Comments on: Jury Awards Big Damages for Puppycide

By: fwb

fwb — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:15:18 +0000

Eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth.

By: varmintito

varmintito — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 21:22:21 +0000

This is a rare instance of the system working properly. The victims get vindication, and the award is big enough that it might result in badly needed policy changes.

By: Goober

Goober — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 14:15:06 +0000

I wonder if I can go trespass on someone’s property, shoot their dog, and get away with it.

No?

Huh. Imagine that.

By: DavidST

DavidST — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 17:12:51 +0000

For those saying this won’t have an affect because no one is going to miss 620 K from the budget, you’re insane and don’t know anything about budgets, particularly now as budgets are stretched thin in most places. There will be an immediate review initiated from the top on how to make sure this kind of lawsuit doesn’t happen again. Cops that shoot dogs except as a last resort will get into shit for it… maybe not nearly as much as they deserve, but there will be pressure for things to change in that locality at least. From there it will spread. More lawsuits are needed in other places to speed things along.

By: johnl

johnl — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 16:14:24 +0000

22 is right. It’s the taxpayers who are the real villans here.

By: Classical Values » “police officers will gun down your dog”

Classical Values » “police officers will gun down your dog” — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 14:09:05 +0000

[...] When police in Taneytown, Maryland came to a house to search for a man who wasn’t there, they shot the family dog owned by the man’s parents. Awarding the couple $620,000, the jury found that the police [...]

By: Jamessir Bensonmum

Jamessir Bensonmum — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 05:45:00 +0000

Comment #12 is right. Just don’t answer questions. The cowards involved in this shooting make me sick. These same types of law “men” are the ones who pepper spray and taser people who are handcuffed, hogtied, or strapped down in those damn chairs.

About taxpayers footing the bill – they should foot the bill. If they are idly sitting by while their civil servants go around violating the rights of others then let ‘em pay. Maybe eventually society will get fed up with this crap.

By: CyniCAl

CyniCAl — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 04:51:26 +0000

@#20, your comment is funnier if I read it in Andy Rooney’s voice.

@#19, the penalty should be: shoot a dog, the owner gets your armored personnel carrier.

By: The Late Andy Rooney

The Late Andy Rooney — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 02:58:11 +0000

@16

According to the linked article, a Michael Vick Philadelphia Eagles jersey was among the items seized from the house. Even in souvenir form, his presence doesn’t seem to bode well for dogs.

By: LJB

LJB — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 01:41:16 +0000

They should enact a law that in suits like this, the award for damages comes out of the police force’s budget; that would make them sit up and take notice!

By: LJB

LJB — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 01:38:21 +0000

They should enact a law that in suits like this, the awards comes out of the police force’s budget; that would make them sit up and take notice!

By: CyniCAl

CyniCAl — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 00:40:51 +0000

Here’s a more cheery story of a local dog being saved from a fire:

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display_Comments.htm?section=a1&storyID=133959#postComments

One of the comments reads: “Just by the headline of the article, you knew it wasn’t going to be Deputy Timothy Brooks.”

Bazinga!!! That’s gonna leave a mark.

By: CyniCAl

CyniCAl — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 00:37:11 +0000

I found the answer to everyone’s question right on the Frederick News Post website.

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?StoryID=133907

The answer is: business as usual.

Congratulations to all Agitatortots who guessed the correct answer.

By: marco73

marco73 — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 00:17:29 +0000

The jury found the deputy’s actions “grossly negligent” and “malicious.” They should have also added “stupid” and “reckless.”

The deputy/shooter’s own testimony certainly sounded like this guy should never carry a gun again. He only had a “split second” before killing the dog.
He doesn’t know if there are any other people near the dog, he just blazes away.

From the article, the Sheriff states that insurance will pay the verdict amount.

The Sheriff’s last line is the best: “These guys were just doing their jobs.”

Translation: any resident of Maryland, if the cops come to your door, be prepared for them to shoot the dogs and ask questions later.

By: derfel cadarn

derfel cadarn — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 23:50:55 +0000

The real issue here is that the taxpayers will foot the bill. According to testimony the taxpayers were not involved in the shooting. It is deputies Moe and Larry that caused the loss yet they will receive no sanction. Both of these stooges should be fired for reckless endangerment and their law enforcement accreditation be revoked.

By: Jerryskids

Jerryskids — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 23:24:15 +0000

Mayhaps this has been covered before, but….the utility worker….the phone guy….the FedEx person….the cable guy…..these people come in contact with people’s dogs at a far higher rate than cops.

And, when was the last time they blew away Phideaux?
Dogs can sense the difference between "Good Man" and "Bad Man". They will defend their territory against a "Bad Man".

FWIW – I have done HVAC service work for many years and only had a problem with a dog 3 times. One was one I didn't realize until I got between her and her master that she was about 20 years old and blind and deaf and couldn't smell. She didn't know I was there until I practically stepped on her. The second was one where the owner was yelling at the dog to stop barking at me and trapped the dog between me and himself even as I kept trying to tell him it was okay, the dog wasn't going to attack me. That was an ignorant dog owner. The third one was the funniest – I had to charge up a new unit after the homeowner moved in and had the power turned on. Nobody was home when I got there but since I could charge the unit from outside, I went ahead and did so while their Doberman spent the whole time snarling and yapping at me but only from a safe distance so I knew he was no threat. It wasn't until after I wrote them a note to let them know I had been there and walked around the house to stick it on the front door that I saw the sign by the driveway "Warning – Trained Attack Dog – Do Not Exit Your Vehicle". The homeowners were pretty pissed at that dog.

By: Mannie

Mannie — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 22:30:35 +0000

the Jenkinses knew their son sometimes sneaked back in the house, and that Roger Jenkins was being honest when he told them he wasn’t sure if his son was home.

That would have been the only sane thing to say, since the police would certainly have persecuted [sic] if Jenkins had been mistaken. Never say anything substantive to the cops.

By: AlgerHiss

AlgerHiss — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 22:28:35 +0000

And, when was the last time they blew away Phideaux?

By: Burgers Allday

Burgers Allday — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 20:48:53 +0000

Sounds like a case of heroic lawyering.

By: Mario

Mario — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 20:28:49 +0000

But Hansel said the Jenkinses knew their son sometimes sneaked back in the house, and that Roger Jenkins was being honest when he told them he wasn’t sure if his son was home.

Had Mr. Jenkins told the officers his son wasn’t home and honestly had been mistaken about that fact, I’m pretty sure the D.A.’s office would be prosecuting him for “lying” to the police.