officer shoots dog a different prospective - Page 6

My initial posts may seem one sided. I am a cop and of course I will defend my brother officers UNTIL EVIDENCE PROOVES ANY WRONGDOING!!!!! I am not saying this guy could not be an asshole that gets off shooting dogs. They are out there. What I am saying is the ONLY evidence we have is one sided, from a distraught family.

As a LE officer it is our duty to uphold the constitution of the US. The constitution states people will not be convicted without due process of law. Many here are convicting this man without due process. Let's attempt to put the shoe on the other foot....

Let's say that you were accused of molesting a child or beating your spouse. Would you expect to be arrested, convicted, and your name and reputation destroyed based only on the woman or spouse that accused you?

I work in an environment where I investigate numerous sexual assualts and domestic violence. I participated in the investigation of 5 sexual assualts in the past year. Only 1 had ANY credible evidence. One out of 5. Should I have arrested the accused on the other 4?

 One of the worst situations I was in this year involved a false accusation of an attempted robbery at knifepoint. I had three witnesses who initially gave somewhat similar statements. They pointed out the "suspect" in a very short time period. I contacted and arrested the suspect at gunpoint. Yes, I drew my weapon without an immediate threat of great bodily injury or death. The "suspect" was a 17 year old kid. I searched this kid and he had an imitation gun in his waistband. If that kid got scared and grabbed that gun to throw it away, I would have shot him. Further investigation proved the report false. I found no knife. The eye witnesses were all friends of the "victim". Follow up interviews revealed three different descriptions of the knife and number of knives this kid supposedly had in addition to other conflicting statements. Interviews with the "suspect" and people who knew all the parties involved revealed this kid did nothing wrong. I very easily killed a 17 year old kid based on a false statements. How well do you think I slept that night? 

In general, cops go WAY out of their way to give the benefit of a doubt to other cops.  I am not saying this is good or bad, just the way it is.  Same thing when your neighbor accuses YOUR teenager of being the troublemaker.  You will most likely blame it on "others" and not your precious child.

Cops view it is "it's us versus them", and stick together, even if they know some of them are A-holes.  How many cops will take a drunk driver to jail but will take their off duty drunk driving cop friend home and drive his car home for him.  This particular cops circle of associates will undoubtedly contain those that think he has problems but will also contain those that think he is "bad ass and don't take no sh-t", and condone his actions.  If I had to make a guess of the two thousand or so law enforcement officers I know and have worked with, I would estimate that 30 percent are damn good people.  Caring and trying very hard to serve and protect.  Then there is about 40 percent that are "so-so".  Just there for the paycheck and do as little as possible.  Then comes about 30 percent that are, well, bad cops.  Either just not good at it, or have the attitude "We're cops and you're not", which breeds contempt for the citizenry (and their pets).  This last group are the ones the good cops are embarrassed about and avoid working with, for fear of having to testify against them or having to defend themselves in law suits because of the latter groups actions.

Yes, I support law enforcement, and as I have stated before, I know many that are absolutely "out there" making a difference in peoples lives, and putting their own lives on the line everyday.  I also know of the ones who spend their whole shift driving around stopping at various locations, getting "police discounts" on whatever they need for their own homes, and avoid as much as possible, any actual police work.  I also know the cops that frequently drive drunk and are "taken care of" when they run into guard rails, etc., yet these same officers will lead the District in DUI arrests.  And, finally, I know many officers who are just itching to use their weapons if the "law will allow it".

Seriously:  I admire and respect the good officers out there.  I loath the bad officers, who think that cops "can do no wrong", or should be given special treatment.  In a court of law, it is the law that a jury can not give any more wieght to the testimony of a law enforcement officer than they give to the word of an ordinary citizen.  It is that way for a reason.  This cop who shot Max has a problem.  No doubt about it.  I don't know him but I know his like.  At the very least, he should be sent to professional "help" for a check of his mental decision making abilities, and retraining in tactics.

What I am trying to get through here is we have no solid evidence of wrongdoing yet. None, Zero, NADA. We do not know "beyond a reasonable doubt" that any of this accured the way it has been presented.

I am assuming this dog was tied up because this was an open backyard. How do we know there wasn't a hedge around the side of the house and the dog came at him as he walked around the hedge? We don't. How do we know the officer knew the dog was tied up? We don't. How do we know the dog barked at the officer? We don't. Do we know about interviews with the neighbors and what they have to say? Do we know if the dog showed previous aggressive behavior?   I am assuming the officer went around back becasue it was an open backyard. If it was fenced, I would say the officer made a poor decision and that would also bring up some legal issues. But WE DO NOT KNOW. wE DO NOT KNOW ANYTHING!!!!!!!

I realize I am fighting a losing battle. People talk about common sense. Well to me as a cop, it is common sense to fully investigate an accusation before making a decsision.

 Funk Man, you should have had the common sense to know the same before you went sending off a letter to this mans sheriff. You should know better. You of all people should know better. If I was this man's commanding officer, I would send a copy of your e-mail back to your commanding officer to show him what poor judgment the officer under his command has shown.

People I am not saying this officer was right or wrong. I DO NOT KNOW. What I am saying is he has a right to a full investigation before anyone says what he did was wrong. If he is an asshole that runs around shooting dogs, I will be the first one to say he should be severly reprimanded.

 Cops are human, we do not do the right thing every time. We make mistakes. I ask you, what if this man has been a good cop and did just make a poor decision with no intenet to harm the dog? Law enforcement is very political. I have seen numerous officers get hung out to dry because of political pressure. I hope this does not happen here. I hope alll the letters and public outcry does not hurt a man and his family because he made a mistake. If in fact he did.

I do know that if I made a "mistake" of this magnitude on my own job I would be on unemployment in a hurry as would most people who work in the real world.  In fact I would venture to say that merely the appearance of impropriety would have the same effect.  There would be no "investigation."  Why should he not also be accountable?  IMO the letters and public outcry are very necessary to see that justice is done for both Max and his family for the very reasons that you have cited, ie that the police do protect their own. 

In fact, if there is nothing being hidden or distorted by that man's agency you should welcome the public involvement.  I know that that is a big if!

I think it is a terrible thing what happened to Max, he obviously was just doing what any GSD would do to protect the people they love.  I myself would be very heartbroken if I came home to such an ordeal.  Something really does't make sense to me, if Max really was visciously attacking the officer in question, why didn't he break that rope?  I know for a fact that a small rope like that would not hold one of my shepherds, it looks like poly-rope, so to me the officer was definately in his space.  Another thing that bothers me, how do we really know that the officer didn't get a bad bite, because of hear say???  We really don't know, why would they want to do a rabies test if his skin didn't even get broken?  I will surely await the results of this full investigation, I do however doubt that we will get the full story of what happened that horrible day. 

It is awful, and it is just another reason that people will pass judgement on this wonderful breed!  My thoughts and prayers go out to the Mattia Family for their loss. 

Sincerely, 

Elizabeth Painting

www.willowshpeherds.com