Kingsport officer shoots and kills one dog, conflicting reports

The "for sure" part is that officers were chasing suspects on foot. One officer ended up at the fence line of a property.

Here's where accounts differ:

Owner of the dog claims there was one dog, his. He claims that his dog was not acting aggressively and was approaching the officer in a curious, but non threatening manner. He says that the officer stepped back over the fence, drew his weapon and shot the dog dead.

The police officer claims there were three dogs and the "fence" was very low. The dogs charged aggressively, the officer drew his weapon and shot one of the dogs, killing him.

Anderson officer kills dog

A chained dog was shot and killed by an Anderson police officer. The dog had just been involved in an attack on a 6-yr-old child. The owner of the dog was drunk while walking the dog when he broke free from his leash and attacked the child. After another person beat the dog off, the woman was able to drag her dog to the backyard and chained him.

When officers were attempting to transfer the dog to animal control, the dog charged. The dog was chained. The dog was shot once in the head and killed.

Dog shot during arrest

A dog was shot and injured when he and a companion dog jumped out of the vehicle they were in and charged at an officer during an arrest. The dog was not killed nor did the dog bite the officer

Prince George County officers cleared in death of dogs

Officers who shot two dogs to death during a botched no-knock raid have been cleared of any wrongdoing.

Neither dog had been aggressive toward the officers - one dog was shot as he ran away in fear.

You can read more about the raid here. The victims, the mayor of Berwyn Heights (and his wife and mother in law), were cleared of any wrongdoing due to the fact that they hadn't done anything wrong. As part of a drug trafficking scheme, a package of drugs (that SWAT knew about) was left on the stoop of the mayor's home and, when she went to pick it up, moments later her home was raided and life changed.

I don't want to go over more details, except to make a comment on what Sheriff Jackson has to say:

"I'm sorry for the loss of their family pets," Jackson said. "But this is the unfortunate result of the scourge of drugs in our community. Lost in this whole incident was the criminal element. . . . In the sense that we kept these drugs from reaching our streets, this operation was a success."

Sheriff Jackson seems to be forgetting that the package containing drugs had already been intercepted by authorities. That is, police already knew about the package and what it contained. Already, the drugs were safe from public dispersal. The entire raid could have been prevented by confiscating the package and, I don't know, doing a bit of legwork in investigating the mayor...which would have shown he wasn't a drug trafficker.

Instead, police intercepted the package, allowed it to be put on the doorstep of this house, then allowed SWAT (a paramilitary group, people) to raid the home w/ a no-knock warrant. I mean, it's absolutely disingenuous to argue this case is a shining example of preventing the "criminal element" from distributing drugs. It's a shining example of what is wrong with the "drug war" and a disturbing story of how our rights to due process and privacy can so easily be trampled upon.

Atlanta city refuses to pay vet bills of shot dog

In October, while pursuing a suspect an officer entered the backyard of a homeowner without permission. In the backyard was a dog. The dog reacted in an appropriately dog-like manner by barking at the officer. The officer then shot the dog four times.

She survived and her owner has $5,000 in vet bills she would like the city of Atlanta to pay.

Through the mayor's office, the law department issued a statement saying that after reviewing the facts and the law, the officer did nothing wrong, so the city is not responsible for compensating Dummett for the vet bills.

Santa Rosa police kill dog with history of aggression

A dog that has a history of biting people and attacking animals was shot to death during a burglary investigation.

Hinds Community College guard kills dog

A student at Hinds Community College in Raymond, Mississippi permitted his dog off leash. The dog ran up to a golf cart being driven by an armed guard. The dog bit at the tires of the cart. The armed guard shot and killed the dog

Baltimore police kill dog during warrant, find nothing

Baltimore police were issued a warrant to search a house. In lieu of knocking, they kicked in the door and started shooting at a large dog in the house. The dog actually ran upstairs to avoid police where she was followed and shot several more times. The dog died. She was shot in front of screaming children and the homeowners.

The warrant was issued to try and find marijuana. Yes, pot. Maybe weapons.

Police completely trashed the house for nothing. No drugs. No weapons. Zero indication that these people were violating any laws.

Beside killing their pet, police left the police in shambles. It is unlikely the police department or city will reimburse this family for the damage - they *might* reimburse them for the destroyed door. It's doubtful that an apology will be issued....that might imply, you know, that police did something wrong (like breaking into a home w/o any drugs or weapons).

I mean, just imagine it -you're sitting at home with your kids, your dog by your feet. All of a sudden, armed invaders kick in your door. You pause, frightened and confused. Your dog jumps up, maybe barks in alarm. Your kids start crying. Then, before you can even ask a question, these armed intruders aim their weapons at your barking dog and shoot. More than that, they follow the frightened animal where she has tried to escape to nurse her bullet wounds and they continue to shoot her until dead. And they're the police, the ones who are supposed to be protecting you from bullet wounds and vandalism. Scary stuff.

Now, maybe I'm missing something here and these people are really crappy folks. I'd be surprised to find that out, though. I'd be especially surprised to learn that shooting a dog while she ran away is okay.

Phoenix police shoot and kill dog

Two dogs living in a former meth house and severely neglected got out of their house. Officers arrived at the house and one of the dogs charged. An officer discharged his weapon and killed the dog, the other dog ran into the home.

That is when officers found the house smelling of ammonia, floors covered in feces. HAZMAT was called in and it was discovered the house used to be a meth house.

The living dog was confiscated by animal control.

Sad ending for a dog who probably never got a chance for a normal, positive relationship with people.

St. Charles Parish officer shoots loose, aggressive dog

Here's a classic case of someone who should either not own a dog or who should really shape up and properly confine their dog. The dog is a 35-lb mixed breed who has gotten loose several times in the past few months. The dog has chased other dogs but not acted aggressively towards people. Neighbors say the dog is friendly, except one neighbor who called police (and has called police on several other dog owners).

Police arrived and approached the dog who did attack the pant leg of the dog. The officer attempted to get his taser out but couldn't, so he drew his gun and shot the dog in the face. The dog survived.

Fort Payne police officer shoots loose, biting dog

A dog normally chained got loose and ended up biting someone.

The dog bit a mailman once on the chest, which did break the skin.

When the officer arrived, the dog charged but did not bite. The officer fired twice at the dog, hitting him once (or twice). The wounded animal ran three blocks away where he was eventually caught by animal control and euthanized at the shelter.

Dougherty County officer cleared in dog shooting

Last week, a Dougherty County police officer shot a loose dog who had jumped up on him, clawing his leg. While the dog did not bite, he was acting aggressively and territorially.

The man attempted to beat the dog off with a flashlight, to no avail. The owner of the dog could not call him off. Of course, this makes me wonder why the owner didn't just walk over and yank the dog off...but maybe not the classiest of dog owners.

The officer then shot the dog once, causing the dog to run off...and apparently the dog was never found (again, classy dog owner).

Boise officer cleared in shooting of dog

In March, a Boise police officer shot and killed a dog. The dog was on its own property but loose. The dog did charge but did not bite the officer.

The owner of the dog filed a complaint and the officer was cleared in any wrongdoing.

Family of killed dog suing police

In May, a Kerman police officer shot and killed a family pet while investigating a "stolen skateboard" complaint (skateboard not stolen, it turns out). The dog was shot in the middle of a house with several family members present. The dog did growl at the officer but did not bite before being shot twice.

The family is now suing the officer and police department for what they feel was police misconduct, especially considering no charges were filed regarding the alleged stolen property.

Danville police kill 12-lb dog

A 12-lb, 12-yr-old dog was shot and killed by a Danville, VA police officer serving a warrant to a house in the dog owner's neighborhood. The dog was loose and ran aggressively at the officer. According to the officer, the dog bit him and so he shot the dog once, killing him.