January 2011: Omaha Police Shoot Dog Who Attacked Officer

January, 2011

Omaha, Nebraska

Police were responding to a domestic disturbance call. When they knocked on the door, they were faced with an aggressive Dalmatian. They asked the woman to confine the dog, but she opened the door further.

The dog ran out and bit one of the officers, then attempted to bite another. One officer shot the dog in the hindquarters.

When the bitten officer declined treatment, officers and paramedics were kind enough to bring the Dalmatian out on the stretch and rush her to an emergency veterinarian who described the dog as fear-aggressive. A neighbor who witnessed the attack stated that the Dalmatian's behavior fits the dog, who has a history of reacting aggressively or in fear.

October 2010: Lincoln Police Officer Shoots barking Dog

Lincoln, Nebraska

A dog got out of a car and was outside a convenience store. An officer approached and the dog barked at him, "showing teeth". And thus, the logical response to a barking dog (which, by necessity, shows teeth) is to fatally shoot the dog.

Papillion shoot dog in empty house

Papillion police shot and killed a dog who was doing a dogly duty and protecting his territory. The police were serving a warrant for the dog owner's son. No one was home at the time. The landlord of the property asked police if they wanted her to unlock the door or take the keys. Instead, they used a battering ram to bash in a door, freaked out the dog and shot him twice.

When the owner of the dog arrived, it would be another hour before they released the still-breathing dog to him. By that point, it was too late and the dog died at the vet hospital.

The dog growled but did not bite anybody.

Omaha, Nebraska

Here's a creepy story out of Omaha, Nebraska (maybe they should look to restrict police officers, not pit bulls!) - four years ago, police officers entered the home of Colleen M. Carroll using a no-knock warrant. Even before opening a storm door, officers shot through the door, striking a 2-yr-old Labrador Retriever mix named Lucky, killing him. It is not an unreasonable "what-if" to ask what if a human in the house had walked by that storm door when these officers shot through it to shoot a non-aggressive dog?

Shooting dogs is nothing new to Omaha police - they've shot 39 since 2007.

According to court records, Officers Constance Garro and Mike Ashbrook, along with at least two unnamed officers, executed a no-knock search warrant at the Carroll home, 6568 Military Ave., on Nov. 18, 2004.

Carroll and Lucky Boy were in the living room at the time.

The lawsuit says officers, standing outside the home, had not announced their presence when one of them fired a shot that entered the house through a storm door and struck Lucky Boy. He died soon thereafter.

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=27

98&u_sid=10411117

The Omaha Humane Society is going to train police officers on how to handle dogs they encounter on calls.


Other stuff on this subject:

In November of 2007, an activist took out an ad in the newspaper warning residents their dog may get shot by police. Also in that article, it noted that there were only five dog deaths by police gunshot in 2005 (when Colleen's 2 year old Lab mix was shot to death). Five. Fast-forward to 2007-2008 and there are, what, 39?

Some of the more egregious Omaha Police Shootings (b/c I'll grant that, sometimes, the only recourse is to use lethal force on a highly dangerous animal). This doesn't include the Lab mix or the German Shepherd mix being shot to death (I couldn't fine news articles on them). I could only find news articles on a few of the cases, and those were the ones where dogs were erroneously identified as pit bulls. The damage is done when only one out of fifty news sources correctly identifies the dog (with pictures, to boot).

August, 2008: A dog incorrectly identified as a pit bull mix who was shot and killed by police. The dog, a Heeler/Boxer/mutt with vaccinations and apparently licensed acted aggressively when police entered the home w or w/o invitation (that part is disputed). The dog caused a minor laceration to one officer. The response? The six-year-old pet was shot to death. You can see clearly from the video, especially when they show a side angle of the dog, that he is a mutt - pure and simple.

June, 2008: A dog incorrectly identified as a pit bull was shot and killed by Omaha police on the dog's property. The police officer noticed that a Jeep on the dogs' property was not up to date. So, he unlocked and opened the gate and entered the property. Two dogs, a Boxer mix (Chewy) and a pit bull ran out toward him. The officer claims the dogs were acting aggressive, the owner disagrees. Regardless, the Boxer mix was shot twice and later euthanized b/c of the injuries. The pit bull was not harmed. Interestingly, the humane society actually issues citations for allowing dogs to run loose, even though the dogs were in a fully enclosed yard...on their owner's property. Mind-boggling.

November, 2007: A mixed breed (no, not a pit bull mix) was shot at three times, one of the bullets actually hit him in the head. One bullet lodged into the owner's vehicle, another into the neighbor's home. The officer entered the property without permission to investigate a stolen vehicle. Neighbors all claim the dog was friendly. The dog survived.

October, 2007: An off-duty Omaha police officer shoots a Husky three times until the dog died. The dog was running loose but was not actually acting aggressively. The shooter was safe inside his home when his wife called stating she was frightened of a dog outside of her car (i.e. she was safe in her car). Instead of contacting animal control, the man immediately grabbed his gun and shot the dog three times.

I'm glad Omaha police are receiving training on how to handle dogs. I'm sorry it has taken 39 dead and wounded dogs to do just that.