsoever believing a police officer would shoot a dog running away from him. Or a human, for that matter.
I don't believe the integrity of the police any more than I believe an average citizen. Everyone is human, and corruptable....even cops. DD
Content aside, isn't that one of the worst-written news stories you've ever read? "Now an internal affairs investigation is underway and a lot of kids are traumatized." "If the officer is found to have used excessive force he could face some sort of disciplinary action."
I think there was an episode of Reno 911 very similar to this... Well, I know a man calls the Sheriff's dept. wanting his dog to be "put down" because it was dying and stupidly "Garcia" goes in the back to shoot the dog. After the gunshot is heard, a korean lady ( the real dog owner) comes running out of the house screaming at them, and the man who had called them in the first place runs away with glee( because he was tired of the dog crapping in his yard)... It's not that similar now that I think about it.
What the hell was the dog doing running free in the front yard anyway? I find it hard to believe this family's story. Looks like they had the dog running loose in the front yard, the cop comes up, the dog charges the cop and the cop shoots it. I have had german shepherds all my life and they are the best dogs in my opinion. They are very loyal and protective of their owners and their owner's family. If the dog felt his family was being threatened by a stranger he would defintely approach the cop menacingly. Knowing no other facts of the case I feel the cop was probably in the right. I'm sure the dog was coming at him in an angry way. The poor dog was doing what his natural instincts told him to. Their loyalty and protectiveness are what make them such wonderful dogs. The family definitely should not have had the dog loose in the front yard.
