Other State Texas Police Officer Trying To Shoot A Loose Dog Killed A Woman Instead

[The Heretic]

I agree.

Maybe add a curriculum to LEO training of having recruits encounter dogs with a psychological observation of them during these 'encounter' sessions.

It might be eye opening and potentially weed out some recruits.

Of course, this assumes that LE orgs and municipalities/etc. actually care what happens to dogs, and they likely feel that the probability of an innocent human getting shot in the process is low, so they would be better off just paying their liability insurance costs than to spend money on each and every recruit/candidate to see how they respond to dogs. Many have trouble enough finding candidates for the job so they may not want anything that would weed out the ones that might have a problem with dogs.

The feds? Yeah - they simply don't care IMO. Just try taking them to court for a shooting - see how far you get.

 

[awshoot]

This is a clear case of involuntary manslaughter as the officer was technically in the commission of a crime by discharging his firearm while not in the performance of his duties or protecting another human or himself.

He was, in effect, nothing more than a frightened person shooting at a non-threat.

Leaving all other issues aside, I did watch the video and it was a beefy dog charging the officer. I think there could be reasonable fear for his own safety there. On the other hand, marksmanship and backstop considerations went out the window with tragic consequences.

On a side note, the sound of the gunshots made the tog turn tail and run -- I know police carry a lot of stuff, but some kind of loud non-projectile-throwing popper could probably handle a lot of dogs, even the beefy ones who think they're badasses.

 

[RVTECH]

and it was a beefy dog charging the officer.

Yep - all of 40 pounds as was reported and the LEO never neutralized the threat - the dog ran off.

Bottom line ? - a 25 year old millennial afraid of his own shadow.

 

[CamoDeafie]

know police carry a lot of stuff, but some kind of loud non-projectile-throwing popper could probably handle a lot of dogs, even the beefy ones who think they're badasses.

Canned Air horns? I haven't met a dog who stayed around at the sound of one of these

 

[oneharmonic]

Most cops aren't different than most Americans, in the fact that they shouldn't be trusted with a firearm or with life or death decisions.

Here's a guy, who when confronted with a Beagle, decides to spray and pray with bystanders in the background.

 

[American123]

Having watched the video - the cop should never wear a badge again, except for possibly fast food name tags because that seems to be the extent of his skills.

This type of panicked response to a dog, even a large one, is absurd.

As others have noted, dogs bark, they also at times bite, however, the "real" threat from a dog is far less than the response they get from trigger happy cops.

 

[BrandonQuixote]

ATF drop out.

 

[Alexx1401]

Damn!! I watched it a couple times and am wondering if he skipped a round off the concrete that ended up hitting her. LEO certainly panicked and at best it is the end of his carer. Fully expect he may do time even. OC or a night stick should have been plenty to deal with one dog.

 

[bbbass]

This is a clear case of involuntary manslaughter as the officer was technically in the commission of a crime by discharging his firearm while not in the performance of his duties or protecting another human or himself.

Your initial statement.

Wow, just wow!

That said, even a police officer, especially a police officer, is responsible for every bullet that leaves the muzzle!

My response, indicating that while I disagree with the concept of holding officers criminally negligent for accidents, IMO he is nevertheless responsible for shooting an innocent bystander. Your next response quoting this sentence seems to not understand that I am still holding him responsible, just not criminally negligent.

What is it that in today's world everybody seems to want their pound of flesh. Arrest the cops, arrest the parents, arrest people for having accidents. What a sad bunch.

RVTECH understands the 'concept of responsibility' AND English very well and I think you are using this as a poorly worded response to circumnavigate the reality of this - or am I not 'understanding' the 'concept of responsibility or English' of it?

I'm not circumnavigating anything.

 

[bbbass]

IMO body cams are both boon and bane for LE officers. They show events that happened, but do not show perspective. *The lenses do not accurately depict what the human eye sees. Think "objects in the mirror are closer than they appear." Then people think that because they saw the vid, they can accurately airchair quarterback. And I am reminded of all the comments from antis "why didn't they just shoot the gun out of his hand, why didn't they shoot him in the leg, why didn't they tase him, why didn't they pepper spray him", all despite those being low percentage shots, or tactics that are successful maybe 50% of the time. AFAIK pepper spray doesn't always work on dogs, a taser doesn't even stand a chance, a boot kick can still result in a bite. IMO, that's risky tactics, and also should never be deployed w/o a backup officer that is ready to use deadly force.

I love dogs. I'm a dog lover. My Facebook postings are mostly dog related. I hate to see dogs get shot. However, I strongly disagree with the concept that a 40lb charging dog is not dangerous. If the standard to judge is what we have experienced in our lives personally, then I'll share this: I was bitten just under the kneecap by a pitbull that came running out of a neighbors house. Being a dog friendly guy, I bent to meet the dog the was running not really very fast or aggressively, thinking he was greeting me for a petting. He didn't look aggressive, even as he bit me, put his teeth thru my skin and meat. What I learned from that is that you can't always tell by dog behavior what they are going to do.

AFAIK, dog bites are dangerous. Always. A mid-sized dog can easily cause massive damage to muscles, tendons, and ligaments in extremeties (sp). Even a simple puncture can be limb threatening since the puncture wounds can be deep and hold bacteria. These types of wounds often wind up infected. Such injuries might cause one to miss work for an extended period, or even result in permanent damage.

IMO armchair QBs that put themselves in the shooter's place... as self defenders, we are not exposed to these risks repeatedly. Yet officers are placed in harms way on a consistent basis. Would they sign up for that if every accident or mistake is prosecuted as a criminal act? See, this is the attitude that I object to... It's NOT that I think LEOs should be held harmless in every way... it's that if they aren't right 100% of the time, people want them to go to jail. I read people that want parents in jail after a child is involved in a gun accident, or neighbors in jail for an accidental discharge that did not result in injury... it saddens me.

 

[awshoot]

... when confronted with a Beagle ...

Was it actually a beagle? It looked pit-bullish to me.

 

[bbbass]

Was it actually a beagle? It looked pit-bullish to me.

According to what I read, it was a Beagle/Labrador mix. IDK. Nevertheless, even a mid-sized dog like a full Beagle can cause a career ending injury.

* Body cams are not great at showing details and things like size and distance.

 

[solv3nt]

Three shots and the intended target was only grazed....?

 

[Alexx1401]

Three shots and the intended target was only grazed....?

Yep, panic fire. Now days so many LEO shootings end up on video. I have watched several that had me cringing. LEO's opening up on some kook in a populated area with people everywhere and so many damn misses. Every time I see one all I can think is where the hell did all those missed rounds go??? Seems like its often just dumb luck that this does not happen more often.
I know even a 40 pound dog is NOTHING to laugh off but, I have been charged before many times and not started to panic fire. Since he had time to get his gun out he had time to wait till dog was at a couple feet and fire point blank. Dog would have dropped right there. He opened up, this time he was not lucky enough to not hit anyone he was not shooting at. Being a Cop is NOT a job for just anyone. Sadly this is a great example of someone who did not have what it takes.

 

[American123]

IMO body cams are both boon and bane for LE officers. They show events that happened, but do not show perspective. *The lenses do not accurately depict what the human eye sees. Think "objects in the mirror are closer than they appear." Then people think that because they saw the vid, they can accurately airchair quarterback. And I am reminded of all the comments from antis "why didn't they just shoot the gun out of his hand, why didn't they shoot him in the leg, why didn't they tase him, why didn't they pepper spray him", all despite those being low percentage shots, or tactics that are successful maybe 50% of the time. AFAIK pepper spray doesn't always work on dogs, a taser doesn't even stand a chance, a boot kick can still result in a bite. IMO, that's risky tactics, and also should never be deployed w/o a backup officer that is ready to use deadly force.

I love dogs. I'm a dog lover. My Facebook postings are mostly dog related. I hate to see dogs get shot. However, I strongly disagree with the concept that a 40lb charging dog is not dangerous. If the standard to judge is what we have experienced in our lives personally, then I'll share this: I was bitten just under the kneecap by a pitbull that came running out of a neighbors house. Being a dog friendly guy, I bent to meet the dog the was running not really very fast or aggressively, thinking he was greeting me for a petting. He didn't look aggressive, even as he bit me, put his teeth thru my skin and meat. What I learned from that is that you can't always tell by dog behavior what they are going to do.

AFAIK, dog bites are dangerous. Always. A mid-sized dog can easily cause massive damage to muscles, tendons, and ligaments in extremeties (sp). Even a simple puncture can be limb threatening since the puncture wounds can be deep and hold bacteria. These types of wounds often wind up infected. Such injuries might cause one to miss work for an extended period, or even result in permanent damage.

IMO armchair QBs that put themselves in the shooter's place... as self defenders, we are not exposed to these risks repeatedly. Yet officers are placed in harms way on a consistent basis. Would they sign up for that if every accident or mistake is prosecuted as a criminal act? See, this is the attitude that I object to... It's NOT that I think LEOs should be held harmless in every way... it's that if they aren't right 100% of the time, people want them to go to jail. I read people that want parents in jail after a child is involved in a gun accident, or neighbors in jail for an accidental discharge that did not result in injury... it saddens me.

I don't like double standards for one group of people compared to another, regardless of the badge they wear.

If as a citizen is not supposed to go around cracking off rounds at dogs that are off leash barking at them, and obviously not then accidentally kill a woman by doing it, the same standard should apply regardless of the uniform.

 

[DirectDrive]

He was afraid, going in with his weapon drawn.
The call was probably about a vicious dog and he was going to shoot him a vicious dog.
I would have liked to see this officer use some spray on the dog instead of cutting loose with his pistol.

Some people get a fear of dogs when they are very young and can never shake it.
At the academy they need to train these guys and cut loose the ones that can't control their fear.