Our local police responded to a parking lot full of people. From police footage, it appears that most of the people were homeless. One police officer approached the group and was attacked and bitten by a dog. It appeared to me that the dog was on a leash at the time. The officer was walking off the attack when he came back into view of the dog again, which was now off-leash. Another officer approached the dog’s owner yelling at her to control her dog. Her attempt was feeble, at best. He promised her that he would shoot the dog if she didn’t gain control of it. She didn’t and the dog attacked again and was shot four times for its efforts.
In most circumstances, I would feel sorry for the stupid dog and its owner; but, people don’t realize the impact that has on the officer. As an animal control officer, I could have taken the dog without killing it. That’s what we do. But, I don’t expect a police officer to handle the situation as I would have. Police officers are trained to think with their guns when they are in danger. So, given the circumstances, it was a righteous shooting. Although, a Taser would have been my first choice.
Before you start thinking that I’m all full of myself, keep in mind that most animal control officers don’t carry guns. So shooting a dog isn’t an option. If we are experienced animal control officers, we get out of our vehicles with a ketch-pole and leash in our hands. The prospect of getting bitten doesn’t worry us as it does police officers. Of course, we also get more experience facing down a face full of doggie teeth.
I recall using pepper spray on a Rottweiler once. The owners complained to the police about my use of pepper spray and when the police sergeant came out to talk to the dog’s owners, the dog attacked him. He came just short of shooting the dog. Once the sergeant calmed down, he told me not to worry about the complaint. I was a little embarrassed that I stepped out of the vehicle without my ketch-pole. After all of these years, I still feel bad about using the pepper spray.