Former Police Officer On Trial for Dog Shooting

Link to article

On August 23, 2011, the guardian of a German Shepherd named Shadow got into an argument with a woman at Trenton Greenbelt Trails. The woman proceeded to threaten retaliation against the dog.

On August 24, 2011, as the guardian of Shadow let him off-leash at the park to run, a vehicle pulled up and former police officer Anthony Randazzo emerged from the vehicle. Guess who was in the vehicle with him? The woman who had threatened Shadow's guardian the day before.

There is dispute as to whether Randazzo was 30' from Shadow or less when he shot the dog once, then a second time. The dog was rushed to a veterinarian but died from his injuries.

The officer is now facing felony animal cruelty charges and his gun license has been revoked.

Praze UK Police Shoot and Kill Dog

Date: July, 2011
Location: Praze, UK
Link to article

A dog described as a German Shepherd was shot and killed by police. The dog was running loose, worrying sheep, and menacing people.

Police claim they "came under attack". So obviously they shot and killed the dog.

Charleston Police Shoot Dog

June, 2011
Charleston, Rhode Island

An officer looking for a stray horse encountered a dog described as a German Shepherd. The dog was on his property and charged at the officer. The officer shot at the dog three times, hitting him twice and killing him. The officer was injured during a fall but will be okay.

The dog has a history of aggression and has bitten before. The owner of the dog also has been investigated multiple times regarding a draft horse in his custody.

The owner claims the dog was chained at the time of the shooting.

Passaic, NJ Police Shoot German Shepherd Instead of Waiting for Animal Control

Date: June, 2011
Location: Passaic, New Jersey

A loose German Shepherd was shot multiple times, but survived, after the dog was cornered and - like many dogs cornered - lunged at officers. The dog had not bitten anyone. The dog is expected to survive.

Charleston, SC Officer Kills Family Dog

Date: May 25, 2011
Location: Charleston, South Carolina

An officer responding to a dispute call at a home arrived to find one or more German Shepherds loose. According to the owner of the dogs, she asked the officer to wait while she put her dogs away. He got out of the vehicle and one of the dogs apparently charged. He shot the dog in the head, killing him. A veterinarian, not an expert on bullet trajectory, feels the shooting was not in mid-charge.

Erie Police Shoot and Kill Dog On Her Property

http://www.dailycamera.com/erie-news/ci_18058766?source=most_viewed

Erie, Colorado

May, 2011

Breed; German Shepherd

An officer in Erie, Colorado responding to a harassment call, entered the wrong side yard and ended up shooting and killing a 4-yr-old German Shepherd named Ava.

The dog growled. Obviously an epic danger.

November 2010: Canadian Police Use Taser to Subdue Dog

British Columbia

A dog described as a German Shepherd was apparently accidentally left at a gas station by his owner. The dog started wandering around and became agitated and aggressive, attacking/scratching several people. He bit an animal control officer as well. Instead of deploying lethal weapons, officers decided to use a taser and shocked the animal twice before subduing him. The owner then came back and, well, gee golly, they just handed the dog over to him.

Farmington police shoot dogs attacking suspect

This is a really sad story out of Farmington, New Mexico that may have still occurred even if the dogs owners had been home at the time.

Police were attempting to arrest a suspect after they found $100,000 worth of methamphetamine in his house. The suspect attempted to evade arrest by jumping into the neighbor's backyard.

Unfortunately, two territorial dogs lived at the house and were housed primarily in the backyard. They attacked the suspect but apparently did not attempt to attack police who followed. Police had to make a decision and ended up shooting the dogs, killing one and wounding the other.

The person arrested and his "drug gang" sold about 10lbs of meth weekly. At the very least, the dog stopped him from escaping.

Youngstown police massacre two dogs protecting puppies

In the first shooting, the dog had taken up residence in an abandoned home with her puppies. She had bitten one person who got too close to her litter. An animal control officer had spent seven days trying to capture her, to no avail. It is unclear what methods were used to try and catch the dog. When police arrived, the dog protected her puppies the only way she knew how, by trying to get the threat to go away. She charged at the officers and was shot twice. The puppies were confiscated.

The second shooting is far more disturbing. The dog and her mate lived near a junkyard and had attacked one of the employees there. Police were called. One dog was tranquilized but the other dog proved to be quite aggressive.

So the following happened:

• Dog was shot once, dog backed away from the threat and ran to hide from the officers
• Officers pursued injured mother dog, shooting her once while she lay under a shed.
• When the dog stood up, not aggressing, she was shot a second time, then third time.
• After shooting the dog four times, she officer shot her another two times until he was out of ammunition.
• The dog has now been shot six times. 
• The officer shoots the dog four more times. 
• At this point, the dog charges officers, trying to escape the shed.
• She crawled to hide underneath a patrol car.
• The officer either drove over the dog or managed to drive away, revealing the dog.
• So she could be shot another three times. 
• She finally died.

This dog was shot twelve times. And no, she was not a pit bull. The three puppies were confiscated.

Rutland police shoot chained dog

Rutland police were pursuing a suspect and were accompanied by a police dog. At some point, the K-9 handler encountered a chained dog. The dogs engaged in a fight. The officer pepper sprayed the chained dog and then shot the dog, killing him.

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.

Toronto officer shoots dog in head

A dog escaped from his yard after being frightened by thunder. The next day, he approached an officer and, according to the officer, the dog attacked. This attack was so severe that the officer was not injured at all. He so destabilized by this dog that he was able to pull out his weapon and fire three shots at the dog, with only one hitting the dog (the bullet lodged in the dog's head).

Then, this dog was so dangerous that he ran away screaming and was easily lured out by his owner and taken to a vet hospital where he was expected to recover.

Charleston County deputy shoots and kills dog

A dog was shot and killed after it charged at an officer. The dog had been running loose and police were called. The dog was back on its own property when the deputy approached. The owner was within feet of the dog.

Dog dragging chain shot to death

Weird story out of North Carolina where an emaciated stray dog dragging a chain was shot to death by a deputy after the dog bit a woman trying to help it.

It's weird because, well, there was a freaking chain that somebody could have grabbed and used to corral the dog. Instead, a deputy allowed a civilian to approach a loose, potentially aggressive dog, and when the frightened dog bit her once on the hand (with no canines, to boot!), the deputy shot the dog with a shotgun.

Yes, dog owners must be responsible (I doubt this dog's owner would have been responsible enough not to harm someone with a chia pet, let alone a dog). But police still need better methods of dealing with loose dogs than shooting them to death.

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.