In the US a dog that works with the police has many protections legally.
In the US any other dog is merely property and the police kill them with impunity.
In the US when a police dog is euthanized there are lines of officers and police workers and first responders to show respect.
In the US any other dog is just leverage for the police to threaten.
It’s a fucking shihtzu, which are tiny. And this ones blind and deaf. Holy shit do we need drastic and violent police reform. Like fire 90% and completely retrain from the ground up. Not gonna happen though obviously.
“I thought it might have rabies” is a sentiment born out of fear and ignorance. Just like “the man was displaying unusual behavior” or “appeared to be on drugs”
Instead of hiring brave and smart people to be the police, it seems people who are not brave, and dumb, are hired so they have access to guns to protect themselves again whatever scares them, including innocent humans. Sad.
Well you don’t become a cop by exhibiting a never-ending wealth of knowledge.
This police department really gave a gun and a badge to someone who fears for his life encountering a 13-pound shih tsu.
If the people that become US cops aren’t already like that they break them to become like that during “training”. I highly recommend looking up the shit they say and show during police training in the US, it’s absolutely bonkers. They make them so scared of everything and fuck them up so badly that stuff like this is fully expected. So fucked up.
I picked out all the quotes I found most salient:
-
“Based on the behavior exhibited by the dog, believing the dog to be severely injured or infected with rabies, and as the officer feared being bitten and being infected with rabies, the SPD officer felt that his only option was to put the animal down,” a post on the City’s Facebook read.
-
“UNACCEPTABLE!!! Sturgeon Police force is seriously a joke,” one user wrote.
-
“This is a disgrace. The officer involved needs to be immediately removed from duty and charged with felony animal abuse."
-
“I pray the owner sues the city, the mayor, the officer and the department. I will be filing a complaint with the State Attorney General’s Office. The entire city council should resign after hiring this man.”
-
“What a disgusting and disappointing response to abuse of power and neglect of an animal,” wrote one person.
-
“If it’s ‘within his authority’ to shoot a dog who is not a clear threat to anyone then no person or animal is safe in our town. I am so beyond disappointed in this city,” said another.
-
“That dog was injured and confused, not rabid. He wasn’t even barking or being aggressive. He didn’t even yelp when the catch pole was put on him. I am just in shock over this.”
-
“If your officers are that afraid of a little dog wandering around… maybe, just maybe, they shouldn’t be police officers.”
-
“The officer was going strictly based off the fact that the dog walks with his head sideways due to him being deaf and blind,” he said.
Officials, after just four days, determined the officer was not wrong in his actions.
-
Moved to the police force sometime after an excessive force lawsuit when he was a correctional officer.
I’m not surprised. There’s all kinds of fucked up backstories like this once you start digging. There are very unhinged people out there who get warnings, get put on admin leave, maybe transferred. Very difficult to fire if local govt and unions are involved. And you bet your ass they protect each other because that means selfishly protecting themselves and the entire department.
When I first read this, I thought it said “police called to help shoot him dead” and I was like yeah, that’s why you would call the police, but why would you want him shot dead?
Genuinely why are headlines the least comprehendable English these days?
Because all the people who write headlines grew up learning how to read and write on the internet and social media. And the bosses they present their work to for scrutiny? Also learned to read and write while arguing with other middle schoolers online or role-playing terrible fan-fic erotica.
If I wanted to nail a nail slowly, I would grab a hammer. If I wanted it nailed fast and in a very shitty way with all sorts of metal fracture generating stresses, I would use a nail gun. But if I wanted it shot dead, I would call the cops because that’s what cops do.
Wait, nail guns are bad?
Nah. Nail guns are good 👍. They just, probably, work harden the nail head. Come to think of it, hammers probably do worse. Not only do they harden the head, but each blow is at a slightly different angle, this work cycling the material. That’s why screws are better… Better for the home owner, not the contractor who would need to spend more time on each screw.
Is a screw much better? It’s a lot larger. For example, I recently got a nail gun to secure a metal covering to a piece of wood. The nails are tiny/less visible (18 gauge). I can’t see an advantage to screws in my case
