Court: Police can shoot dog if it moves or barks when cop enters home

[Mrbleedinggums]

So if you hear your dog barking you can't just shoot them as they come into the house unannounced? Whose to say you didn't know who it was?

[Polarthief]

No, police should not be doing unannounced searches of homes for non-violent crimes. If the suspected crime is non-violent, you knock on the door and tell them they need to move their dogs out because a search warrant is going to be executed.

Way too logical for the police department(s) apparently. Nope, just come barging in and kill whatever you want without any repercussions.

[Baracuda]

Those are some impressive google skills there. Did you record that image all by yourself?

At least you understood the google part, there's hope for you yet

[Mormolyce]

Those are some impressive google skills there. Did you record that image all by yourself?

Never seen LMGTFY before?

[dextersmith]

That's unreasonable power.

Inc. "I mistook those men for barking dogs."

[Masark]

My pets are not bloodthirsty land sharks owned by drug dealers. Just sayin...

Neither were these dogs. The dogs were owned by someone with zero criminal history. The criminal charges are against the guy's father.

[Mistame]

Never seen LMGTFY before?

I have. That was sarcasm.

[Tijuana]

Neither were these dogs. The dogs were owned by someone with zero criminal history. The criminal charges are against the guy's father.

The police have no way of knowing who owns the dogs, obviously. Drug dealers often have attack dogs. It's perfectly reasonable to shoot them on a raid, when they come at you. But, that is just one man's opinion, after all.

[Powerogue]

There's really no way to train a dog to be like that without cutting their vocal cords, which most here would agree is too far.

There are strangers entering their space acting aggressively. Any dog is going to at least move in that scenario, and probably bark.

[THE Bigzoman]

In other news, you can shoot a cop if they illegally enter your home in Indiana.

[Super Kami Dende]

If Police show up, Control your dogs or face the risk of them being shot.

Police can't tell if a dog running at them is looking for a Hug or to attack.

[breadisfunny]

this is one of the dumbest court rulings i have ever seen. there are non lethal ways to subdue a dog shooting it is cruel and inhumane.

[Super Kami Dende]

Yeah shoot my pet who is part of my family and you'll be wishing you didn't. Cop or not, if someone kills or threatens any family member of mine (especially with little to no evidence they were threatening the livelihood of the officer/person involved) whether it be my pet or a human, they are provoking me to open a giant can of Whoopass™ as a result.

And you'd end up in Jail for assaulting a police Officer. Great job.

[Shmazard]

The US sounds like such a lovely place...

It's not, i would argue its the worst 1st world country in the... world...

[The Penguin]

Cops might be legally allowed to shoot dogs while executing a warrant, but they better be ready to shoot the owners as well if they do that or learn to watch their backs for the rest of their lives. Especially if it was an accident or an illegal search. People often take revenge for such things. Wouldn't surprise me if some of the execution attacks on cops were carried out for reasons such as that. Sad to say but people get attached to their Dogs and if a Cop plays it wrong, and doesn't make an arrest, he might be retired a couple years later by a person who "he" forgot, but who remembers him perfectly.

[breadisfunny]

And you'd end up in Jail for assaulting a police Officer. Great job.

honestly this ruling is just going to turn public opinion against police officers and make them not want to cooperate with them at all. why should they when they are probably just going to kill your family dog anyway if you don't do what they say?

[The Penguin]

honestly this ruling is just going to turn public opinion against police officers and make them not want to cooperate with them at all. why should they when they are probably just going to kill your family dog anyway if you don't do what they say?

Good way to get a lot more dead cops that's for sure, and the first dude that is recorded shooting a Dog to send a message to an owner is going to start a whole new rash of Cop attacks. All it takes is 1-2 bad Cops to screw up the public's perception that they are the good guys.

[Bullettime]

Is there a mental health screening in the recruitment process, or is any random Bob who wants to use a gun to kill something, accepted?

I'll answer this as someone who was a correctional officer and went through the police academy as a part of my training.

The answer is yes, but they mostly use the mental health screenings to weed out actually mentally ill and those they consider unable to complete their jobs. They're basically looking for people with authoritarian complexes or people they think can be molded because they consider those people the ones more likely to take charge of a situation and take action, which is why ex military have such an easy time and transition. They're coming out of a similar environment.

They also try to weed out the more timid or even critical thinkers as they consider them more likely to freeze under pressure. They also dislike people with college educations and do prefer those useless bullies you remember from high school because they're more likely to stick around longer term and, again, can be molded into the officer they want.

Obviously there ARE good cops, and I would argue more good than bad. The issue is more that there's just a lack of real oversight or punishment so the shitty officers are allowed to stay on the force and just be toxic influences on others.

[hydrium]

Is there a mental health screening in the recruitment process, or is any random Bob who wants to use a gun to kill something, accepted?

Well you see, the militarization of the police force has it's roots in the Democratic party when Clinton signed the Crime Bill in 94 which saw a spike in incarceration rates and an increase in police, this increased need for law enforcement caused the recruiting standards to dip. Also during the 90s you saw a lot of expansion to COPS and Byrne grants which helped finance police deparments to allow the increase in police enforcement. The Crime Bill also saw that police were heavily armed as well. Policies largely remained the same during the Bush era then fast forward to Obama.

Under Obama we've seen efforts to demilitarize the police however these efforts were largely blocked by Democratic leaders such as Pelosi, Hoyer, Clyburn and Clay. These members of congress were largely instrumental in seeing the police demilitarization dismantled.

[The Penguin]

Obviously there ARE good cops, and I would argue more good than bad. The issue is more that there's just a lack of real oversight or punishment so the shitty officers are allowed to stay on the force and just be toxic influences on others.

Yup. You nailed the issue flawlessly there man. Good point. That's what we need too. More oversight and punishment on bad cops, and examples made on them. Loss of Pension, time in jail, that sort of stuff would send a strong message imho not to abuse the badge.