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Puppycide
Monday, July 27th, 2009Georgia police officer responds to false security alarm, shoots and kills family’s black lab in the backyard.
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So, is the Georgia police officer going to argue that the dog was a “distraction” deliberately placed there to compromise officer safety?
Since this happened to political nobodies, this will be swept under the rug and forgotten. Again.
What’s this home alarm thing in the first place? Monitoring is $30/month. It take someone at least 20 min to show up (and shoot your dog in this case) and it only knocks about $90 off of the yearly homeowner’s insurance policy.
When i bought my house the alarm guy could not believe I would not continue the service. I told him if someone walks in noone’s home and steals my stuff I got insurance. If someone’s home and a burglar walks in it’s gonna be over in less than 30 sec by application of deadly force by either myself or my wife.
I have a chocolate lab and I would probably totally lose it if shomeone hurt her.
In my opinion this murderous phenomenon is an intentional message to all of us: “This time it was your dog. But we could do the same thing to you and get away with it then, too. So watch your step.”
I assume the dog was being “uppity”.
I wonder how long it will be before a cop accidently shoots a K9 unit while responding to a break in call that already had officers there.
Well it’s a BLACK lab and it is Georgia. My guess is the officer gets promoted.
Why did he shoot her? Because he WANTED TO.
SusanK
“I assume the dog was being “uppity”.”
lol brilliant!
@ #6:
You mean like this?
http://www.wsls.com/sls/news/local/new_river_valley/article/k-9_unit_dog_accidentally_shot_during_break_in_investigation/22897/
this is just one reason I tell everyone I know to dial 911 at their own risk. most problems require a tack hammer to fix- 911 is a jackhammer. if you need a jackhammer, it’s great, otherwise you could end up with a lot of your shit broken.
Do you keep any kind of database on this, besides your blog entries? That would be interesting to study.
The moral of this story is that the only thing more threatening to you and your family than a burglar is the cops that show up to “help” you.
Until humans start putting down these pigs, this will continue.
“Then [the cop] said he was just going to take a look around and make sure everything was safe.”
The police have an unmatched sense of irony.
” She said she chose to speak out for one main reason. “We don’t want this to happen to anyone else,” she said. ”
Lady, I’m on your side, but this will definitely happen several hundred more times before there’s a break in the procedure.
She said she chose to speak out for one main reason.
“We don’t want this to happen to anyone else,” she said.
I hope this lady doesn’t believe that this is the first time this has ever happened or that she is the first person to utter those words.
#1 | SJE — “So, is the Georgia police officer going to argue that the dog was a “distraction” deliberately placed there to compromise officer safety?”
He doesn’t have to argue that it was a “distraction,” or as I prefer, a “diversion,” only that he thought it was.
Such is the sad state of puppycide in Amerika.
#16 | Hunter — “… this will definitely happen several hundred more times before there’s a break in the procedure.”
Hunter, you’re off by a bit. It will happen infinitely more times because there will never be a break in the procedure.
Puppycide is here to stay in the USA. As long as there are police, that is.
#11,
yep, that’s why i have bars on my windows and no alarm system. i don’t need anyone coming out by “accident” and causing an accident.
btw, we’re getting an English Bulldog puppy and I’m seriously thinking of posting signs (inside my block walled yard – where you would have to be inside the yard to see them) something to the effect of -
“Notice to all – including the police – you hurt my dog – you get hurt”
Scott,
This will not deter anything. In thinking through the situation, there’s really no possible way to save the dog if they come in. You put yourself in front of it, they’ll scream at you to lay on the ground, leaving it exposed. You put it in a back room, they’ll open it up in the course of their search. Same goes for a crate. Face it, if they come in, your dog is dead. Scary thought, being helpless. I literally shudder thinking how I’d feel in the situation.
Regarding the Puppycide, it’s really part of the war against Shape-Shifting aliens from the Vega System.
The Vegans prefer masquerading as large, domestic dogs. Police have been advised to be on the look-out for this alien threat, and to shoot on sight any suspicious sightings.
That’s the real explanation.
#11 and 13–great point. I’m a criminal defense attorney and tell my friends and clients to call 911 if you feel you absolutely have to, but realize all bets are off if you do and you could end up in jail yourself. Most typical scenario is a couple arguing, one spouse calls police to calm the other one down, one or both spouses usually arrested. Second most common is a medical emergency and if a roach or a bong is visible then someone is going to jail.
I’m 43 and when I was a kid our parents all told us the police were our friends, and we should go to them if we needed help. I don’t know anyone who tells their kid that anymore.
Wonder how the utility meter men and meter maids keep from being eaten alive by ferocious yard dogs.
I really seldom hear about yard dogs tearing utility meter readers limb-from-limb. Ever?
What, do they receive actual TRAINING or something on how to read and react to a barking dog??
I prefer the Vegan shape-shifter invasion theory, personally.
I agree that home alarms are the most over-sold, over-hyped, ineffective pacifier out there.
My dogs are a vastly better alarm system, and definitely more of a deterent than an alarm sticker on the window. They might not hurt someone, but they’re going to make one heckuva racket.
The link above about the K9 shot during a break-in investigation, there was a recent case in Arkansas where a K9 attacked a 7 year old boy without provocation. The department did the right thing and put the dog down.
http://www.katv.com/news/stories/0709/643667.html
I just noticed that although the title of this post is “Puppycide” the URL is /puppycide-21/
Just file it under “Isolated Incident”, or should I say, /isolated-incident-10654572/
You know, from an entrepeneur’s perspective, this could be a great opportunity to develop and market little pooch-sized kevlar vests. Give them a fighting chance, you know?
“He could have said ‘Stop!’, he could have said ‘Wait!’, he could have pulled out Mace, he could have just stepped behind our garden fence, he could have fired into the ground,”
No m’am, he couldn’t. Only rational, thinking and caring human beings could do those things. He also could have just asked the house sitter to restrain the dog. But he didn’t.
This piece of shit goes home at night and stands in front of a mirror with his gun in one hand and his tiny prick in the other, saying “Make my day, Punk!”
Since the day he got that badge, and more importantly, that gun, he has wanted to use it. He knew damn good and well the neighbors were out and watching. He knew the sitter was watching. He knew there were a hundred ways he could handle the situation. But only one let him pull out that gun and deal some death in front of a bunch of spectators. He popped a little chub knowing how it would sicken all of them, scare all of them, and remind all of them that he is all powerful and they are nothing.
Zero:
Regarding your idea of a Kevlar protective pooch vest.
Consider also the opportunity to cross-sell Kevlar HELMETS to protect your dog’s head…….
Unfortunately, in the Calvo Puppycide case, the PG’s police shot one dog in the behind while it was running away…..
Wrap-Around Kevlar?? Snout-to-Tail coverage?
Giant bullet proof hamster balls for dogs?
I go into yards EVERYDAY! Into fenced in backyards. I am in a doggy related business….therefore 100% of the homes I visit have dogs. 100%. I visit between 60 and 80 homes a week. 60 and 80 a WEEK! Of those, about 60% have unrestrained dogs in the yard while I am there. Labs, boxers, pit bulls, collies, shepherds, cattle dogs, and little foo foo dogs. Number of times I have been barked at….countless. Number of times I have been growled at….also countless. Number of times I have been bitten or attacked…..0.
I wonder what I understand that cops don’t?
@ #31 Zappa – “I wonder what I understand that cops don’t?”
Nothing. Cops understand the same thing. They just WANT to shoot something. They want the power of having that large an impact on somebody’s life (for most pet owners it is like losing a member of the family) and having no consequences.
It is like the concept that a rapist is really after the feeling of power and control. These guys aren’t really killing dogs because they feel threatened. If they are, they are far too cowardly to be cops. I don’t even think it is because they like inflicting pain on an animal, though they obviously don’t mind it. It is about inflicting pain on that dogs owner. That is the thrill. The fact that if any other person killed that dog, the owner could press charges. But they can’t do a damn thing about the cop. The cops knows it, and relishes it.
#23 | Pablo
as a defense attorney, I’m sure you see a LOT of people damaged from unintended contact with cops.
around here, cops are being pressured to produce ‘self-initiated arrests’- in other words, they’re supposed to find crimes during traffic stops, assist calls, etc. the public (and their bosses) demand production and that’s what the cops are doing- producing arrests. you’re point about them looking for crimes during 911 medical calls is spot on.
shooting a dog is just another shit sandwich being served to the public. tomorrow, we’ll get a steaming pile of horseshit stew when someone else gets a tazer stuffed up their ass. it seems like the cops deliver about one steak and lobster dinner a week to go with a lot of shit the other 6 days…
Related…IMHO:
I heard on the picture radio box a couple intelligent mutherfuckers asking what if a 12 year old boy was on the sidewalk watching as Gates screamed at the police officer (hero) and the officer had to take it and walk away. That wouldn’t send too good a lesson in respecting the authority of the police (heroes).
So, that’s really the main point I guess.
And puppies get shot because NOTHING can be allowed to be even a minor inconvenience to the authority of the police.
And kids, grandma in bed, teenagers, and all sorts of “civilians” need to understand you WILL get blown away rather than increase the PERCEIVED threat to an officer (hero) OR his authority even .000000000000000001%. This is the case regardless of the police (heroes) beating the shit out of you (you will be shot if you resist) in a case of a mistaken address. If you are a black or hispanic male between 17-35…you might just get blown away pre-emptively to protect the officer to the fullest (with the full support of the state all the way thru the SCOTUS).
We are all hanging by the thinnest of threads between a pretty good life and getting blown away “for the greater good.”
I can list a couple dozen countries at least where this isn’t the case.
These cops need prison time. Plain and simple.
@ Pablo 23
When I was a senior in HS my mom told me “I don’t like you going to that part of town. There’re a lot of cops there.”
I tell kids the same thing. Avoid cops like they’re rattle snakes.
Chris in AL — “Nothing. Cops understand the same thing. They just WANT to shoot something.”
I’ll give you two stories. One was a cop I met through a mutual friend at a summer barbecue. He was a sniper on the SWAT team (or whatever they call it) in the Albany, NY area. He told a story about his kid finding a giant snapping turtle, and about how the “damn thing snapped at him” when he went to take a look at it. So, he shot it.
There wasn’t one of us at the party who heard this story who weren’t convinced that that idiot just wanted to shoot the thing, more or less for kicks.
The second story involves my cousin, a now retired NYPD lieutenant. While out on a small boat on the Hudson River, he pulled out his tiny Beretta pistol, and shot it straight into the water. Now, I’m sure the chances of a scuba diver being directly under us were infintesimal; but that’s not the point. Number one, I took a gun safety class. Apparently, it is very dangerous to shoot into the water, because a bullet can ricochet the same way a stone can skip. Number two, what the hell did he need to go and do that for? I would expect that kind of behavior from a high school kid — not a grown man charged with the “responsibility of the public’s safety.”
I’m just afraid that there are a lot of armed individuals walking around who have no sense in their heads. And, apart from the criminals, the overwhelming majority of them are cops.
a href=”http://www.theagitator.com/2009/07/27/puppycide-21/#comment-328791″>#25 KBCraig wrote:“I agree that home alarms are the most over-sold, over-hyped, ineffective pacifier out there.
My dogs are a vastly better alarm system, and definitely more of a deterent than an alarm sticker on the window. They might not hurt someone, but they’re going to make one heckuva racket.”
Maybe that is the connection? Think about it, who are the staffers for staffed home alarm companies? Off-duty or ex cops. All brothers. Relying on dogs instead of electronic alarms cuts into the protection racket.
@ #36 Boyd Dirkin
“I don’t like you going to that part of town. There’re a lot of cops there.”
Now THAT is a sad statement on the reality of today. What do I tell my daughter? Seriously. Where do I tell her to go if she is in trouble? Wendys?????? For christ sakes.
Cops should just HATE the guys that are giving them ALL this black eye and deepening distrust….but continue to cover for your black sheep brothers in blue…the rest of us will go out of our way to make your job easier for you and wish for your continued well being…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..(insert Borat VERY preganat pause “NOT!!!!!)……..NOT!!!!!
God, I get a migraine every time I see one of these. Thanks for keeping on this, Balko…
@#39 Zappa Crappa–tell your daughter to familiarize herself with all the fire stations nearby. I’d much rather my kid go to a fire fighter for help than a cop.
Ok, that’s it. I refuse to discuss news at work anymore.
I just got done discussing the Gates issue with my coworkers, and they seem to stand behind the line of:
“If the cops are at my door, I am going to do everything possible to make them comfortable, show them my birth certificate, fellate them, answer all of their questions with yes sir / no sir, make them lemonade, tell them how great they are, etc.”
They asked me why I would refuse to show ID in my own home and I responded “because it’s about asserting my rights.” I was told that I would go to jail and have a record and otherwise be a horrible person for doing this. Somehow, it didn’t bother me all that much.
/I know this isn’t necessarily on topic, but yet another group of people who see cops as heroes. I see anyone who toes the blue line as someone to be avoided. End of story.
#7 | ktc2 | July 27th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
‘Well it’s a BLACK lab and it is Georgia. My guess is the officer gets promoted.”
Bullshit, I will put race relations in the South against those of anywhere else in the nation. But hey, it is still acceptable to insult Southerners.
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