Police shot family dog as they were pulled over, did anyone see it on the Today show?

[The Mystery Machine]

A policeman shot a family dog while a family was pulled over on the side of the road. Now I only saw the blurb of the police video from his car (caught on tape!) they (Today show) kept playing it but I never found out the whole story.
Right now I am horrified at it.
Did anyone see it and what was the whole story???

 

[shep]

I heard about it...
I think the guy got distracted when someone asked about his dog when they were pumping gas and he left his wallet on top of the car and he drove away with it up there and I think someone reported seeing it and maybe they thought the car was stolen, so when the guy was pulled over he didn't have his wallet and they put everyone in the squad car and left the car door open and the dog came out and they automatically assumed they were threatened and shot it....
I think there was a puppy also, but don't think it got shot....

Is this the story???

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I guess so. I didn't here any of the story just saw the video.
Thanks shep...

 

[JAP]

That is the one. It was a horrible site. The whole family jumped when the officer shot the dog with a SHOTGUN!!! It was a small dog too. The whole thing was a huge misunderstanding.

I feel really bad for the family. I appears to me that the police overreacted.

 

[olena]

I remember hearing about it a few days ago. From the way the story sounded, I knew that wouldn't be the end of it. Then the video footage was released. Very sad....

 

[Towncrier]

I do not envy police officers. Every situation that they enter into is potentially hazardous. This story is a prime example. In retrospect, the officer with the shotgun probably overreacted. But at the time, I'm certain that tensions were very high. I imagine that the officers on scene were just as scared as the occupants of the automobile. We sometimes forget that police officers are only human.

Put yourself in the officers' position for a minute. You don't know who is in the car. You don't know whether the folks are guilty or not. It's dark. Your heart is going a mile a minute. The people in the car keep trying to get you to close the car door (which by the way the 17yo left open when he got out of the car). Then a dog jumps out of the car and runs towards you. Is it a pit bull? You yell at the dog to stop. The owners yell at you to not shoot. You have a split second to decide. What would you do?

It is so easy to look back at the whole unfortunate incident and make judgements on the actions of the occupants of the car and of the officers involved. I guess we are all pretty good "armchair officers".

I'll get off my soapbox now and let the media circus continue.

 

[whirlsy]

The story of the Today show was that while the father was pumping gas he left his wallet on the hood of the car and when he drove away money was flying off of the car and someone reported to police that there may have been a robbery, thats why they were treated like criminals~ hands on top of your head down on your knees~that kind of stop instead of just your regular pull over. After the mom and son were in handcuffs also the door was left open to the car and the son kept asking the police officers to close it so their dog wouldnt get out, the police offficers were rude told him to be quiet and basically ignored his request, well the dog got out, you can clearly see by the video that the dog was waging his tail and was happy to see someone. The boy said his dog was in the car for about and hour and a half so he was glad just to get out of the car and see someone. It was clear this dog was just "HAPPY". The officers said that they were afraid of the dog they thought it was a pit bull. Ya right. well anyways they shot it a couple of times and killed it. I felt sooo bad for that family especially the boy, I like Anne Curry (sp)? but boy she sure cant word questions. All I know is I bet those officers are hearing alot from the pet community .

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Towncrier, very nice words.

hands on top of your head down on your knees~that kind of stop instead of just your regular pull over.

That is called a felony stop.

I haven't seen the video yet, but unless you are there at the time, you can't know what all was going on.

I feel bad for the family. I feel bad for the police officers.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

whirlsy's version is pretty much it, esp about the son wanting to close the car door and the officers not letting him. THAT'S when the officers should have been more cautious about the dog, IMHO.

In the seconds before the dog was shot, you don't see the dog, but before that, he appeared unthreatening, and like it's been said, tail wagging and happy.

But...I wasn't there.

 

[kejoda]

Towncrier that was one of your better posts.



You know we all have great concern over our Military. Most of us don't agree with the war with Irag but are willing to support the Military. Why don't police officers get the same support? They also put their lives on the line every day.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Originally posted by MaryAnnDVC
esp about the son wanting to close the car door and the officers not letting him.

A felony stop is a VERY serious situation. Police officers are not going to allow anyone to do any thing except to get out of the car and to get on the ground.

Could the police officer had closed the door himself? Depends. How many police officers were on scene and how many people were they in control of (I know there were two passengers and the driver)?

As the media does tend to sensationalize things, I really don't know and won't make a call (it's not really my place either).

 

[JulesMom]

That is such a sad story.

Great post, towncrier. I agree. I always say I could never be a police officer because I know I would shoot first. It is such a scary job!

 

[Doctor P]

I saw the video and, I'm sorry, it was one of the most ridiculous and inhumane things I have ever seen. DW will tell you that I am not the first one to come to the defense of animals, etc. but the video of this was tragic and indefensible. BTW, there were plenty of police there that the situation was fully under control. The officer reacted in a way that was absolutely terrible and NOT something that a trained officer, IMHO, should have any problem discerning or handling. There was NO WAY that the dog came out of the car in a threatening way or approached anyone in a threatening way--and there was time to react, too!!! It was not a split second thing. I hope that the family sues the butts off the police department and the officer involved and that it costs the officer his job--I would not want an officer on my force who can't evaluate a situation more quickly or more effectively than this idiot did. Yes, it can be a threatening situation. Yes, a felony stop may have been justified, but the evaluation of the situation was clearly indicative of poorly trained officers and poor protocols.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

There were 3 people in the car...a couple and their son. There appeared to be several police officers, but I didn't notice how many.

I'd think (IN MY OPINION) the officers wouldn't want to risk two dogs that may be dangerous getting out. (But you seem to know more than me...I didn't know it was called a "felony stop" or that closing the door could be deemed more dangerous.)

It appeared to me that the news media were just reporting a shocking incident (I'm not judging how right or wrong the police officers were...but "shocking" from a dog owner/lover's point of view), not sensationalizing anything...the story is "sensational", not the reporting. It isn't a matter of being "my place to make a call" or not...I saw the video and expressed an opinion on a discussion board about what it appeared to be to me...I'm not on the jury and am not convicting anyone.

Here's a link to the CNN article:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/01/09/police.kill.dog/index.html

Edited:

The Smoaks told CNN that as they knelt, handcuffed, they pleaded with officers to close the doors of their car so their two dogs would not escape, but the officers did not heed them.

Pamela Smoak is seen on the tape looking up at an officer, telling him slowly, "That dog is not mean. He won't hurt you."

Her husband says, "I got a dog in the car. I don't want him to jump out."

The tape then shows the Smoaks' medium-size brown dog romping on the shoulder of the Interstate, its tail wagging. As the family yells, the dog, named Patton, first heads away from the road, then quickly circles back toward the family.

An officer in a blue uniform aims his shotgun at the dog and fires at its head, killing it immediately.
...

Cookeville Police Chief Robert Terry released a statement on the department's Web site Wednesday night describing the department's regret over the incident. The Cookeville Police Department site was not responding Thursday morning.
...

"No one wants to experience this kind of thing, and it's very unfortunate that it occurred," he wrote. "If we had the benefit of hindsight, I'm sure some -- if not all of this -- could have been avoided. I believe the Tennessee Highway Patrol feels the same way."

I would imagine that ALL police shootings need to be investigated. If it's proven that this officer overreacted, then perhaps we might want him to go through some additional training so that the next victim isn't a human.

I wouldn't place the blame on the 17 year old boy for leaving the door open...his parents, I think, were already both out of the car, on the ground and handcuffed, with police officers pointing rifles at them...I'd imagine he'd be afraid to make any kind of move under those circumstances. I'm not sure my knees would even hold me up.

I wouldn't want to be a police officer either...*I* couldn't do it. But I would hope that those who are are well trained, and IF IT IS DETERMINED THAT THEY ARE NOT, then geez, let's work on it. This time it was "just" a family dog.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Mary Ann,

I guess I should have explained myself better.

1. My DH is a police officer
2. I haven't seen the video and I don't want to see the video.
3. I was just explaining some of what could have been going on in the decision making process. Again I was not sure how many officers were on scene.
4. During a felony stop, guns are drawn. Now why rifles??? That seems odd.

All shootings are investigated no matter how in the right the police officer seemed. I agree that if he was wrong he should pay with his job. You don't want a police officer out there in a shoot/don't shoot situation that has bad judgment.

I never said it is "just" a family dog. I am not being cold-hearted I was just trying to look at it from a different angle.

 

[Keli]

This story just horrifies me and it certainly doesn't inspire confidence in the TN police.

 

[Goofyposter]

Groosch....

I feel bad for everyone involved

-inicent family vacation

-dad leaves wallet atop car at gas station..drives away...money spilling out and flying in the air

-a bystander simply sees a car leaving and money ..assumes robbery...family car reported

-police locate and (proably properly based on what they "know")stop car thinking the occupants may have just robbed a gas station

-the family follow police directions...but everyone's on edge
with weapons drawn...a door is left open

-with the dog's 'human pack' all outside and acting odd..fido hops out

{with the benefit of the video fido is clearly a little dog without an aggressive posture}

-the 'fog of battle' sets in then as the police are tense with an 'unknown possible animal threat'...and the family is tense owing to the situation (they're on the ground at gun point)

-an officier makes a split second decision to wax the family fido of a law abiding family on vacation.

-------->everyone loses

I'm not assigned blame to anyone....it seems this whole tragedy was doomed from the start...and while I wish that that officer seen in the video with the pump shot gun...and delayed just for a few seconds more....he didn't and no matter how much training you have in anything...sometimes...in the real world...things don't go to plan......I feel soooo bad for everyone involved in this...especially the possible negative impact it could have on that 17 year old boy..and his future vision for the respect of law and law enforcement.

 

[Mermaid02]

Was the dog a bull dog or pit bull? I have heard both but if the police officer couldn't tell the difference between a PIT BULL and a BULL DOG..... he isn't bright enough to carry a gun. If it were a Pit Bull- well they have a bad reputation and might have made the officer nervous- but that is still not an excuse.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Originally posted by Miss Jasmine
I never said it is "just" a family dog. I am not being cold-hearted I was just trying to look at it from a different angle.

No, you didn't...*I* did. Just making the point that if this police officer overreacted, then he got "lucky" this time that it was "just" a dog and not a person. If it were MY dog, I'd be sick and devastated over it; if it were my kid, I'd want the officer's head on a platter.

If it WERE my dog, there'd probably be good reason to shoot him...he's a very protective German Shepherd and can LOOK pretty scary...he would have been out of the car before any of us, barking growling and bearing his teeth at the officers. WE know he wouldn't actually (I don't think ) hurt anyone judging from a recent intruder that we had (he didn't bite him), but he sure would scare the heck out of anyone. This other dog's behavior reminded me of our old Lab...would have welcomed the intruder into the house and showed him where the Milk-Bones were.

 

[Pugsley]

I’m usually the first one to defend the police since I know how stressful their jobs can be and I appreciate what they do for us. But there was NO excuse for this. This guy is just a bad cop and a bad person. If that had happened to my dog, that cop would have had to shoot me too because I would have strangled him. If he doesn’t lose his job I’ll be appalled. He’s a loose canon who should not have a badge or a gun. I hope that family gets a VERY generous settlement. Can you imagine having to witness something like that?