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Post by Prelude Jive on Jun 8, 2006 13:36:31 GMT -5
I'm not sure if any of you have heard of this or perhaps some of you live nearby. I can't post a link because you have to be a member of the site, so here is the text.
Pit bull shot by officer bit jogger
Guardian appeared to be drunk and oblivious, police said
By Brittany Anas, Camera Staff Writer June 6, 2006
The pit bull fatally shot by a police officer in a Boulder park Sunday was running loose without a leash when it bit a jogger in the calf and charged toward a mother who was walking with her baby.
Meanwhile, the pit bull's 18-year-old guardian was lounging in the grass, apparently drunk and oblivious while she played with her other dog, according to police and witness reports.
Police were called to Eben G. Fine Park at about 2:30 p.m. after receiving several phone calls about the aggressive dog that witnesses said was threatening people in the playground area and was seen on several occasions lunging at passers-by.
Once at the park, Boulder police Officer Jeremy McGee asked the pit bull's guardian to get her dog under control.
The white pit bull, with a blue bandanna tied around its neck, snarled and showed its teeth as it charged McGee, according to police. McGee said in a written report that he pointed his pistol at the dog and then shot it when it got within about 4 feet and appeared poised to attack.
Police Chief Mark Beckner said Monday that he reviewed the incident and concluded McGee followed the department's procedures.
"It's an unfortunate incident," Beckner said. "I think the officer acted appropriately. He asked the woman to call off the dog and didn't get a response. He waited until the dog was 4 feet away. What else could the officer have done?"
A crowd surrounded the scene after the dog was shot, according to the police report, and many angered park-goers screamed at the officers. One man told police he was upset because his family was within 2 feet of the shooting and he was angry that his small child was so close and witnessed the incident. The man did not file a report with police and refused to give his name to authorities.
McGee was aware there were people around when he shot the dog, and he aimed his pistol down toward the dog at a close distance, according to reports. Beckner said the officer could have risked being attacked by the dog if he had used a less powerful Taser gun to shoot it.
"In this situation, things were happening so quickly," he said. "I don't see any alternative."
The mother who had been walking in the park with her 1-year-old son threw her ice cream toward the dog, hoping to divert its attention, and then crouched down with her back toward the dog as it charged her. The dog also bit another woman's hand, but did not break the skin.
Nobody was hospitalized and medical officials treated people at the scene.
The dog's guardian — Sarah A. Mallory, of Erie — cried and cursed at authorities as they tried to interview her Sunday.
One police officer said Mallory's other pit bull growled at him and that it seemed like she was using her dog to keep police from talking with her.
Officers and witnesses also said Mallory appeared to be drunk. Police asked her to call somebody to pick her up from the park because, the report said, she was too intoxicated to drive on her own.
Mallory was given a $500 aggressive-animal ticket and a $50 ticket for breaking park rules and letting her dog run without a leash. She denied that she had been drinking or using any drugs. Police did not ticket her for underage drinking.
The Daily Camera tried to reach Mallory for comment at her home Monday night. Two dogs barked after her doorbell rang, but nobody answered the door. Soon after, the garage door opened and two women drove away in a car.
Mallory told police she adopted her dog one year ago from an abusive home.
The pit bull had been adopted when it was a 10-month-old puppy from the Humane Society of Boulder Valley, said spokeswoman Lisa Pedersen.
The dog had been a stray out of Denver and did not show aggressive signs while it was at the humane society, she said.
What do you guys think? I know it was a split-second decision but I would've tried reaching for the tazer gun, I wouldn't want any kids seeing me shoot a dog.
Post by paranoidbot on Jun 8, 2006 14:00:19 GMT -5
Yeah I feel bd for the dog but I know that park (I lived in Boulder for 10 years) and it's a busy family park. Not a place for a pit bull off leash with an inattentive owner.
what a horrible pet owner. i hate when pit bulls, or other large breeds, get a bad name bacause of assholes like this. i have to disagree with you 100 percent mikede. pit bulls are awesome dogs. its bad pet owners that cause these problems. i know a fmaily that has several pit bulls and they are some of the calmest, coolest, and kindest dogs in the world. when trained and scoialized properly. i agree that this officer had no choice. he was right to shoot the animal. i seriously doubt that a taser would have any effect on any large breed of dog that was attacking. as for the traumitized little girl i think it was no less traumatizing then seeing a person get torn apart by a dog and then possibly have a dog atack her. and for the pet owner they shoulda just shot her too. shes the dangerous one. and while i do love pitbulls the humane society should know better with this breed. if its not well bred , untraiuned, unsocialized, and mistreated then they should never adopt it out to anyone. put it down if that is what is necesary. but the fact is that there are far more injurys/attacks from cocker spaniels then there are pitbulls. to me its kinda like drunk driving. sure you are going to have bad drivers that endanger the public and kill/hurt people. but we arent going to outlaw cars. this is one area were i think we need stiffer penalties. lets let some drug offenders out of jail and lock up some of these idiots that are truly threats to public safety
ok - my husband does animal control and my mother in law is the director of the local animal shelter here. What the officer did was the right thing. The only concern I would have had was that he discharged his weapon in close proximity to what seems like may have been a significant number of people. But at that point he had no choice. I don't believe that Tazer's are not really effection on a pit bull that is attacking. We have friends that have pit bulls and they are nice gentle animals. Unfortunately the majority of them are not - they are bred to fight and that is the instinct that will come out in them time and time again with no provoking and no warning. Our shelter here does not adopt them out - they are put down when they come in. We have several municipalities here in Mississippi that have had to enact vicious dog ordinances and a few that have banned pit bulls outright. Those that do allow pit bull ownership requires owners to post signs, obtain insurance policies, and a multitude of other restrictions.
I agree that the tazer wouldn't have done sh*t. My family used to own a c.ocker spaniel who was just one of the most misbehaved, vicious dogs I've ever met... we only had him for about a year, tried everything we could to train him, but he was just untrainable... anyway, we had an invisible fence for it and at first, out of fear that the shock might be too much for him, we lowered the voltage to the lowest setting and the dog would just run right through it... so then we upped the voltage a little, still ran right through it, did it again, and it ran though it sill... then we upped the voltage to the highest it could go, enough to stop a human being (my brother tested this one out... stupid thing to do ), and it still ran through it, totally unphased...
the cop did the right thing by shooting the dog.
EDIT: oh and btw, we did't have it put down, we gave it to a warehouse as a night watch dog... from what I hear, he does his job well, and was waay more suited for that kind of life than a family life.
Post by frankthemute on Jun 9, 2006 2:25:46 GMT -5
Ive had a Pit Bull before and it wa raised with my shitzu or however you spell it. It was a great dog, it mighta licked ya to death but definitely wouldnt bite. THey tried to ban them in my town a few weeks ago and I guess the city council didnt figure on the kids actually doing something. The meetings were packed with dog owners and it was clear they werent going to be able to ban them if they wanted re-elected. We are a very small town and I know more peopel with Pit-bulls than any other dog. I think German Shepards can be as mean and meaner from past experiences with them. Why you think the pigs use them . Anyways, it is sad when people are idiots with their dogs. There should be very sever penalties for anyone who lets there pit-bull run around off a leash, it's just unacceptable but it should be the same for germ. shepards, dobermans, and rottweilers. I think a pit is the most loyal dog you can own. I feel bad for the dog, but if it is running around raising hell then it should be shot.....and like i said I love em and have owned one. I know its not its fault, but thats how it is. They shoulda arrested her for being stupid.
), and it still ran through it, totally unphased...
