Police respond to wrong address and shoot man's dog

[black_falcon]

I'm sure most of you have heard about the killing of Cisco, the Blue Heeler, after Police responded to the wrong address.

It looks like the cop will not be disciplined and it took over a week for the Austin Police to issue their damage control non-apology apology. Regretfully we are being trained to accept this kind of treatment. The Police are suppose to be our friends, yet it feels like they are to be feared and avoided at all times.

Watching the dash cam footage on MSNBC is especially heartbreaking:

U.S. News - Officer shoots man's dog after 911 caller gives wrong address

[Rikao4]

hope he meets an armed dog one day..
sooner the better..
piece of scheisse..

Rika

[Moses]

Cowardly piece of crap.

[Tobra]

I would probably end up in prison for what I would do to that officer. I would feel bad for his widow, if he left one though.

[RANDY P]

CHeck this one out: http://meetthekarazans.blogspot.com/2010/11/justice-for-rosie-newfoundland.html

Newfoundland gets loose, police see it- taze it- dog runs away and goes to neighbor's back yard, dog gets locked in by neighbor

Cops come back 20 minutes later and shoot dog.


according to the neighbor:

"Perry said her gate was open for a brief period, allowing Rosie to get in. She said the dog was in her backyard for at least 20 minutes before police showed up. By the time police came to the house the gate was closed, locking Rosie in."

[wdfifteen]

I sent this email to the Austin police department:
I read the story of your cowardly officer who shot and killed an innocent dog. I encounter dogs every day, never have I felt so threatened I thought I needed to kill one of them. It's no wonder the public is losing so much respect for the police. You find yourself facing the same situation we face every day unarmed, and you are so terrified you feel the need to kill. I can't image how you would respond to a real threat. God help us. With people like you "protecting" us, we'll need His help.

[gtc]

Typical cop behavior. I can't think of any less-trustworthy segment of the population.

It really hit me the other day when my little old mother warned me to stay away from Police.

[u3b3rg33k]

From randy's link:
“Animal abuse is one of the four indicators that the F.B.I. profilers use to asses future violent behavior, so I don’t see why we should not use it too,” said Diana S. Urban, a Democratic state representative in Connecticut who sponsored a bill mandating that animal control workers and child welfare workers cross-report suspected animal, child or domestic abuse."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/18/us/18animal.html

[Jeff Higgins]

Have we reached the point in these United States where maybe it's time to start defending one another against our own police?

My mother grew up in Nazi Germany under the Third Reich. She now tells me what she reads and hears of police in the United States today frightens and appalls her more than anything she ever heard or read when she was a young lady growing up in Germany.

My crazy Czech riding buddy Peter (whom I've mentioned here on occasion - he escaped communist Czechoslovakia in the early '70's) grew up in that country, behind the Iron Curtain, and risked his very life to leave the oppressive Russian rule behind. He echos the same sentiments as my mother. He claims to be far, far more leery of the police here than he ever was there.

These are both older adults, not some wild-eyed kids. They've been around the block a few more times than most. They have seen the worst behavior from power tripping, ego tripping, virtually unaccountable men. They know it when they see it. They recognize corrupt institutions that encourage this seamy side of the human condition to surface unfettered. Bullying cowards with no one to answer to but themselves. And, most incredibly, they both tell me they've seen the very worst of it right here, in America. How sad. How infuriating.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

I sent this email to the Austin police department:
I read the story of your cowardly officer who shot and killed an innocent dog. I encounter dogs every day, never have I felt so threatened I thought I needed to kill one of them. It's no wonder the public is losing so much respect for the police. You find yourself facing the same situation we face every day unarmed, and you are so terrified you feel the need to kill. I can't image how you would respond to a real threat. God help us. With people like you "protecting" us, we'll need His help.

Good for you Patrick. I will be sending one myself a little later but with a bit stronger language. Ef-off cop a-holes!

[Baz]

Another aspect of this terrible tragedy is the dumbazz who felt she had an obligation to call the cops over something that was none of her business. I see this all the time. Raise your hand..."Teacher teacher Johnny is reading a magazine instead of doing his class assignment." I mean what is with that type of person who feels they have to report stuff that is NONE of their business?

Of course she got the address wrong...she was too obsessed with ratting someone out. I hope she is now satisfied a beautiful animal is dead.....nice work!

[Baz]

Facebook furor erupts after Austin police officer shoots dog

And here is the FB page:

Justice for Cisco | Facebook

If ANYONE ever hurt - let alone killed - one of my girls...they would immediately be erased from the planet....

R.I.P. Cisco...

[URY914]

If he had shot my dog he would have had to shoot me next.

[Baz]

There's a guy on the FB page who represents the police dept. - here's his most recent post. "Mob mentality"....shows what they think of those who do not wear a badge to hide behind:


We do have training and already have identified areas where we will add more soon.

We are receiving thousands of e-mails and telephone calls on this matter. Many of the written and telephonic contacts with members of our department have been vile, and included serious threats, including threats to shoot our officer(s). I personally crafted the following response and I apologize in advance if you are offended by this fact. I am one person, with a department to run, a city to protect, and a family to love. I assure you that we will have some positive outcomes out of this incident, but we have to conduct our review in accordance with the law and our own policies, regardless of public sentiment. After meeting with and personally speaking with Officer Griffin (who is part of a household that includes family dogs, like most of our police department families), I know he feels badly for Mr. Paxton and Cisco. Officer Griffin has requested to personally meet with Mr. Paxton to extend his condolences. I have extended this offer to Mr. Paxton and he has indicated he will contact me when he is ready to meet with Officer Griffin.

The hyper-vigilance issue I refer to below is something that we will have to consider and monitor closely throughout our department and it has to be part of our review. As to the mob mentality I reference below, sorry, but when people are calling us and directing profanity laced insults and threats toward our employee(s) in writing and on telephone calls, I can’t think of how else to describe it. While I expect to be subjected to public scrutiny, I don’t expect people in this department to be subjected to the treatment they are receiving. Finally, please share this e-mail with whomever you would like, I stand by every word.

Original Message:

Thank you for your e-mail. We aren't ignoring the tragic death of Cisco the dog. We are conducting a comprehensive review of the incident to include the officer's actions, as well as our protocols/training and will report our findings to Mr. Paxton and the community we serve. On April 6, 2012, Good Friday, an Austin Police Officer who was gunned down and murdered when he responded to a call of a “disturbance” at a Wal-Mart. This death had a profound impact on our officers, and part of our current on-going review is what impact, if any, did this recent tragedy have on our officer in terms of how he approached this incident and how he responded: Did hyper-vigilance play a role, are our training, response protocols and policy best practices, what did the responding officer do right, what did he do wrong, what corrective action, if any is warranted, and what are the lessons learned. These are a lot of questions that have to be thoroughly explored and we can not allow a mob mentality to influence our follow-up in this matter.

Again, all of these issues are being reviewed and our findings will be released. I am confident that as a result of Cisco’s death, some positive outcomes will result which will make it safer for our officers, the community we serve, and the pets we all love.

I have personally spoken to Mr. Paxton on more than one occasion and I publicly and privately expressed my condolences and apologized to him for the loss of his companion.

Please give us time to conduct a thorough and thoughtful review.

Sincerely,

ART ACEVEDO
Chief of Police
Austin Police Department

[Baz]

R.I.P. Cisco....

[rusnak]

..and yet they go ape and shat themselves when one of their police dogs gets shot.

I agree with Tobra, one of these days someone is going to flip and shoot a bunch of cops after they shoot his dog.

[Zeke]

You guys are out of control. You weren't there. A lot of dogs are fine as pets and many are hard working task dedicated animals that receive little for their work. But, if you live in a city as I do surrounded by frustrated, constantly barking dogs that are basically paranoid, and do attack or get close enough to attacking just about anyone. When you add in a uniform such as the mail carrier, USPS, UPS and of course cops, the situation somehow gets amplified. I watch the mailman approach the house across the street often (because of the incessant barking that occurs 6 days a week) and I wonder what day it will be when the poor guy is mauled.

Many years ago, when I was a lot younger and plenty stupid, I heard screams out on the sidewalk in front of a house I was working on. I ran out to see a German Shepard that had the mailman on the ground, letters flying literally everywhere, and attacking the guy. I grabbed a board and went after the dog. I didn't get a good shot at the dog, but I would have killed it if I could. It ran from me.

The mailman was transported to the hospital in serious condition with bites all over including his stomach. I heard a month later he quit and got a medical pension, the nature of which I don't know. The dog was not a stray, it lived at a house alone all day when the owners were at work. This was the 3rd time it jumped the gate and attacked someone. The dog was destroyed by animal control.

Yes, that was the most severe situation I have been involved in during my 40 years out there in the neighborhoods working. However, I have seen the potential for this a few times and encountered hundreds of dogs behind fences or screen doors that I sure would bite if freed.

I would kill any one of those dogs under the same circumstances as the officer did if it ran at me. But, I don't carry a gun everywhere, so the chances of me getting bitten some day are a lot better than me being able to defend myself.

I hope that day never comes. For me or the dog.

[Joeaksa]

Sorry Zeke, I usually agree with you but not this time.

When the cops go back 20 minutes later, enter the back yard they have no business being in in the first place and shoot a dog inside the fence, they need to at least be in jail... if not worse. Then to have the Chief defend it?

Sorry but these sorry scumbags will get what they deserve someday...

[rusnak]

Milt, you are talking about neglected dogs with dumbass indifferent owners. This particular dog appears not to be, and the owner was there to restrain the dog if they had let him.

[dafischer]

Had Paxton tried to restrain the dog, he probably would have been shot, judging by Barney Fife's actions.