Columbia Heights police shoot tethered, restrained dog

Several children trespassed into a neighbor's yard (unknown whether this was front/back or if fence surrounded property, assuming not w/ the chaining) and began throwing rocks and other objects at a chained dog. At some point, one of the children got close enough to the dog for her to scratch and/or bite the child once on the stomach.

Police were called.

Police entered the property and approached the dog who acted aggressively. The police were able to catch-pole the dog. They then tasered the dog. Finally, even though she was secured on a chain and with a catch pole, officers shot her three time, killing her.


The dog's owner is suing. Meanwhile, the chief of police argues that shooting a chained, tasered dog was the only option available to the officers.

Clara City, Minnesota

A Minnesota police chief says he had to shoot and kill an 8-month-old puppy in its own front yard. The pit bull died early this week. Its owners and neighbors said it was gentle and wouldn't hurt anyone.

"I went up there and he said, 'I had no choice, your dog's vicious, tried to attack me,' [and I] said, 'You're a liar,'" said the dog's owner, Frank Chapman.

Chapman said Chief Ralph Bradley shot his dog for no reason. He said Bradley came into his yard and tried to coax the dog out into the street. When the dog did not go, Chapman says Bradley shot the dog in his yard and left its body there for all to see.

"The dog was laying over there by the flower bed. He shot him," said Anita Grossman.

Grossman witnessed the shooting. She said Bradley shot the dog twice with his shotgun and showed no remorse.

Bradley said he did fire three warning shots at the dog, named Diva, with his pistol. For 45 minutes, he says, he tried to think of ways to control the animal. He said he even used his Taser to try to distract the dog.

"I was close enough on the dog that it was in his face and then what I do is I pull the trigger and that sets off a current. In most cases, in fact in every case I've ever done that, the dog will turn and run. In this case the dog just became agitated," said Bradley.

Bradley admits to shooting the dog after it charged after him. He said the second shot was so the animal would not suffer.

Bradley says Chapman will be cited for not properly restraining his animal and for not having its rabies vaccinations. He says Chapman has 72 hours to remove the buried dog from the front yard.

Chapman said he plans to file a complaint with the city attorney, to get justice for his puppy.

http://wcco.com/pets/pit.bull.shot.2.1158455.html

University of Minnesota police kill loose dogs, flatten tires

The dog was running loose, trying to get away from University of Minnesota police who cornered it in a parking structure. No one reported the dog trying to eat people, just that he was running loose.



When the dog was cornered, an officer attempted to hit the dog with a taser. One of the nodes missed. He lunged at an officer, and another officer shot him multiple times.

Bullet fragments flattened tires.

St. Paul SWAT drug raid and across the pond

A SWAT team in St. Paul shot and killed three dogs during a drug raid. They knew the dogs were present. The fourth dog was confined and left unharmed.

A sad story out of England where two dogs were killed by police while defending their master's body. Their owner had died of natural causes. When paramedics arrived, the dogs were obviously agitated and felt threatened so they stood guard over their owner's body.. One dog was shot and killed instantly, the other ran away. When he was cornered, the dog was tasered and taken to a shelter. Shelter employees claim he was "too aggressive" and he was subsequently euthanized...even though the owner had a partner who would have taken the dog back.