Few cases illustrate so succinctly the double standard that exists between law enforcement and the general public as this one. Here's the basic summary. Police dog (German Shepherd) gets loose and wanders into a residential area, then traps a guy and his son in their car. Guy manages to get out and run into the house when the dog is focused on another part of the car. Comes back out with a loaded gun, and after the dog won't respond to his commands, shoot him once in the chest, killing him. Self-defense, and defense of a child to any normal human being and cops get away all the time with firing at dogs who are running away from them, let alone marching toward them. So, he gets convicted of animal cruelty and knowingly killing a police dog because he didn't take the chance that the dog was just confused or something.
Then you have on top of it the typical local government goons who show no sensitivity or tact in their handling of the situation:
City law director Dave Hackenberg said shortly after Flip was killed, he sent a bill to Mr. Whitman for more than $11,000 that the city paid for the dog. He said that under Ohio law, a person who shoots and kills a dog is responsible to pay for it.
"It's the statute," Mr. Hackenberg said. "I'm not saying, 'You shot our dog. You owe us.' The statute says if you shoot a dog you have to pay the value, pure and simple. We paid $11,000-plus for that dog trained. If we wanted to be real stinky about it, he's worth more than that now."
That this man, and apparently a number of people that work around him, is a jackass is self-evident. This is why I am so harsh on bureaucrats. There's no humanity here, nor any higher thought than "it's the law." So if it were the statute to condemn him to life in prison, would that be fair too, I wonder? It's nearly impossible to respect an institution that is thoroughly legalistic, so unappreciative of unpredictable, unfortunate circumstances and so merciless toward basic notions of justice. The man is facing a few years in prison. And you know what the best part is?
A pro football player donated a replacement police dog to help the local police department out.
Mmmm..."excessive force".
Not the 'bad' kind ;)
Most police dogs are taught commands in German. I'm not sure what "heel" is in German. But it might be worth looking up...
Also, saving only a few dozen dog specially trained for zero-g combat, the most effective way of immobilizing an attacking dog is to get him off his feet and into the air, on his back. The dog, in theory, should become immobilized without a place to put his feet.
Well that's just a dumbass idea, teaching the dogs their commands in a language that no one else is going to understand. Yes, yes I know they don't want criminals giving their dogs commands, but it's still stupid when you think that only a minority of people now know how to give the dogs commands, and a trained police dog isn't likely to obey them, even if he is trained with English commands.
And... WRT immobilizing the dog, I think you assume that these people either have hoist that they can use for the dog collar or telekinetic powers...
This is just shameless self promotion but what the heck.
I'm taking nominations for best and worst of 2006 in whatever categories you want to name. Leave your entry in the comments. I'll post the results on New Year's Day.
I hate dogs. They smell bad, they bark all the time, and oh, by the way, they disfigure or kill people every once in a while.
In Georgia, there's a leash law. Dogs are supposed to be in a fenced-in yard or on a leash. If a dog is running around loose, and gets too close to me, I have no problems with using violence against it. I kicked a dog once, and I've tried unsuccessfully to kick dogs a few times.
Instead of killing an uncontrolled police dog, perhaps tasing it or pepper spraying it would be the way to go, if kicking, punching, choking, or biting aren't practical.
Heh. While I'm not quite where you are WRT dogs, I understand the sentiment. I think this case is just one of those stupid cases gone awry. In most of the red states at least, you'd get away with shooting a police dog that wandered into your yard and was stalking you if you hadn't committed a drug crime or something. Doubly so if it were hanging menacingly around your car while your young child was trapped in there. It'd be pretty hard even here in Northern Virginia to get a jury willing to convict someone of a crime for that.
I've had some bad incidents myself with dogs. I can't stand how territorial some of them are. The one dog we had when I was growing up was a real prince among dogs. He had, as dogs go, the temperment and manners of a real statesman, which actually nearly creeped people out about him. Barely barked at anything, always carried himself in a dignified manner and never made a nuissance of himself. He even raised our first cat from a kitten to behave like that as well.
The closest thing to a dog I'd want right now is a cat like my mom's. He's as playful and friendly as a puppy, but is quiet and leaves you alone most of the time.
I was thinking that maybe Snoop Dogg could start a police dog charity and tour the nation for community service, promoting the charity.
It'd be fitting, after all, Ice T only plays cops on TV since "Cop Killer". Snoop dispense drug doggs to reform his image.
What on Earth makes you think that Snoop wants to reform his image?
The drunken words of a monk... be at peace with yourself and the world will find chaos in every move you make. Embrace the chaos and the world will be still and silent in every step you take.