That last one is the most painful of all to me.

I have seen it before but it has lost none of its horror, or my empathy for that poor dog. Very hard to watch.


It's hard for me sometimes to keep in mind the crucial fact that LE is made up of humans, like all organizations and professions, and some are damaged, or psychotic, or just bad. As with all groups of human beings.

And print stories, as Joe says ..... three sides to every story: your side, their side, and the truth. (And it seems that print stories about LEOs tend to be even less balanced or factual than other news stories.)


But yes, none of this makes any of these shattering video clips (or stories) any more bearable. They are terrible reminders of what a small segment of a large group is capable of.

It's hard, but so important (for me) to remember that the large group (the one that contains that small segment) is made up of not just regular people, but often exceptional people.

wait.... what do those other cop shootings have to do with 4 and 5. A agree that there are cowardly douchebags that do shoot dogs for no reason, and that some of them are cops. However in this particular case I think there is a lot more to this story. As it's told now (assuming that the news story is 100% right...yeah right>_> and the accounts are accurate, also yeah right) Based on the witness photos...


1) The cops refused to get him a means to restrain his dog? Stupid...ropes work, hell, a t-shirt wrapped around the dog's neck works....10 second to run into another house to get something...

2) The dog owner clearly knew his dog was dog aggressive, or at least would cause problems untrestrained. Even under orders I personally would not have taken out my dog, even under direct orders if I though it would hurt someone.

3) The police dog...why was it taken out of the car? Why not wait a half second to get rid of the dog aggressive dog.

4) At the point where the dog was taken down I thought it was appropriate. I personally don't think that a gun should have been used because of the close proximity to the police dog (what if they shot their own dog?) and the other officer (the handler was also RIGHT THERE). I do not know much about guns other than which end the bang comes out of but that seems stupid. If they had tazers right in their belts with their other equipment why not use them? I could understand if they didn't and they were truely concerned for their dog...but still. While I think at the point it got to the shooting was justified (though I still don't agree with the level of force) because yes, their police dogs life was at risk....however it NEVER should have even gotten close to that level, there were SO many other ways this could have played out better...so so many....


I'm very afraid of police officers, particularly the ones that drive up to me when I'm in a car. I went to a school in a very rich area away from my neighborhood and drive a beat up car (that I still drive today )....I was pulled over all the time for all sorts of fun reasons. "I thought your tail light was out" "your headlight looked like it may have been out" "your car looks like one used in some recent breakins" etc. This was between that ages of 16-18. I was bullied and threatened each time. I've also never once been in trouble, I don't have a single ticket on my record either. I've never been able to break my paranoia and fear in situations like this since. I've known people who's pets have been killed by police officers in different situations (usually off duty). A friend of mine's ball python was shot in its tank by an off duty cop father of his then girlfriend because "it was an illegal snake" (no, ball pythons are not illegal, especially in RI...land of "you can have a pet anaconda here for all we care"). Once of my close friends' growing up abusive step father was in law enforcement...he killed many of their pets for similar BS reasons when he moved in. My friend ended up getting rid of a lot of her pets to save them.

However I still try to be fair when I hear stories like this. I think there were mistakes on BOTH sides here.... I won't fault a police officer for shooting a dog attacking one of his K9 officers...however I would fault them if it was true they didn't permit the owner to get something to restrain his dog or had a tazer on their person.

It is my understanding that if the pit bull was tazed while biting the Police dog. the police dog would be tazed also

The last video was horrible - pretty much any dog caught with a catch-pole will react like that. They could have given it a min to calm down.
From the footage they were obviously scared of that dog before they even went near it.

There are words for what I am thinking but I think I'd get banned for typing them.

My friend's Dad's pit got shot by local police when they came to raid his house for suspicion of drugs (his sons that was living there) the dog is actually very friendly, her name is Waffles. Anyways, police barged in unannounced she ran barking and they shot her right off the bat. Luckily, she survived, but was pretty badly injured. Very sad for everyone involved!

Wow. I am actually surprised at some of the responses…
There is an armed bad guy running through the neighborhood and the cops are searching for him. A guy has a dog aggressive pit in his yard and is asked to remove it for a search. He lets his off leash dog out and it attacks the K9. The cops shoot it to save the K9. None of this is shocking; sad for the death of a dog, but not shocking.

On this board there are people who brag about walking their dogs with fully loaded hand guns incase their dog is attacked in much the same way and are applauded! They share gun types and schools to learn how to use it. But a cop does it to save a K9, and they are condemned? The K9 was not the instigator, was leashed and under control and appears to have been getting its ass handed to him. What would you have done if it was your dog?

Letting the resident go back into the house is dangerous and no cop would have let him do it. For all they know HE was the bad guy with a gun (that was later found in his yard)the bad guy was hiding in the house or the bad guy was hiding the guy in the house. Letting him back into the house could have led to a standoff, a shoot out or the innocent resident being held hostage. No way they were letting him back in the house. Standard officer safety stuff that the recruits learn at the academy.

If I needed to remove my dog in an emergency, and had no collar or leash, you bet your ass I would have picked him up and carried him to my car or at least far enough away that I could hold him still with an arm around his neck. Somebody made reference that a shirt could be used for a leash; good point, the owner had one on in all the videos. That would have been a valid option. But the LAST thing I would have done would be to let my untrained/uncontrolled dog agro dog just run out at a bunch of cops. Pretty stupid and irresponsible. It is the police’s job to keep themselves, the K9 and the public safe, not wrangle or control an agro dog.

Is the K9 worth more? Quite frankly, yes. This department has thousands into it and tons of hours. That dog is out there putting its life on the line just as much as (and sometimes more than) every cop out there. Those officers count on that dog to serve and protect them (AND YOU!), and they return the favor. In most states it is a felony to kill a police dog and hardly a slap on the wrist to kill a regular pet dog. They ARE afforded more protection and ARE more valuable. If many here would shoot a dog for attacking your pet, why are the police condemned for doing it for a K9? (And for the record, if they were doing a neighborhood search, the K9 would have already been out of the car, not brought out just in front of this house where they knew a dog was.)

As for shooting instead of tazing… Well, I can’t answer that. But I will say that not all cops carry tazers, you have to be qualified. Also, they are not always as readily deployable as many think, or as dependable. I wasn’t there and I won’t Monday night quarterback their decision re that one.

It has been mentioned a few times about the danger of shooting a gun. Yes it is. Why didn’t they clear the area? You ever try to clear a dozen or more angry/shocked people that are enthralled by the dog fight? It is like herding cats. In the time it would have taken to get everybody three blocks away the K9 could have been dead (at that is disregarding the armed bad guy that is lurking in the area). The officer that shot the dog had enough time to position himself and aim to make the kill as safe for the looky-loo neighbors as possible, and no one was hurt. The situation was dispo’d quickly, efficiently and safely. It was a situation that should not have happened in the first place, but it had to be dealt with.

The thing I am most disappointed at is the sleazy tactics that are being used here. Listing link after link to stories of other officers involved in shooting pet is unfair, inflammatory and the same shock and awe tactics the media uses. It sucks. Bad stuff happens, and cops are involved at times. But what is being done here is no different than saying pit bulls suck, they like to kill other dogs and children, then posting a bunch of links to one of the thousands of stories about pits killing a dog or kid that have nothing to do with the original story. It does happen. It is horrible, but inflammatory posts are more a problem than anything else. Show me a video of the SAME cop killing a different dog. That is relevant.

I could post about the cop that stopped his patrol car in the middle of a street to save a kitten from getting run over. He nestled it to his chest as he drove it to the station for one of the dispatchers to bottle feed through the night until animal control opened today (she called to ask me for the formula recipe). I could tell you about the cop who took the loose pit that was wandering our neighborhood on Thursday home to its owners and locked it in the back yard. Their gardeners left the gate open. And I could tell you about the officer who held his American Bulldog on his lap with tears running down his face while the vet put him to sleep today at the age of four due to bone cancer. He had to go to work three hours later to protect my city. He was spit on, yelled at and called all kinds of hurtful names an hour on by a POS druggie that wanted to keep his weed. At lunch tonight he was emotionally drained and looked close to tears as the kids asked questions about Eddie their dog (we are neighbors and very close family friends).

 Quote: SamanthaTopper

What I don't understand is what right do the cops have to tell him he could NOT grab a leash for his dog on his own property? Obviously they had zero concern for public safety, since the dog was obviously dog aggressive to some degree and could have broken loose to attack another dog if he hadn't singled out the K9.

The officers were there to make sure the BAD GUY WITH A GUN was not there to hold this man’s family hostage. No concern for public safety? Sounds like they were willing to put THEIR lives in danger for THIS man’s safety and that of his neighborhood. It is not the police officers fault that the guy had an untrained, agro dog. You bet your ass everyone there would have expected the cops to shoot the dog if it went after their kid or even their fluffy.

 Quote: Samantha

Does this mean that when a perp is attacking a police officer human that they're going to aim and open fire, risking their fellow cop's life? Or do they pull the perp off and then proceed to murder him?

Yes. It does. When a bad guy is attacking a police officer, and the officer is in fear of their life, there are times they will pull their gun. I know a female officer that was called to a domestic. The husband had already kicked his wife’s butt into unconsciousness, and did not appreciate the female officer telling him to back away. He lounged at her, got his hand around her throat, and was trying to force his will on her. She pulled her gun and shot him in the chest. What would you have done? If a suspect is under control and restrained they are not going to murder the POS. They will arrest him and take him to jail for assault on an officer and resisting arrest, where he will be congratulated by other inmates for his manliness. Fair huh?

 Quote: Joe Waddington

Wow, hard to watch these wimpy candy ass cops

Are you willing to do their job? I agree. Some need to be fired, but are you gonna step up to these wimpy candy asses yourself? Take the oath and show us what it means to do it right. I have a couple of buddies with LAPD that would be happy to take you on a few ride-alongs to show you what they deal with every day.

Cops are not bad people who want to kill your family pet. They are human beings that are doing the best they can in really hard situations. There are some great ones and some that don’t deserve the honor of being a cop. I know a few of those as well. But don’t try to bring unrelated, inflammatory links into a post that tugs at any animal lover’s heart strings. Dirty tactics. If you don’t like the job they are doing, go join the force and do it right. Stand in front of them when the armed bad guy comes and threatens your safety.

 Quote: Will Rambeau

I carry a firearm openly on my hip while I grocery shop, visit my doctor, and go to the bank ...

OMG, my bank would freak if I walked in there with a gun. I'd probably get a taste of the local PD k9 unit first hand (or they'd get a taste of me?). Amazing how different cultures are even within the good 'ol USA.

Sorry, back on topic!

I think that without all the facts, and the whole truth of what transpired, it's really hard to make a judgement call either way on any of the police shootings where a dog is the one having it's life taken. We just don't know. So we can sit here and speculate till the cows come home, or we can do something more constructive, like we can all chip in and get Will a six shooter for his hip holster.

(j/k Will! Don't send the Fetz dog after me!)

Well said Jessica

Like I tell my kids- if I don't train our dogs into well behaved citizens- regardless of the situation, someone will get hurt and your dog will die. I don't fault the officer. When your dog gets away and attacks a member of the PD (K-9 or human) You haven't done your job to ensure your pet's safety. Very sad, yes, but LE protects us every day. They make hard choices that I pray I never have to make. I am one of those people that would use lethal force if something were going to kill my dog, I'm sure most would choose taking the life of the other dog over letting yours die. What would have happened if the k9 were severely injured? Who would step up to take his place because most forces don't have dogs lined up to replace the injured ones?
Hate to be rude, but that family will probably go out and buy another pittie from a BYB, leave it in the yard, not train it (again) and this time it may attack a kid. This was an owner problem, not a PD problem IMO.