Police-on-Dog Brutality

Just wanted to say that it's standard procedure to get an ambulance if one is hurt on the job (so that one can get benefits if it turns out to be serious). As far as they knew, the dog had rabies. If they don't get the ambulance and such a thing occurs, it's can be considered "not work-related."

Second, tazers are designed to send electrical impulses through muscle making those muscles spasm so a person cannot act. The smaller the person is, the less likely the tazer will have the "desired" effect (they'll hurt a person who is 5'6"/130, but will it drop them like the 200lb man? It's iffy.) So the fact that it didn't bother a chihuahua doesn't surprise me...

edited 5th Mar '11 7:46:48 AM by Swish

I'm amazed that anyone is even backhandedly defending this gross abuse of power. Hey, let's kill any domesticated animal that halfheartedly defends its territory from apparent intruders, because it 'might have rabies.'

Its been shown time and again that power corrupts when insufficiently regulated. Haven't we seen enough bad cop incidents over the years to stop giving the police force free passes for gross violations of common decency and common sense?

And no, the war on drugs is not an excuse for this kind of crap. But it is another good reason out of many to overhaul the war on drugs.

Furthermore, I think Guantanamo must be destroyed.

I hated dealing with dogs when I worked briefly doing termite inspections. Guard dogs are very popular here in Hawaii, and they're mean as hell. Thank goodness for leashes, cages and other restraining devices - although there were a few homes I had to skip due to teh fact that the dog was running around loose inside the fenced yard and was just itching for me to open the gate.

(One house on my route had a guard duck. Meaner than any dog I've met, and it would attack on sight. You walk into the yard and you hear this growling Quaaaaaaaack... and you know that you'll be loving the next ten minutes of your life.)

Happiness is zero-gee with a sinus cold.

Seems like at the very least, the police need to be better trained how to handle dogs - and have a senior K-9 or animal control officer do the training, because those people actually understand dogs. When a shooting does occur, there ought to be a review.

Based on what I've seen on Animal Planet, what you often need is not a taser or a bullet but a second catch pole and a cage truck. And if you don't have those, consider waiting for backup.

edited 5th Mar '11 11:58:05 AM by FrodoGoofballCoTV

I think there's a review any time a firearm is discharged, actually. If there's not, I'd be raising some questions.

Happiness is zero-gee with a sinus cold.

Gotta hand it to that cop in that video, Good kick.

Without good, no evil. Without want, no lack. Without desire, no need.

Okay. Well, since the training exists for postal workers, it would be reasonable for it to exist for police officers as well. In the meantime, my sympathy lies with the officers who are confronted with potentially dangerous dogs in the line of duty.

As a reptile lover myself...my only explanation is that no newsgroup would ever spend the time and money to report on a scaly creature being needlessly killed by another trigger happy officer.

Gotta use the examples that tugs the heartstrings...and sadly, for many people, reptiles are not as cute as dogs...

---

PS-whatever happened to pepper spray? I remember seeing cops using it to pacify a screaming naked man not too long ago. Don't people still use pepper spray on crazy dogs anymore? The ones I saw in action actually had pretty impressive range.

And it's a lot smarter than shooting it five times with a handgun to induce "heart attack".

edited 5th Mar '11 1:08:26 PM by Signed

"Every opinion that isn't mine is subjected to Your Mileage May Vary."

Pepper spray doesn't work on dogs. At least not to the effect it does on people (if anything it makes them more annoyed because someone sprayed something in their face).

There is pepper spray designed to work on dogs though (which doesn't work on people too well)... But the idea that every police officer needs to carry some because they might need to deal with a dog at some point is a tad off to me...

As opposed to every domesticated animal having a right to attack people?

I mean isn't it a general rule that if a domesticated animal attacks a person (regardless of the reasons) that animal gets put down? Am I supposed to be angry that it was done with a bullet around the moment it happened rather than with an injection several days later?

edited 5th Mar '11 2:30:22 PM by Swish

If it means anything...I am REALLY opposed to the idea of putting down a dog just because it attacked someone. Mainly because in most cases, the dog was provoked by the victim. For example, that stupid Too Dumb to Live kid who whipped a dog in the nose multiple times with a rock tied to a string. I sound like a heartless ass-hole for saying this, but the kid had it coming.

As an owner of multiple dogs, I know just how unpredictable  ^*

they can be, but I also know how to make sure they never ever randomly attack other people ever again with the right conditioning, regardless of how vicious the dog is...just show them that you're the alpha male and give them orders in a strict voice on a daily basis, even when saying stuff like "good dog!". And punish them for anything remotely bad.

You can transform an abused dog who used to constantly bite people into an obedient puppy with a bit of effort.

edited 5th Mar '11 2:41:21 PM by Signed

"Every opinion that isn't mine is subjected to Your Mileage May Vary."

Swish, I don't know what world you're living in where the appropriate response to any animal attacking a human being, regardless of the level of severity of attack or any mitigating circumstances, is to KILL THE ANIMAL... but it sure as hell isn't the real world.

Given the circumstances of the incident, there was every reason to believe that the animal most likely was NOT rabid. Leaping to the assumption was as irresponsible as assuming that every human being who punches you in the face is high on crack. After you've walked into that person's home in the middle of the night.

I'm reminded me of that law a Republican tried to pass giving anyone the right to kill any collarless dog by decapitation or bludgeoning. The fact that in some cases, such as with misguided guard dogs or very obviously wild animals, extreme measures may be necessary does not give you the excuse to beat Fluffy to death every time she scratches you. Violence, and especially taking a potentially innocent life, should always be the last resort after all other reasonable measures have been attempted or are otherwise no longer viable.

Furthermore, I think Guantanamo must be destroyed.

swish: Yeah a tazer can easily drop a 200lb human or 5lb dog . The biology in that regard is very similar. For the record the only times Tazers usually fail is when the target is high off a drug like pcp or in extremely thick clothing. I have seen demos of tazer used a 6'6" U.S. Combat Veteran who was a mixed martial arts fighter. The guy weighed 235 dropped him on the spot. There are more then enough accounts of tazers in document form or video form showing that they can drop a large aggressive human. Because of how they work they work on a wide range of animals as well. See above video of the aggressive Rottweiler getting tazed.

There is another video of a white pitbull type breed on the loose and the cops use the tazer to keep it on the ground while they slip a catch pole on it. The dog tries to jump up and run and they hit again and it goes back down pretty much instantly. A chihuahua depending on the variety can weigh as little as 2lbs to as much as 12. Unless there is some bizzare quirk of biology the tazer works on them just fine.

If they are to be believed the manufacturer of taser claims it is safe to use on subjects 60lbs and up. Anything risks being effectively electrocuted severly possibly resulting in death.

Also it is not always kill dogs involved in a attack. The dog is usually quarantined and investigated. There will be a hearing to decide what happened. If it is because the dog is vicious and uncontrollable then yes it will likely be put down. If not other measures like in my city the owner has to buy insurance to cover the dog and also purchase a muzzle that must be on the dog in public.

In fact my dog was involved in a fight with another dog and the other dogs owner stuck her hand into the mess and got bit on the finger. Since her rabies were up to date we were told to keep inside other then for rest room visits she had to stay inside of a 50 foot range of the door and we had to kennel her in her kennel if anyone came into our house. At the end of the quarantine period we had to take to the vet who would verify she was healthy and send in the paper work. Animal control came out and took a look at her and observed her demeanor with strangers and decided she was not being vicious and that the other dog owner should have kept her hands back.

Anyone who sticks their hands in the middle of a fight between two dogs is Too Dumb to Live...

But since you mentioned dog fight and pit bulls in the same post, I'd like to point out if the dog had been a pit bull in that fight, the woman probably wouldn't have been bitten since pit bulls were bred to avoid biting human hands during a fight. Theres still a chance, but it would consciously try to avoid fighting if a human hand enters the fray.

So Take That!...people who automatically think Pit Bulls are more dangerous than normal dogs just because some kid was dumb enough to provoke it.

edited 5th Mar '11 5:11:39 PM by Signed

"Every opinion that isn't mine is subjected to Your Mileage May Vary."

Signed: The problem with pitbulls is that they are bred as fighting dogs and people have also been tainting the breed lines with dogs that are excessively aggressive towards other dogs and sometimes also towards humans.

Who watches the watchmen?

@ Karkadinn: I don't know why you're getting so worked up about the word "rabies." You do realize that the first person to use it was me, and that it was in the effect of "that's why the ambulance was called." Not "that's why the dog had to die." No one has said anything to the effect of the latter from what I can see...

@ Tufel: I know that tazers work on people. But my example of a 5'6" 130lbs man was not random. The less muscle mass a person has, the less likely the tazer (gun-fired tazer) will be effective on the first try. Sure, it will take down a 235lbs person... but again, the 130lbs person will likely need a second (or third) jolt to really drop them.

As for the rest... I am not of the mindset that animals have (or deserve) the same basic rights as people. If only because they are animals. I highly doubt that there is anything to be said to change that opinion. But to clarify, that doesn't mean I am perfectly okay with an animal being killed for no reason. Just that I don't necessarily see the "lack of a reason" behind a dog biting or barking aggressively as though it may bite a person.

edited 5th Mar '11 5:43:29 PM by Swish

Some of these cops who just shoot things randomly...they might just need to be put down...

Sign on for this After The End Fantasy RP.

Swish: Your missing the point. The size is irrelevant it will work the first time on your subject without fail. Regardless of size of the human subject it will work every time. Because all of our bodies pretty much work the same. It works on children the first time in the same manner as it works on adults the first time. Unless something goes wrong with the prongs interacting with their target and assuming everything is functioning and something pcp is not involved the person will go down. For bonus points it is possible for a single taser to work on multiple people.

The point of the matter was the tasing of a 5lb dog followed by 3 rounds of 9mm ammo was excessive force.

edited 5th Mar '11 6:27:16 PM by TuefelHundenIV

Who watches the watchmen?