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Lots of dogs run up barking at people and then do nothing. I could run up to somebody yelling at them and have no intention of laying a finger on them. They may feel threatened in either situation but feeling threatened and actually being assaulted are two very different things. Feeling threatened should still leave you open to possible criminal charges and civil lawsuits if you act in the wrong.
I won't say who was wrong or right but a barking dog and an attacking dog are two different things.
Correct, however, this dog didn't just run up on the police officer, he struggled and exited the car through the driver's window to go after the officer.
Additionally, are you asking the officer wait to see if the dog is going to bite him, before defending himself?
The officer did exactly what I would do, and I love dogs.
My blood runs cold when I see anything about cops shooting dogs or dogs who have been shot. There is always a second side to these stories that never gets told. I have an adopted pit bull terrier. She was found tied to a dumpster in the city, she had just delivered pups not very long ago and someone had stolen all her pups and left her behind to die. When I first saw her, she was 25 pounds and still bleeding, locked in a cage at a kill shelter a mere bag of bones. She looked at me with that sweet, sad face all skinny and sick and I began to cry. I gave the shelter a donation and said, "put my name on that cage, I will be back for her". For some reason we had to wait 8 days to see if her "owner" (the idiot who left her) was going to claim her. I told the canine officer that if they gave this dog back to the idiot who left her I would report them. I brought my sweet Alice home and she is now 56 lbs and the best dog I have ever owned. My point? These dogs who are attacking, are taught to. These dogs who are barking like maniacs at police officers were never trained not to. Dogs who are aggressive are in a defensive mode because of abuse and lack of proper training. If people are going to have a dog who is notorious for misbehaving or attacking then TRAIN IT NOT TO!! A pet is a big responsibility and if you only want a pet to make you "look like a tough guy" then go lift weights instead or go get a big education or a JOB and stay off the streets with your Pit Bull with the spiked collar. How's my Pit Bull now? She has been trained not to jump on people, to come when called, she can sit, speak, shake, fetch and more. She is the smartest, sweetest dog I have ever owned. She doesn't bark at strangers, not ever and when I go thru a drive thru window, she is begging for a treat and greeting everyone. The clerks at CVS,Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds love her and know her by name. Pet owners...take responsibility for training your dogs properly and you won't end up in the daily news with some officer feeling threatened by that pet.
Correct, however, this dog didn't just run up on the police officer, he struggled and exited the car through the driver's window to go after the officer.
Additionally, are you asking the officer wait to see if the dog is going to bite him, before defending himself?
The officer did exactly what I would do, and I love dogs.
Why didn't the officer step away from the car and order the woman/man to get her dog under control? If he felt all that threatened, he should have backed off the car and waved her on..unless she was a killer, thief, or kidnapper..wave her on and get the dog out of his face! I think pulling a gun and shooting a dog coming at him thru a driver's window put the driver in harms way. Was the cop reprimanded for shooting that close to the driver?? Did the driver suffer any EAR DAMAGE from the noise of the gun?? AMAZING stupidity on the cops part. He should have ordered her to get her dog under control and if that didn't work..wave her on by!
I'd have to see the dog bite me or somebody or try to bite before I'd act to take its life. Barking and growling and running up to me wouldn't be enough. And even then the dog would have to pose a threat. A ten pound poodle trying to bite my ankles might warrant a kick to get it to back off, not a bullet to its head. In the case of a large aggressive dog some discretion is more open to err in the sake of safety. But there's barking and there's aggression, again two different things.
Why didn't the officer step away from the car and order the woman/man to get her dog under control? If he felt all that threatened, he should have backed off the car and waved her on..unless she was a killer, thief, or kidnapper..wave her on and get the dog out of his face! I think pulling a gun and shooting a dog coming at him thru a driver's window put the driver in harms way. Was the cop reprimanded for shooting that close to the driver?? Did the driver suffer any EAR DAMAGE from the noise of the gun?? AMAZING stupidity on the cops part. He should have ordered her to get her dog under control and if that didn't work..wave her on by!
Why wasdn't the owner in control of their animal? I am a dog owner, love dogs and have never come close to an incident regarding my dogs. That would be because my dogs are disiplined and under control.
Dogs run up to people barking???I saw someone write that. Then their dog is not under control.
The stupidity was on the part of the owner.
Dog comes at me barking and acting agressivly and I'll put it down. I have no desire to be a victim of a dog attack, or of a bad owner.
Why didn't the officer step away from the car and order the woman/man to get her dog under control? If he felt all that threatened, he should have backed off the car and waved her on..unless she was a killer, thief, or kidnapper..wave her on and get the dog out of his face! I think pulling a gun and shooting a dog coming at him thru a driver's window put the driver in harms way. Was the cop reprimanded for shooting that close to the driver?? Did the driver suffer any EAR DAMAGE from the noise of the gun?? AMAZING stupidity on the cops part. He should have ordered her to get her dog under control and if that didn't work..wave her on by!
He did, read the article, he tried to get the woman to close her car windows! She could not be waved on, SHE was in SOMEONE ELSE'S DRIVEWAY, and the officer was there because it was reported that she may have been impaired, (Drugs/alchohol), and had actually bumped another car at a stop light, and then kept going on. (Read as, hit and run).
He didn't pull a gun on a dog and fire close to the window, The dog had already left the car, and was charging the officer.
As for the driver suffering ear damage? MAYBE, if the OFFICER who probably had no time to insert hearing protection, before defending himself has ear damage, MAYBE, he should sue the driver for putting him in a situation where his hearing could be damaged?
Amazing stupidity on the part of the dog owner, driving while impaired, hit and run, and having an uncontrolled vicious dog.
Quote:
On July 5 at about 5 p.m., Riewaldt said Officer Christopher Reiter followed a 53-year-old Aurora woman's vehicle to her East Garfield Road driveway after receiving a report of a possible impaired driver. The woman and her dog were in the vehicle.
"The dog was acting in a very aggressive manner," Riewaldt said. "Officer Reiter was shouting to the driver to roll up the windows. She was either unable to or unwilling to do so. The dog came out of the window, and the officer retreated around the front of the car. The dog kept charging, and he fired."
Seth Riewaldt, the Aurora police chief, said the incident occurred around 6 p.m. after police got a call that a woman had been driving erratically and had bumped into another vehicle at a traffic light.
Officer Christopher Reiter, responding to the call, followed a car driven by Thomi West, 53, into a driveway that was near her home on East Garfield Road.
Why wasdn't the owner in control of their animal? I am a dog owner, love dogs and have never come close to an incident regarding my dogs. That would be because my dogs are disiplined and under control.
Dogs run up to people barking???I saw someone write that. Then their dog is not under control.
The stupidity was on the part of the owner.
Dog comes at me barking and acting agressivly and I'll put it down. I have no desire to be a victim of a dog attack, or of a bad owner.
My son feels very much like you about dogs who come up to you barking and being aggressive. He was super leary of my pit bull until he spent some time with her. He does, however, have a Pit on his street who manages to pull free from his owner every time she walks him. My son will be out with his Springer Spaniel.."Jack" and Jack wouldn not hurt anyone. This Pit has charged my sons dog and my son did take defensive action. Pits can be aggressive when it comes to other dogs..they have to be TRAINED not to be. All the blame for how animals behave has to to put on the shoulders of the owners. People cannot and should not blame the breed of an animal for its bad behavior. My pit is living proof of that. The first time I exposed her to younger children, she was outside in our yard and the children who had dogs themselves, walked up to her slowly and my sweet Pit Alice, laid down in a very passive way and let the kids pat her. I didn't teach her this, she just did this. Point I would like to make even tho it is not part of your post...there are two types of Pit Bulls. There is the Staffordshire Terrier and the American Pit Bull Terrier. The Staffordshire is larger with a larger head and can be more aggressive if not trained. The American Pit Bull Terrier has a smaller head and a much softer looking face. The American Pit Bull Terrier still has the very strong, very muscular body and can be identified as a Pit but is far easier to train. I agree...I too do not want to be attacked but my first retaliation would be against the idiot walking the dog who is out of control...I would insist that they bring the dog under control and next..if I was out walking my dog on the streets I would be dang sure I had at least mace with me in case of an unwanted dog or people attack!!
Why didn't the officer step away from the car and order the woman/man to get her dog under control? If he felt all that threatened, he should have backed off the car and waved her on..unless she was a killer, thief, or kidnapper..wave her on and get the dog out of his face! I think pulling a gun and shooting a dog coming at him thru a driver's window put the driver in harms way. Was the cop reprimanded for shooting that close to the driver?? Did the driver suffer any EAR DAMAGE from the noise of the gun?? AMAZING stupidity on the cops part. He should have ordered her to get her dog under control and if that didn't work..wave her on by!
Are you kidding me??? Look I can respect it more if you (and some others in this forum) would just simply say you don't like the police.
I still remember being used as a chew toy by my soon to be step father's dog when I was four years old. That incident has set me up to kill anything that attacks me. I still like dogs that are friendly and not agressive.
I think the cop did the reasonable thing under the circumstances. Shooting an assailent is appropriate regardless of species.
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