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08-05-2010, 01:11 PM
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29,984 posts, read 41,516,521 times
Reputation: 12817
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I'd like to see all the facts come out on this one but a firearm should have been the last resort. Loud verbal commands, pepper spray or a walking stick may have been much more appropriate. I wasn't there but my first reaction is that this officer probably has little clue about dog behavior. This could be a career ender for him and should be if it is found his actions broke the law.
That said, owners have a responsibility to keep their dogs under control at dog parks. Too few take that responsibility seriously. For just such reasons I stopped taking my dogs to public dog parks.
An appeal to LE and CCW holders: If you carry a weapon as a job or lifestyle and think that it is your first and only defense from an aggressive animal at a dog park.....please stay away from dog parks!
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08-05-2010, 01:28 PM
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821 posts, read 828,287 times
Reputation: 1443
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I kind of wished the incident had more details.
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08-05-2010, 01:34 PM
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Location: Baltimore
1,802 posts, read 7,948,821 times
Reputation: 1965
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I live in the Baltimore area and this has been a big story in the local news for the past couple of days. I agree that it's important that all of the facts come out, but everything that has been made public to date seems to make it really clear that this individual acted rashly and used very poor judgment at the very least. The dog that was shot was a regular at the dog park and everyone seems to agree was that he was a very friendly, playful dog and had never exhibited any type of aggressive behavior to any other dog or person. The people who saw the event take place all stated that the dogs were just playing. And although the shooter asked the dog's owner/guardian to call off his dog, he then abruptly pulled out his gun and fired before the owner had time to act. According to the media reports the shooter's dog - a german shepherd - didn't have a scratch on him.
The other issue of concern is that the local police initially declined to investigate the incident. It took public outcry and then the county executive demanding an investigation to even get an investigation started. Seems to be a case of the law enforcement people protecting their own.
No matter the outcome, it is frightening to me that someone who is supposedly a trained law enforcement officer would fire his gun in a public park without any real provocation with children around. Scary.
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08-05-2010, 04:24 PM
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Location: South Carolina
14,785 posts, read 22,777,908 times
Reputation: 27008
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Anytime an officer draws his weapon he had darn sure better have an excellent excuse as to why he drew his weapon . There was no excuse for this reaction whatsoever and more than likely he will be fired from his position because he drew his weapon in a park full of ppl and anyone and i repeat anyone could have been killed . Im sorry for the owners of the dog . I like huskys i think they are beautiful .
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08-05-2010, 07:08 PM
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Status:
"Time is on my side"
(set 26 days ago)
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Location: Massachusetts
4,200 posts, read 9,880,641 times
Reputation: 5418
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This man should have his gun and badge taken from him. He should be prohibited from owning a firearm ever again. He should also do jail time and pay a huge sum of money for civil damages.
Incidentally, there have been an increasing amount of these incidents involving police officers gunning down "out-of-control" dogs, which leads me to believe that they are being improperly trained or being given improper authorization to respond to a dog with a firearm. This is totally unacceptable.
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08-05-2010, 09:04 PM
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3,083 posts, read 3,882,675 times
Reputation: 2358
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Just wanted to point out the "officer" involved is a federal DOD cop. Essentially a glorified security guard. It's a position often held by those hopeful of eventually becoming actual police officers or those that failed to qualify for a job in law enforcement.
Their training is minimal. 4-6 weeks at best. It's unlikely he was even authorized to carry a weapon off duty. This is not to say he didn't possess a valid CCW in his state. I think it's telling that the investigation is being handled by the local agency where the event transpired rather than the DOD "police". Their authority is limited to whatever DOD facility they are helping to secure.
None of the above is meant to in any way minimize what happened to the Husky. That was appalling and should never have occurred. The Husky was a beautiful and apparently sweetly tempered dog. My heart goes out to his family.
I suspect the shooter is about to have his life become very unpleasant. He'll likely lose his job and suffer local prosecution. That doesn't do anything to bring Bear-Bear back but in all likelihood the "officer" will be seriously punished for his heinous actions.
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08-05-2010, 09:06 PM
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Location: Phoenix
354 posts, read 1,235,755 times
Reputation: 439
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Jerk
It is not appropriate to walk a leashed dog in an off leash dog park. It actually causes problems and can set up a situation.
If as reported the officer shot this dog because he was afraid when a seemingly aggressive dog in an off leash dog park runs up to him, his wife and their dog he should never have gone to a dog park in the first place. He as he lacks good judgement. I hate to think he thought this was the solution to preventing his dog from being attacked or getting in a fight that would be too disgusting.
In a dog park you are obliged to give the benefit of a doubt as to whether an animal you find there is a threat to life and limb. I would not suggest someone has to allow themselves or another person to be seriously injured before acting but you can be sure that it is improbable that someone brings a pet to the dog park to play that likes to eat people.
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08-05-2010, 09:23 PM
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Location: St. Louis, Missouri
9,353 posts, read 19,282,456 times
Reputation: 11597
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Searcher521
It is not appropriate to walk a leashed dog in an off leash dog park. It actually causes problems and can set up a situation.
If as reported the officer shot this dog because he was afraid when a seemingly aggressive dog in an off leash dog park runs up to him, his wife and their dog he should never have gone to a dog park in the first place. He as he lacks good judgement. I hate to think he thought this was the solution to preventing his dog from being attacked or getting in a fight that would be too disgusting.
In a dog park you are obliged to give the benefit of a doubt as to whether an animal you find there is a threat to life and limb. I would not suggest someone has to allow themselves or another person to be seriously injured before acting but you can be sure that it is improbable that someone brings a pet to the dog park to play that likes to eat people.
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you just said several thoughts that i had as i was reading the article.... i take my dogs to public dog parks so that they can run and play OUT of the confines of our yard and OUT of the confines of being leashed to me.... you have to know and understand dog body language to really know what is going on..... something that it is apparent that this person who shot the dog was completely ignorant of......   |
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08-05-2010, 09:28 PM
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Location: 500 miles from home
33,949 posts, read 21,284,495 times
Reputation: 25779
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Wow. What a horrible tragedy for the owners of the husky. Sounds like someone acted rashly in this situation.
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