Quote: Judy Troiano

shoot the friggin' gun in the air to scare the dog away but shoot it in the head???

OK so lets see you rather have the cop discharge a round into the air? You do remember what ever comes up must come down, right? Thus instead of killing the dog the round lands in a playground or someones back yard. I can see how that would be MUCH better.

I cant say what was going on there and how the dog was acting, no one can but the cop and who ever was completely watching the situation unfold.

 Quote: Judy Troiano

Unless this man has some really nasty bite marks on him

OK so now we have a police officer that has been injured and can no longer do his job for the time being, and thus unable to protect and serve you the people. And you would STILL be complaining that he fought the dog or shot the dog even if he had the marks.

The cop did think on his feet. He shot the dog.

Would the phrase "bite or be bitten" be appropriate to describe the mindset of the officer in question?

I've asked police before about their training in regards to aggressive or even problematic animals when called to a scene, and that's a response I've heard. These weren't K9 unit officers, but I guess street cops.
I skimmed this thread because it appears to be more of a moral issue than having an outright solution, so sorry if this isn't all on topic.

"Suffolk Police Officer John Sheehan wasn't on patrol, but when a neighbor's boxer came running in his direction as he jogged near his family's upstate summer home, he was prepared, police in Warren County said."

 Quote:

he did two things simultaneously and swiftly; he asked "is he friendly?" and he grabbed his pepper spray out of his belt

I'm guessing the cop who came to your door was on duty and therefor prepared for a variety of non-leathal responses. I can't think of anyone, cop or superhero, who jogs with baton, pepper spray, black jack etc. I'm also not reading where the jogging officer was running next to the owner of this dog for him to ask if the dog was friendly or not. Unless you were there and witnessed the incident your accusations are just as unfair and derilict as the press. Also do not forget. LEO's are trained however they are still people with the same fears, reactions, concerns as anyone else. He was on foot, and a dog was coming after him. How do you know he did not yell at the dog first, because it wasn't in the story you read? Honestly.

 Quote: David C.Frost

I ever feel threatened by a loose stray dog, he's dead. DFrost

2 days ago I was riding bikes with my wife down a country, dirt road. A loose pit came running after us but stopped once we passed the property line. On our way back he was more alert and came at us sooner and caught us. I gave him a swift kick and he retreated but I was on a bike. Had I been an off duty grocery manager out for a jog and was armed, I don't think I would have waited for the dog to bite me, thus putting me in a position where I may not be able to defend myself, before taking his life. I completely agree with the last 3 posters. You disagree, let a dog attack you and see how much control you have to defend yourself effectively.

Though it hurts my psyche to hear about a three-year-old dog getting shot in the head, I have to agree with those who suggest it's the owner's fault. I know that I personally have encountered enough dangerous situations involving loose dogs that I wouldn't be inclined to wait to get bitten before I react, and I'm a 'civilian'. I have a lot of respect for law enforcement, and can only imagine the nature of the situations THEY encounter on a daily basis where dogs are concerned. I would think that the officers' very survival dictates a quick and sure reaction. How much danger do you need to be in before you defend yourself? Of course to me, pepper spray would have made much more sense, but I don't think that this article gives nearly enough information to make a judgement in either direction.

Power rings....hehe

Kristel -

Very true, no one likes hearing story's like this no matter who is right or wrong. And as far as the artical goes i hardly see any real info.

I agree. I wish it had more info to go off of because I know the media likes to mold these stories to the juiciest way to attract attention. I'm not saying the LEO is automatically guilty, but it seems everyone is over looking his previous charges for animal cruelty and discharging a firearm in public, which TADA! is exactly what happened in this story ALSO. JMO

While I DO agree with you, David, and I also feel that the owner is the person at fault here, for not having his dog under control, there is something about this "news" article that bothers me.

Whether the shooter was a LEO or not, he shot at a fairly small, moving target (boxer's head), at somewhat of a distance, in a residential area.

If I read it right, there was a human being (boxer's owner) close behind the running dog.

I have to say that it does seem to me that he was very very lucky not to have shot a bystander, or the dog's owner.

I absolutely agree it was the owners fault. Had the dog been under control whether the handler, fence or kennel, this would not have happened. You didn't say it, but I take umbrage (don't know where that word came from) when someone infers an officer has to get bitten or mauled before he's able to use force. I'm not going to let someone hit me, stab me or shoot me before I use some measure of force, and I'm sure not going to let a stray dog bite me if it is at all preventable.

DFrost

As the owner of a breed of dog the media loves to demonize - this story reeks. The dog being loose is key here. IMO the rub is the normal Joe running down the street would not have been able to pull a weapon out and shoot the animal...justified or not. The fact I find interesting is the Officer was charged. I would love to understand the grounds for the charge and how heavily politics played in this drama. Not enough realiable information to make any judgements on either the animal or the officer..only the animals owner for carlessly letting the dog roam.

We can speculate until the cows come home but since none of us were there (err, to my knowledge), none of us can really say whether the officer's actions were necessary or not. I think we all know how much the media can twist things around or omit important details.

I have a friend who's brother was attacked by a dog - the article in the paper read that he was innocently skipping home from school when a vicious pit bull broke through a fence to attack him, nearly taking his life. Well, his sister told me that he chucked rocks at the dog (a lab) every day after school and one day, the gate wasn't quite locked and when the kid hit the dog that day, it chased after him and bit him. He needed about 100 stitches on his leg or something.

The point is, you never know unless you see it for your own eyes...and even then, people interpret things differently and react differently under stress. Maybe he knew the dog and knew it was dangerous, or maybe he's terrified of dogs and overreacted, or who knows!