Speakeasy forum: Texas cop shoots dog with little provocation.

As a former social worker who was called in many times by law enforcement to accompany the police to perform mental hygiene assessments at people's homes, I can say that I never saw a single incident where the sheriffs in question ever felt the need to shoot barking, loose dogs. Owner says dog don't bite? Most people are idiots who don't respect the fact that a dog is territorial if they think their dog won't bite.

So guess what. I have walked in your shoes. Now maybe it was just the fact that we were all working in a rural setting, and took it for granted that dogs were going to be loose, or maybe we were more concerned that the possibly unhinged citizen was violent and out to create havoc, and gave little thought to the dogs running a property.

Now... "I take exception to your last sentence, "and you can't do a damned thing about it"." Are you objecting to me being accurate or are you saying that there are things one can do to stop a cop from shooting your dog when the police come onto your property uninvited?

There was the incident a couple years ago where a small town California politicians house was mistakenly raided by a drug task force. The first thing the police did upon breaking into the man's house was shoot his dog. Then we have this case where the cop car tape shows the officer putting his hand on his gun before he steps off the sidewalk into the mans drive. A split second later a gunshot is heard. Admittedly the officer was given the wrong address, he even admits his confusion to the dispatcher. So, he walks onto a property he is unsure about even being the correct address and shoots a dog for being a dog.

... and there was not a damned thing the owners could have done to stop their dogs from being shot. Thank goodness that most police officers don't shoot dogs on sight, but if they want to, they can always claim they were being threatened... and there is not a damned thing a dog owner can do about it.

So where is your objection here, Coryphaeus? Are you saying I am wrong, or that I'm just being too hard on the officer from the tape? Because, I have to say that I don't think I'm wrong, and from you said in your post, you pretty much confirm the fact that a cop can shoot any dog they want to, based on the claim they thought the dog was dangerous.

to get their act together and get the addresses right before putting people at risk. Seems like a taser would be a more appropriate response. What would have happened if the owner had been running after the dog so he wouldn't get out and got between the cop and the dog and go shot. Would there still be just an apology?

Luckily, the cops in my town know that the dogs aren't aggressive. Mostly they just want to say hi and get petted.

Diana