TheAgitator.com
No Dog Training for Cops in Richmond, Either
Friday, July 9th, 2010Richmond Times-Dispatch columnist Barton Hinkle cites some of my work on cops shooting dogs and finds that like most law enforcement agencies, the Richmond Police Department does not give its officers training on how to deal with dogs.
This is such an easy problem to fix. Beat cops are bound to come into contact with stray dogs, attack dogs, and family pets fairly regularly. If not for mere prudence, respect for the citizens they serve, and the ability to do their jobs a bit better, police departments should at least offer training to fend off some potentially bad PR.
Why would they be given such training? It’s not like the motto of the police is “To Protect and Serve” or anything.
Yeah, I suggest cops get the same training as postal delivery people who manage to go through their entire lives without murdering a single dog. Maybe police departments could invite some postal workers in to to teach cops how to control their violent impulses.
Why Dave? They wouldn’t use the training if they had it.
The Mail deliverer’s job is to deliver the mail without getting injured or killing anything. He (Or she) needs to know how to deal with dogs.
The Cop’s job is to intimidate people and keep them in line. Can’t do that by being nice. The police have delivered the message loud and clear: They are not here to protect us or our property, they are here to service the Law and Order industry.
I thought they did their ‘dog training’ at the range 4 times a year…
More interesting numbers about cops in california.
http://www.theoakbook.com/MoreDetail.aspx?Aid=4025&CatId=8
fascinating link, Mattocracy.
‘One out of five people killed by law enforcement were in circumstances other than the commission of a crime or attacking an officer.’
my head almost exploded- there were 102 shootings for the year and 20% of the victims weren’t committing a crime or attacking an officer?! ALL of these fatal shootings in 2008 were deemed ‘justifiable’…
I believe that the Police training manual on dogs uses the same solution as the one in Gary Larson’s Far Side Veterinary textbook on horses: Shoot.
(I can’t find a link to the cartoon, dammit!)
Radley,
I was a police officer in New Hampshire for eleven years.
I found that when dealing with an aggressive dog, a neat trick is to take the “cartridge” off the X26 taser… and to fire it. The five second burst of electricity has a pitch that dogs hate and I found that it makes them run away.
I had a very vicious dog once charge at me. I was able to use this trick to make it back into a corner where I was then able to use a capture pole to secure the beast. Once on the end of the capture pole, I was able to safely walk it to a crate where it was locked for transport to the SPCA.
I dealt with many vicious dogs… there was never a reason to kill them. They’re animals… That’s how they’re supposed to act, wild.
What do you mean no training? I’m sure they are required to go to the range a certain number of times and qualify.
More interesting numbers about cops in california.
http://www.theoakbook.com/MoreDetail.aspx?Aid=4025&CatId=8
I love the way EVERYONE shot is described as “FELON”. Calling them victims or ‘shootees’ might elicit some sympathy, huh?
We all know DAMN WELL that if a cop shoots someone, and it’s even a bit iffy… he’ll say he was “Being attacked” or the um… ‘shootee’ was “resisting arrest”.
And even then, a full 20% of the shootings fall into neither category. What, are these the shootings where the guy was unarmed, shot in the back, and tied to a pole? Or are these cases like with Salvadore Culosi, who was gunned down ‘by accident’ in Virginia in 2006?
Oddly, they forgot to note how many of the people shot by cops were armed.
You know, if you stomp on people long enough, they will get pissed. How long before the more violent and desperate among us just decide to shoot first, risk being fucked over by a predatory Law Enforcement system later?
“If not for mere prudence, respect for the citizens they serve,”
Radley makes a joke!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> ‘One out of five people killed by law enforcement were in circumstances other than the commission of a crime or attacking an officer.’
You’re safer being raided by the Crips!
Qualified Immunity has got to be weakened. We need to be able to sue the Cowards, personally.
#6 and #12–this is another example of the double standard applying lower expectations (not higher) to cops than civilians. If cops shoot an innocent person they can claim they had to make a “split second decision” and “if I was wrong I’d be dead.” Add in the line about “putting my life on the line every day,” etc etc and they expect to be forgiven for gross negligence. But if the shoe is on the other foot and they break into your home at night without announcing themselves, we all know how it will turn out if you defend yourself against such a home invasion.
Great post, Bradley.
#13:
You forgot the old classic, used recently to taser an 86 year old woman who was bed-ridden and attached to an oxygen tank:
“She made an aggressive move towards me”.
One of these days, coppers, one of these days…….
Make them deliver pizza for a month. Whenever I go to the projects and knock I invariably hear,” Who is it!?” Never been bit yet.
I read a rundown of all the cops killed during a particular year-can’t remember specifics-but it seemed like about 20% were killed by their own weapons.
Here is the typical cop’s thinking,
“Listen up pissant, we are LEOs not mere civilians so STFU. Second, we are experts so we know what we are doing, and if it means shooting a dog or two…well STFU. In fact, I think I’m going to arrest you for disorderly conduct, no STFU before I shoot you.”
To serve and protect….
BTW read about one incident where cops tazered a bed ridden woman for taking an aggressive posture in her bed. I’ll see if I can find the story.
Here is the police report,
http://s3.amazonaws.com/content.newsok.com/documents/j25elreno0001.pdf
The report claims she had a knife that was hidden under her pillow.
The original story I read didn’t mention the knife.
http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/06/24/28330.htm
Having a knife does change the situation quite a bit.
“This is such an easy problem to fix. Beat cops are bound to come into contact with stray dogs, attack dogs, and family pets fairly regularly. If not for mere prudence, respect for the citizens they serve, and the ability to do their jobs a bit better, police departments should at least offer training to fend off some potentially bad PR.”
Respect for the citizens they serve! You have the relationship all backwards Radley.
And I’m confused, am I to understand that the “easy problem to fix” is educating cops about dogs — or keeping cops from killing dogs? These are two completely different things. Alas I fear that the only practical meaning is the former (see above).
#2 Dave Krueger: That was wickedly brutal and subtly elegant at the same time. I raise my glass to you, sir!