Venting.

[Master Lucien Kane]

He did what was needed. He did not fire until the dog snapped at him. It doesn't matter what state, if a potentially dangerous dog attacks, it will be put down. It attacked an officer. If the officer hadn't shot it, it would have been taken to the pound and put down anyway.
Sad that it happened, but I blame the owner here. You can clearly see him taunting the officers. If he hadn't, then they wouldn't have tried to arrest him and the dog would never have thought that its owner needed protecting.

Without getting into a political discussion... Taunting officers isn't a crime. Shooting a dog that you have antagonized is.

[Tsurabisu]

Without getting into a political discussion... Taunting officers isn't a crime. Shooting a dog that you have antagonized is.

Actually, taunting a police officer is a crime. If you say something to an officer and they ask you to stop, and you don't, it's an arrestable offence. But the reason he was being arrested is for interfering with officers while they were trying to arrest two people who had just committed armed robbery. The man was accusing the officers of being racist, purposely playing his car stereo very loudly during negotiations with the robbery suspects after being repeatedly told to turn it off, and repeatedly approaching the officers and crime scene after he was told to stay away. It was not just a random incident where police just shot a dog. There were things leading up to this that were not on the video.
Also, Pepper spray may or may not work on a big dog and might just make it angry. Also, tasers DO NOT WORK on dogs like this.

(Warning, graphic)

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYEXdtC2UwA" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYEXdtC2UwA</a>

The dog in this video was able to get up while it was still being tased and run, breaking the wires that connect to the gun. Who's to say it wouldn't just come back and attack again?

The officer did what was needed to protect himself and those around him.

[ThreadJack]

The dog should have been subdued BEFORE the owner was arrested. Looking it in the car would have been a good idea. The man was not resisting arrest, he could have been aloud to lock his vehicle and close the windows, so the dog couldn't have escaped. Someone could have picked it up later along with the car, likely a family member.

[Darth_Arkanus]

The officer did what was needed to protect himself and those around him.

I love the way that some people will come up with anything to defend the Police! It's the same in the UK, and we have one of the worst, most corrupt, most trigger-happy and Draconian forces in the world!!!!

Also, the police here regularly get away with murder, and NOTHING is ever done about them.

It's pathetic!!!

[Master Lucien Kane]

I don't feel there's anything I can add to this without breaking forum rules, and offending some... So I am going to bow out of this discussion.

[Darth Severus]

Actually, taunting a police officer is a crime. If you say something to an officer and they ask you to stop, and you don't, it's an arrestable offence. But the reason he was being arrested is for interfering with officers while they were trying to arrest two people who had just committed armed robbery. The man was accusing the officers of being racist, purposely playing his car stereo very loudly during negotiations with the robbery suspects after being repeatedly told to turn it off, and repeatedly approaching the officers and crime scene after he was told to stay away. It was not just a random incident where police just shot a dog. There were things leading up to this that were not on the video.
Also, Pepper spray may or may not work on a big dog and might just make it angry. Also, tasers DO NOT WORK on dogs like this.

(Warning, graphic)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYEXdtC2UwA#ws

The dog in this video was able to get up while it was still being tased and run, breaking the wires that connect to the gun. Who's to say it wouldn't just come back and attack again?

The officer did what was needed to protect himself and those around him.

Yeah all dog's of that breed are dogs like this. Why we feel we can classify whole breeds as being one way or another is beyond me. As for the officer doing what was needed to protect himself and those around him. The only thing I can say with out getting to negative is he made a choice to kill the dog when he had multiple options. He made the choice not to attempt any of them instead he simply took out his gun and shot the dog.

What's worse I could walk outside and shoot my neighbors dog and in my county the fine for discharging a firearm is more then for killing the dog.

[TheHobbitofDune]

The dog should have been subdued BEFORE the owner was arrested. Looking it in the car would have been a good idea. The man was not resisting arrest, he could have been aloud to lock his vehicle and close the windows, so the dog couldn't have escaped. Someone could have picked it up later along with the car, likely a family member.

Exactly.

I don't feel there's anything I can add to this without breaking forum rules, and offending some... So I am going to bow out of this discussion.

Same here.

[ThreadJack]

I don't feel there's anything I can add to this without breaking forum rules, and offending some... So I am going to bow out of this discussion.

I only made that one statement for this very reason. I didn't want to be the one to say what Arkanus said, but it is true. Some will go to great lengths, and say whatever in order to defend the Police. That is why they are as bad as they are in some areas(That and people don't call them on it to begin with.)

This would be a great discussion, no doubt, but we can't take it any further without breaking the rules. So let's just leave it at that, and call it a day.

[Darth Abaddon]

Let me just throw something out there that nobody seems to have mentioned. You're standing there handcuffing a guy when a 100+lb dog comes running at you. You have subdued its owner, the alpha male. In other words... The dog sees you as a threat and is pissed. I have been attacked by a dog before. I've also seen police using excessive force before. If I was that cop in that same situation, I would have shot the dog too. You need to look at it from his view. He doesn't get to take a second look at the tape. He made the decision, only after the dog snapped at him, that he felt was his only one in my opinion. And no, I'm not the first to jump to the side of cops because they "serve and protect." I've watched this tape a few times, and in my eyes, the dog was ready to rip the officer limb from limb. I look at things from all sides before I make my opinion known. Ask TJ if you don't believe me. We have many political discussions and other similar talks.

Bottom line is, I think the officer was right. And had I been in the same situation, I would have put more than four rounds into a dog that easily weighs over 100lbs coming at me like that.

[Darth_Arkanus]

I apologise for my outburst, and hope that I haven't permanently offended anyone here.

I just live in a country where the police seem to act first and think later A LOT, and they are never publicly held accountable for those actions. There have been so many instances in recent years of inappropriate police behaviour in the UK that anyone with google, and a mind to look, will be aghast!

Again, I apologise for my inappropriate outburst here though.

[Jev Moldara]

I apologise for my outburst, and hope that I haven't permanently offended anyone here.

I just live in a country where the police seem to act first and think later A LOT, and they are never publicly held accountable for those actions. There have been so many instances in recent years of inappropriate police behaviour in the UK that anyone with google, and a mind to look, will be aghast!

Again, I apologise for my inappropriate outburst here though.

It's not a big deal... The LAPD is notorious for bad judgment calls, but in this instance the cop tried to reasonably restrain the dog before he shot it.

[Master Lucien Kane]

Let me just throw something out there that nobody seems to have mentioned. You're standing there handcuffing a guy when a 100+lb dog comes running at you. You have subdued its owner, the alpha male. In other words... The dog sees you as a threat and is pissed. I have been attacked by a dog before. I've also seen police using excessive force before. If I was that cop in that same situation, I would have shot the dog too. You need to look at it from his view. He doesn't get to take a second look at the tape. He made the decision, only after the dog snapped at him, that he felt was his only one in my opinion. And no, I'm not the first to jump to the side of cops because they "serve and protect." I've watched this tape a few times, and in my eyes, the dog was ready to rip the officer limb from limb. I look at things from all sides before I make my opinion known. Ask TJ if you don't believe me. We have many political discussions and other similar talks.

Bottom line is, I think the officer was right. And had I been in the same situation, I would have put more than four rounds into a dog that easily weighs over 100lbs coming at me like that.

Now that I've had a chance to cool off.

Would you have shot the dog if you had a taser? A baton? Pepper spray?

If a gun was my only option I would have shot the dog too, however that officer had several options at his disposal, many of them non lethal.

Dogs aren't stupid, if they are outmatched they will back down. A shot from a taser or a smack to a meaty portion with the baton would have been well enough to stop the attack.

These guys have been TRAINED to deal with this stuff. A dog in the grand scheme of things is not a threat. As someone who has spent a lot of time with dogs I can tell you with certainty. That Officer's life was not in danger. Watch police attack dogs, they get loosed on the public all the time. They dont kill the person, they might injure them, but they don't kill. It would actually take a pretty good bit of effort on that dog's part to take down a grown man. If there had been two or three dogs I'd give you that, a pack of dogs is pretty formidable, but I am confident in my ability to defend myself against ONE Rottweiler, even bare handed. I might get jacked up if I had to do it that way, but all you have to do is think and demonstrate the fact that we are smarter than these animals. This jack hole shot the dog without giving any sort of opportunity for the dog to calm down. The dog and his owner were both operating in completely rational manners. The officers created an escalated situation and then started man handling the owner which really stressed the dog. All that had to happen here was just let the guy go real quick and let him take care of his pooch. Instead what I saw was a brutal execution.

This was excessive force in every respect. The arrest shouldn't have happened, the killing of the man's dog shouldn't have happened.

Here's a great question to think about. If that cop would have known there was another camera filming him, do you think he would have shot the dog the way he did?

[Darth_Arkanus]

Now that I've had a chance to cool off.

Would you have shot the dog if you had a taser? A baton? Pepper spray?

If a gun was my only option I would have shot the dog too, however that officer had several options at his disposal, many of them non lethal.

Dogs aren't stupid, if they are outmatched they will back down. A shot from a taser or a smack to a meaty portion with the baton would have been well enough to stop the attack.

These guys have been TRAINED to deal with this stuff. A dog in the grand scheme of things is not a threat. As someone who has spent a lot of time with dogs I can tell you with certainty. That Officer's life was not in danger. Watch police attack dogs, they get loosed on the public all the time. They dont kill the person, they might injure them, but they don't kill. It would actually take a pretty good bit of effort on that dog's part to take down a grown man. If there had been two or three dogs I'd give you that, a pack of dogs is pretty formidable, but I am confident in my ability to defend myself against ONE Rottweiler, even bare handed. I might get jacked up if I had to do it that way, but all you have to do is think and demonstrate the fact that we are smarter than these animals. This jack hole shot the dog without giving any sort of opportunity for the dog to calm down. The dog and his owner were both operating in completely rational manners. The officers created an escalated situation and then started man handling the owner which really stressed the dog. All that had to happen here was just let the guy go real quick and let him take care of his pooch. Instead what I saw was a brutal execution.

This was excessive force in every respect. The arrest shouldn't have happened, the killing of the man's dog shouldn't have happened.

Here's a great question to think about. If that cop would have known there was another camera filming him, do you think he would have shot the dog the way he did?

I agree with every WORD here (as another lot time dog owner of LARGE AGGRESSIVE DOGS! German Shepherds, which are the police attack dog of choice!)

I know from my own experience that you can outmatch a dog, and it WILL back down. This killing was a senseless ego trip for the cop involved, and I would really hope he's held to account; though I doubt it.

On the issue of the other camera, I've seen what british cops do in that situation, they intimidate the cameraman and confiscate the equipment; vowing to "return it" later; minus the incriminating footage no doubt. I wonder if the troop wagon's camera miraculously developed "technical difficulties" on the way back to the station?

[BenPass]

I will preface this by saying that I haven't watched the video. I don't want to see a dog being killed, right or wrong.

That said, there are many different ways of stopping an attacking dog. I'm a dog lover, but I'm had people sic dogs on me, and had loose dogs attack me before. Never once have I had to resort to lethal force, or even force that would seriously hurt the dog. Without going into details, it is easy to stop a dog...especially one that isn't a trained K-9 Unit.

All THAT said, I think we're getting off the topic of healthy venting, and are getting into a very specific side conversation. So, in the interest of getting back on topic, here is my vent:

I hate being sick. I know that no one enjoys it, but I really hate how foggy my brain gets when I'm sick. I can barely keep my attention on one thing for more than...SQUIRREL! More than a couple of minutes.

[JEStucker]

I'm still job hunting...

Oh, and the doctor says I can't drive until I see him again on July 9th.  Have to do seated duty at work, which means, as  a field service tech, they can't accommodate the restrictions, so I'm sitting at home doing a whole lot of nothing.

They did get rid of the ace bandage wrap though and got me some sort of airboot thingy I'm wearing.  It's pretty comfy except when my leg sweats, so I have to wear a sock under it all the time.