Federal officer shoots dog in dog park

[LibertyLover]

As a resident and user of dog parks in Anne Arundel County and someone who is owned by a Siberian Husky, I was disturbed by this article. It seems that a Federal officer and his wife took their German Shepherd to an Anne Arundel County, Maryland dog park. A young Siberian Husky came up and started to play with the German Shepherd. For those of you who don't know huskies, they do have a boisterous play style and can be very vocal when playing. The Federal officer asked the person with the Siberian Husky, his owner's brother, to remove the dog, but before he could comply, the officer took out his gun and shot the husky. The article does not indicate how many other people may have been in the dog park at the time, but if it's anything like the park near my home, there were certainly other people and their dogs there. The Anne Arundel County Police Department has declined to prosecute the Federal officer, declined to name him and declined to give a reason for the non-prosecution. I'll be writing a letter to the AACPD about this.


http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/anne-arundel/bs-md-ar-dog-fight-shooting-20100803,0,7786058.story

[AspenRose]

1. !

:wtf: :wow: :mad: :nuke:

[joeybee12]

2. That officer is a worthless POS...

Try a civil case if the police are once more covering for one of their own.

[sinkingfeeling]

3. I certainly hope the owner of the Husky sues.

[SammyWinstonJack]

4. ...

:grr:

[Iggo]

5. Yay, Cops!

They're the best!

[Rebubula]

6. For the Record...

...I am one of the people that will try and give cops the benefit of the doubt in many situations.

However...what the fuck??? Shooting a dog in a dog park??

This cop needs to be put down himself.

[SammyWinstonJack]

7. +1

[LWolf]

8. I hope the shooter is held accountable.

:grr:

I've never been to a dog park. I've often wondered how dog owners keep the piece, if dogs want to fight. To be honest, I haven't seen any dog fights since I was a kid, and those were always between intact males, except for the time the neighbor's malamute attacked our shepherd malamute cross when we were unloading him from the car after having him neutered.

My dog is highly territorial, and while she loves to play with other dogs, she's been known to growl and "push" them back if they try to approach me. Her territorial instincts and herding instincts would prevent me from taking her to a dog park; she simply hasn't been conditioned for that much over-stimulation. She has enough room to exercise and play on our 6 acres, and on the miles of public land we hike and ride on at our southern boundary.

Still, what are the protocols for dog behavior and management at a dog park? I'm sure they don't include shooting the other dogs.

[Subdivisions]

18. No charges are being filed, according to the linked article. n/t

[undeterred]

31. My dog plays hard, like a husky

but it very seldom escalates into an actual "fight". Most of the time when dogs get into a fight it resolves itself without either dog having so much as a scratch. There can be a lot of noise and fur flying but 2 minutes later they have forgotten about it. The owners stay mad much longer. The police will not get involved in a dog park situation unless a dog has bitten a person, and even then they call animal control to deal with the animal. Police do not deal with pets, just with owners.

If a dog is dog-aggressive, usually the regular dog park dog owners tell the owner of the aggressive dog not to bring it back to the park. If a person hears that from enough different people they usually don't come back. There are social controls, depending on the park.

[Angry Dragon]

9. I am not allowed to say on this board what I would do

with this poor excuse of a sub-human

[hlthe2b]

10. So all those folks who think everyone should conceal carry...

does this behavior not strike a bit of fear in you? If a Fed cop can get by with this, do folks not realize it is open season for any jerk with a gun to do as they please? I am stricken to the core by this, dismayed, and frightened.

[Ex Lurker]

41. frankly, concealed carry holders have a better record than cops

you rarely hear of a civilian with a CC license doing something like this. Cops do it with a frequency. I'm beginning to think we should disarm the police and let civilians go around armed.

[hlthe2b]

11. I have a request for anyone in the area who will follow this story..

Can you both post any updates that suggest this cop is going to be held accountable and perhaps pm me if you don't mind, since I'm not always on DU as frequently as in the past? I would greatly appreciate it.

[LibertyLover]

13. I'll do my best.

I both live in Anne Arundel County, MD, where the incident took place, have a Siberian Husky and use the dog park near my home, which is not the one at which this incident took place. If I see anything more, I'll try to let you know.

[hlthe2b]

14. thank you, LL... I'd really appreciate it.

This story angers me, but also breaks my heart. :cry:

[AspenRose]

16. Leopold is demanding an investigation

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/features/mutts/blog/2010/08/county_executive_demands_inves.html

[get the red out]

12. I would have probably gotten myself killed

If it had been my dog I would have probably been shot too, I would have lost it and gone running at the guy.

Dear God, he owned a German Shepherd, not a Pomeranian; it wasn't big playful dog on little fragile dog.

[TorchTheWitch]

24. regardless of the size of your dog you don't want to see it in a fight

with another dog out of fear of what may happen to your beloved pet. I have an Akita, and though it's likely that he would have the upper hand in a dog fight I would never tolerate someone else's dog attacking mine for fear he would be hurt (even large dogs have vulerable places like eyes, noses and ears that can be severely damaged) and I would be much more afraid for him were he to be attacked by a dog his own or close to his own size. Nobody wants their dog be in a position to get hurt.

I don't know if the dogs were actually fighting or playing, but that's not really the point. If the play is so rough that it appears to be fighting (and rough playing is mock battling which doesn't look all that different than fighting) and the owner of one of the dogs wants it to stop, that's perfectly legitimate. I can understand why this off duty cop wanted the rough play or fight (whatever it was) to stop, but the manner in which he did so is totally inexcusable. Discharging a firearm at a moving target in a park filled with people and other dogs is absolutely outrageous, and of all the people to know how inexcusabley dangerous it is would be a cop. If his excuse is that he was close enough to the moving dogs in a clinch performing their play or fight to reasonably be assured that not only would he not miss the target dog and hit his own by mistake or hit neither and the shot risk hurting or killing someone else or their dog, than he was certainly close enough to stop the fight or play in a reasonable manner.

[get the red out]

26. Incredibly dangerous

It was incredibly dangerous. And no, no one wants to see their dog in a fight, but his dog wasn't in an immediately life threatening situation (as could have been with a very tiny dog) so one would hope he would try other means to stop the rough play or fight before shooting the other dog. He had no regard for the other animal or those who loved it at all.

[undeterred]

32. The proper way to stop a dog fight is by grabbing the hind legs

of both dogs and pulling them apart. Once they are off balance they can no longer bite. Grabbing the collar can also work, but it makes you more likely to get bit in the heat of the moment.

Breaking up a dogfight with a gunshot is just totally unnecessary.

[jayfish]

15. "no charges will be filed and investigators found no evidence of criminal activity."

Oh, I dunno. How about unlawful discharge of a firearm, reckless endangerment and animal cruelty for starters. I'm sure if they try real hard they can come up with a litany of charges. Just like they would do for any other Tom, Dick or Harry. Utter BS!

FSH

[Subdivisions]

19. So people are just allowed to discharge firearms in a dog park? n/t

[Dogtown]

25. Only cops.

Because the Code of Silence protects them.

[Subdivisions]

17. Who's the fucking cop? That article doesn't include the piece of shit's name. n/t

[LibertyLover]

20. The Anne Arundel County Police Department

has declined to identify the Federal officer involved. However, my husband who is home today, was watching Baltimore news at noon and sent me an e-mail saying that the people who the husky belonged to know the individual and will post his name in the community. Also, the County Executive is calling for an investigation.

[jberryhill]

21. I didn't even know Huskies were in season

....they must start early in Maryland.

[The Backlash Cometh]

22. They protect their own.

Shameful.

[hamsterjill]

23. Completely disgusting

The killing of the dog saddens me and breaks my heart. It certainly didn't have to end this way.

Having said that, this police officer needs to be investigated thoroughly. He sounds to me like some power-hungry cop with some serious anger management issues. To pull a weapon and fire it in a community setting wreaks of extreme, uncontrollable anger. And those types don't need to be carrying guns legally.

I support the work that legitimate police officers do. In my own community, they are over-worked and underpaid. But just like any profession, they have the bad apples, and those bad apples need to be weeded out before they cause further harm.

[27inCali]

27. No one trusts cops anymore

I wonder why..........


the funny thing being, after a while, people will start attacking cops over shit like this, and a lot good cops, who are doing their jobs right and respecting the public's trust will be hurt too along with the asshole cowboys.

maybe the good cops need to start speaking up and letting the fuck ups know that this kind of behavior is simple not going to be tolerated -if they don't have the guts and dignity to that, well then, they will be putting themselves at risk too.

[sendero]

39. That's exactly the problem..

... when bad cops fuck up the good ones circle the wagons.

Which, in effect, makes them all bad cops.

[misanthrope]

40. Yep, the same is true of those in any position...

...that bears some of the public trust: journalists, politicians, military, et al.

[City Lights]

28. Sickening!

:wtf: is wrong with that Federal asswipe?

[Tsiyu]

29. if he's big and badass enough

to pull out his Big Gun and shoot someone else's beloved pet IN A DOG PARK for FSM sake, he ought to be big and badass enough to let us know who he is.

Fucking coward with a badge is all this dude is. Speaks volumes about the parallel law enforcement we've got going in this country, because if YOU OR I did such a thing we couldn't even go our bail.

Federal cop? Just do whatever the fuck you want to do....no justice. No problem.




Poor doggie and dog owner...

[undeterred]

30. Officer gunslinger deserves to be shot in the spine in front of his family

and spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

Which is not as bad as what he did to an innocent animal.

[northernlights]

33. they've re-opened the investigation

due to massive complaints, plus an eye witness turned up, plus the fact that the german shephard had no marks indicating the husky in any way had attacked him.

Hopefully the off-duty cop will be off-duty for good. He has no business owning or handling a gun.

And quite frankly, the german shephard should be taken away and he should be banned from owning or caring for any animals. He is too ignorant of normal dog behavior and obvious not a dog lover.

Sickening. Just sickening.

[Ignis]

35. Great to hear! Have an updated link for more info?

I can't believe the department's initial response to this incident. :puke:

[northernlights]

36. Police launch investigation into federal officer who shot animal at dog park in Severn

http://www.abc2news.com/dpp/news/region/anne_arundel_county_/32-year-old-federal-police-officer-shoots-and-kills-police-dog

Apparently the bullet pierced multiple internal organs. The vets had to euthanize BearBear. :cry:

Also, in another article, BearBears person says she has the killer's name and plans to post information around the neighborhood so people can protect themselves, their dogs and their children from him.

"Anne Arundel County Police dismissed the shooting until County Executive John Leopold stepped in demanding an investigation.

"I'm a dog owner. I have a black lab named 'Dora'. I would be outraged, deeply saddened, if this happened to my dog," said Leopold.


"All I heard was like dogs going like, "Rrrrrrrrrr". When I turned around, I guess the dog owner, the cop, he didn't try to stop the dog. He just said, "Stop!" one time and then "Pow!"---shot the dog," said Steffon Nelson of Severn.

It also appears a number of children looked on as the fatal shot echoed through the park taking Bear Bear’s life."

[Ignis]

37. Thanks so much!

Those statements from friends/neighbors who knew Bear-Bear are so sad. :(

And I'm very interested in hearing how close the two dogs were to any other human being when this wacko pulled his sidearm and fired. How close were the children who watched?

[northernlights]

38. I have no idea

but now that there are witnesses, including children, and since BearBear's person plans to put his name out there, they won't be able to bury this.

The wacko does not belong in law enforcement, has no business having a gun and quite frankly, his dog should be placed in a proper home with somebody who loves and knows dogs.

[northernlights]

34. another thing...if I were in that area

I'd get a picture of the cop who murdered Bear-Bear and post it in all the local dog parks, so that people can get there dogs out of any parks he shows up at. It's a matter of personal safety. If law enforcement thinks its ok for murderous out of control assholes to bring guns to dog parks and murder dogs, then you need to protect yourselves from the murderous assholes with guns. x( x( x(

Seriously, we've had dog owners with aggressive dogs that they didn't control their dogs, and dog owners who were themselves obnoxious or their children out of control in the dog park I used to frequent. When they showed up and started to misbehave, everybody else would pack up and leave, and basically ostracize the offenders til they got the message and stopped coming back.

Of course, they are apparently protecting the identity of the dog-killer, but enough people know who the fucker is to be able to get his picture posted.