Perhaps it seems to those of you who are not and never have been LEO's that the "blue wall" goes up when something like this is sensationalized and those of us who are LEO's take the side of the officer(s) no matter what. I have never seen this to the extent that some claim it happens, but it is undoubtedly true that those of us who have been there, and those who still go there, tend to give the benefit of the doubt as well as that of our experience to the officer(s).

I have had to shoot a pit bulldog that attacked myself and my canine while on a felony warrant service. The armed robbery and attempt murder charges for which the warrant was issued began over the stud fee from this dog...which was used for dog fighting. I shot him off my dog after he grabbed him by the throat...in the dark...directly under my feet...as I tried to get him away from the pit bull...in the midst of one Hell of a dog fight (good PSD's don't back down from a threat)...after kicking him twice in the head with heavy boots. Am I happy about this? Proud? No. I was saddened that I had to take the dog's life...and glad that no one else, including my canine...who was also a very valuable taxpayer owned piece of property...was hurt. From start to finish the incident lasted about 3-5 seconds.

You learn quick in LEO work that the press will never allow the facts to stand in the way of a good story. The officer(s) on scene should be judged upon their actions as based on the information they had when the incident actually occured...not on all the information everyone finds out later. They have no crystal balls.

Sometimes even if you are there, you will see things from different perspectives. Certainly video is not a perfect tool to base a final judgement upon. Camera angles and light, or shadow, can play tricks with perception on film. Remember, this is a three-dimensional event, lasting a very few seconds, being shown in a one dimensional format...a flat screen.

Justified? Don't know. Regrettable? Absolutely. As far as use of the shotgun goes, it was what was in his hands at the time. Would a stern voice have been better? I can tell you that I would gladly have fed that pit bull a grenade sandwich to get him off of Boomer that night.

After reading this. . .is Leerburg's working dog webboard really the forum to discuss incidents like it???

I don't think so. If Ed wants to open it, he can, till then. . .

BAM