[Nanuk]

I think a lot of officers have no clue on how to handle a dog other than just shooting it.

We do not know what else is going on.

I’ve seen a taser work on a cow while riding with that vet. And OC spray sucks for a human. Imagine if your sense of smell is stronger than us? Taser on a dog is a good choice for an officer who has the option. Same with OC.

He made a split second decision, how long did you pontificate your response?

This incident though? I don’t know the specifics of the call. And that is the crux. And there are kids still standing around. It cant be that big a deal.

And you say this based on what? I have been to multiple murder scenes and kids are walking through blood pools eating candy.

This response was totally wrong. I watched the dog.

Really? the whole second it was in the video?

That cop reacted like a word that starts with a P. Given that knew the dog was there. Called it out. I can’t really cut him slack unless there was something more threatening than a smallish dog there.

And that is the rub, we do not know what else was happening.

Especially since his bullet hit a kid.

Which is why many of us preach to be sure of your target, what is behind it and not to take low percentage shots. I responded to a domestic and when I responded one guy was hacking another with an axe, I did not shoot him because there were 8 lil faces looking out the picture window behind them.

And there were kids still in the house.

There are kids everywhere it seems.

A dog that size? It Isn’t going to kill him.

Probably not, but it could cause injury that meets the definition of deadly force.

He has height. Backup on scene.

Irrelevant

A baton. OC/taser. Maybe even a blade.

He made a startle response, maybe not the right response but he did do something.

A bullet into a kid? That can kill them.

You think?

And I have been bit.

Me too, by a 100 lb German Shepard.

This was a bad shoot for sure.

It was a good shoot, bad shooting.

Bad tactics.

VS what? SWAT entry? We do not know the situation.

Bad decision making.

He had no time to make a decision, he was provided stimulus and reacted.
With the war on cops you wonder why some are jumpy.

Punishment? Well. I think shooting a kid and someone’s pet is going to weigh pretty heavily on the poor guy.

Kid yes, the dog, he was menacing. Protecting his kids, but menacing none the less.

And I’d chalk the response up to bad training and tactics.

It was a response, he was trained to react to a threat. You may be the dog whisperer, but most people are not.

I mean...can I expect the guy to properly negotiate with a hostage taker? Defuse a bomb? Interrogate a murder suspect? Or do more than a first responder level medicine? Not without good training and experience with said training.

Lack of training rests squarely with the department, not the officer.

Personally? I’d rather get bit than shoot a kid.

You and me both, but we were not there.