We always talk joke about cops shooting dogs...

Last edited:
Kevlar said:
IANAL, but FYI...

There is an emerging trend in the Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal, holding that dogs, for the purposes of the 4th amendment, are considered "effects" or "property", and the shooting of such may be considered a "seizure".

Law Enforcement Today article warns police not to kill family dogs - Greenville Dog | Examiner.com

Dog Shooting | Law Enforcement Today

36 F3d 65 Fuller v. Vines | OpenJurist

117 F3d 1425 Fuller v. Vines | OpenJurist
Click to expand...

That is a great application of the 4th amendment. The police want to use the "property" label to justify their killing of citizen's dogs. If the dog is only property, then the officer killing it does sound like seizure since you will never get it back. The Constitution is a great piece of paper. Hopefully the people win this one.
 
They could see if the local news is interested in running the story. It probably won't help them out in any way, but the more people that hear about this sort of behavior, the better.
 
Words can't express how ****ing disgusted I am!! You should posts the cop's name. Plaster that shit all over facebook and any other forums you are on. For that matter take out an article in your local paper. Out this mother****er in his own community.

Just make sure that anything you post about him, that is not a fact about the incident, is phrased as an opinion. As long as something is expressed as an opinion you can't be sued for slander. IE; "Officer so and so is a ****ing scumbag and should rot in hell." (You can be sued for this statement.) However. "I FEEL, OR, IN MY OPINION officer so and so is a ****ing scumbag and should rot in hell." Since that is phrased as an opinion you can't be sued for it. It is when something is phrased as a "factual statement" that you can be sued.

I can tell you this much for certain. If a cop ever shot my dog, under ANY circumstances, I would be eating pork for a month...
 
So to clarify, the domestic call wasn't a biggie. My friend was throwing out her boy friend... Boy friend was taking his stuff out of the back of the house and leaving through the gate from the back yard. The police showed up and proceeded down the side of the house because that's where all the foot traffic was. As the cop walked into the backyard their dog who was running around INSIDE THEIR BACK YARD started barking and running up to the cop. The female owner of the dog came out to bring the dog inside. Without a warning, the cop drew his weapon and shot the dog in the neck. The wounded dog proceeded to TURN AROUND AND RUN in the opposite direction towards the back door of the house, where there were NO OFFICERS. The officer then fired AGAIN, killing the dog. Following that, the cop took off his badge and name tape and wouldn't give his info to anyone. Sent another cop over to handle the situation.

I understand a barking dog moving towards you can be intimidating. But there are almost NO situations where that would be life threatening to a fully grown adult male. Why would you walk into the yard KNOWING there is a dog out there? For a non-emergency call. There we're no arrests at the house, the rest of the "domestic call" went over without issue. No one was being assaulted, the cops were called to "keep the peace" while the boyfriend moved his stuff out of the house. The whole thing sounds like the cop is just a cock sucker. I hope they can figure out how to make them pay :-\
 
swatgig said:
Unfortunately, in Massachusetts (and every other state as far as I know) dogs are considered property. The owners can sue for the value of the property. They may be able to simply place a claim for the value with the police department or the city/town.

They can also file a criminal complaint for animal abuse, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling.

Courts have not recognized a claim for emotional distress due to the killing of an animal.
Click to expand...

sounds like a negligent discharge to me as well. Seeing as the officer did not need to fire and by doing so but others at risk for no reason.
 
My mother in law is an elected official here in Wilbraham. She was well aware of it the day of. She is an animal lover and has a couple dogs. So I heard about this story in quite a bit of length. She called over to the PD after getting quite a few calls from local news orgs wanting to know what happend. She knows the guys over at the PD very well. They told her that the dog latched onto the officer's arm and they had to shoot it. Meanwhile the story all the civilian witnesses are putting forth is the dog was barking at the officer from 15+ feet away and he shot it then shot it while it was running away. Which isn't suprising... vet bills are expensive, a dead dog costs them nothing. When she asked what hospital they were taking the LEO to they said he had no injuries. Which makes alot of sense for a guy that a Pitbull "Latched onto".[rolleyes]

I know quite a few LEOs and some of them are nice guys. But I wouldn't call them pretty much in any situation. They are the biggest gang in MA. In any state for that matter. You can be sure nothing is going to happen to that guy. Wilbraham is a small town. They will look after him.
 
my thing why is it that when a cop shoots your dog you lose 500.00 in property but if you shoot a police dog in some states its assaulting a officer?
 
My dog is a member of my family. Given that fact, i would view someone shooting my dog as if someone shot my kids and would react accordingly... That is to say I'd shoot dead the mofo who shot my dog.
 
GaryO said:
Although i feel bad for the dogs owner, you prefaced the story with" I don't have ALL the details yet", don't do anything rash without getting all the facts.
Flame away
Click to expand...

Unless the officer went to the hospital for stitches, there was no justification for use of his/her duty weapon. Period.

Cops still carry OC spray, yes? There are plenty of less-lethal means of de-escalating a barking dog situation. The officer in question obviously has no idea what constitutes a justified use of deadly force.
 
DMWB said:
Unless the officer went to the hospital for stitches, there was no justification for use of his/her duty weapon. Period.

Cops still carry OC spray, yes? There are plenty of less-lethal means of de-escalating a barking dog situation. The officer in question obviously has no idea what constitutes a justified use of deadly force.
Click to expand...
That could explain why he removed him name ID from his uniform and went and hid. Don't worry, his brothers in blue have his back.
 
This will keep happening until there are consequences.

We already know the police departments and the courts are useless so you need to make up your mind what you intend to do if the situation ever presents itself.

I can tell you if I were on a jury where the dog owner wound up exacting some street justice, there is zero chance of them going to prison.
 
taking off the badge wreaks of a cowardly cover up....a pit would have mauled his arm if it "latched" on and good luck getting it off your arm. I would find the cop off duty and see how tough he was then..I never heard of that town . Im not a cop basher at all...but this ahole should face consequences if (and it sound slike a BS cover up to me) the storys fabricated to protect him. poor dog
 
PureProwess said:
They told her that the dog latched onto the officer's arm and they had to shoot it. Meanwhile the story all the civilian witnesses are putting forth is the dog was barking at the officer from 15+ feet away and he shot it then shot it while it was running away.
Click to expand...

The wound to the animal made from a discharge at point blank range is certainly distinguishable from a wound made from a 15 foot discharge. Hopefully, there will be an investigation proving what really happened.
 
mav said:
My dog is a member of my family. Given that fact, i would view someone shooting my dog as if someone shot my kids and would react accordingly... That is to say I'd shoot dead the mofo who shot my dog.
Click to expand...

If you do, you WILL be charged. You cannot use deadly force to protect property, which is what the law considers your dog, no matter your feelings.
 
swatgig said:
If you do, you WILL be charged. You cannot use deadly force to protect property, which is what the law considers your dog, no matter your feelings.
Click to expand...

Maybe in MA that is true.
I think a lot of people, especially on here, would take their chances with the courts though.
 
There we're ten civilian witnesses to what happened. VS the word of one or two cops. The cops are claiming that this VICIOUS dog latched onto the officers are and his ONLY option was to shoot the dog. But they cop received no injuries and didn't need medical treatment. Bullshit all around.
 
Unfortunately because it was a pit bull, they will not have the general public on their side. I've been fostering pit bulls for a number of years and the ignorance about the breed rivals that of the gun grabbers.

That being said. If a full grown pit bull 'latched' onto his arm he would most definitely be getting stitches and in all likelihood would not have been able to shoot the dog.

Reach out to groups like www.pbrc.com as they might be able to direct you to people who can help from the animal side.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2
 
I really wish people would quit saying " but I know some really good cops" I call BS once again. IMO None of them are any good period . I'll say it again, if you are a cop and you see your brother cop shitting on someones rights and you do nothing about it you too are a JBT POS. I have yet to read 1 story of a cop standing up to this BS and honoring his or her oath. Not 1 ever. They all look the other way and as a result are guilty by association. If we did the same they would call it a joint venture crime. They suck and I smile every time I hear one went down. They are digging the hole deeper every day for themselves. They would be wise to remember the old saying that every dog has his day, pun intended. I don't see how you can be a cop and call yourself a man with a straight face. It's like the school yard bully. He always has his pussy minions who follow his lead so his attention stays off of them. Yea I have grown to hate all cops and they made me this way so flame away and ask me if I give a rats ass. I stand by what I say and think plenty here agree with this assessment.
 

Similar threads

Talk to me about Japanese Arisaka Type 99 WWII rifles
2
Replies
35
Views
735
gerrycaruso
gerrycaruso
Mall of NH shooting
2
Replies
50
Views
2K
hunt4riches
H
Interesting shooting video
Replies
2
Views
163
peterk123
P
  • Poll
S.2572: How should we hold cops accountable?
3 4 5
Replies
139
Views
4K
kimber le
kimber le
SD shooting in Chicopee, MA
Replies
1
Views
214
VTski4x4
VTski4x4
Back
Top Bottom