What makes this particular case interesting is that the police department backed down when they found out that there was surveillance footage of the incident. Judging from the video, there was simply no good reason for the cop to shoot that dog, since the dog wasn't acting like he was trying to maul him, the cop had no official business on the private property, and had more than enough time to get back into his car and drive away to get directions elsewhere. In short, any reasonable person could conclude that this shooting was an unlawful use of a firearm in a residential area.
Footage like this really does make you wonder how many of the cases of cops shooting dogs that you see in the media aren't similar to this one. You'll often read about cases where it sounds a lot like the cops shoot the dog first, no matter what it's doing.
And yet when citizens are attacked by police dogs, and have the nerve to fight back with deadly force, you'd think they'd killed a human or something from the police reaction.
That cop could have just as easily used his pepper spray; like the owner in the video said, though, he probably just wanted to act tough for his ride-along passenger.
You have to feel sorry for a man who's gotta prove how tough he is by shooting a stranger's dog...
The cops wouldn't have done anything if it was a man because he never called the cops. I would have dialed 911 when I first walked out the door.
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