RIP K9 "Blek" - Page 6

It is a second or third degree felony in Houston, Harris County, Texas where this happened. I used to live there for 12 years. To kill or with intent to kill a Police K9 is a 2nd or 3rd,don'tremember exactly felony, with 2 to 10 years in prison and a fine.

Still... I don't get it. If this 17 years old was able to get to the trained police K9 dog from behind, get him in an armlock and choke him to death, while the dog was supposedly working on the other guy... I dunno, something doesn't add up.

Those kids don't appear to be very smart, using a brick as a break and enter tool?

Either that kid is one cold blooded tough street thug, or, the dog was so focused on the other guy he didn't notice him until it was too late. I don't know what to make of this.

It is a sad story in any way, regardless.

Also,  somebody said now a K9, later probably a person... Sad indeed.

What's all this about "running from police"?!?  Last I checked the dog was STRANGLED to death and obviously didn't strangle himeself.  So the next time an officer pulls me over, I can justifiably reach out my window and strangle him to death because I am "innocent"?  Um, no!

So may I propose that we as a group start a petition drive that may be sent to the locality that will try the case! Perhaps the prosecuter would entertain more public support in prosecuting  crimes against police personell? Although the perps,race has no bearing on his trial but he will use it in his defense! The all to well known scenerio of the police settin the dogs on the black folk!

Has any one of you spent any time studying incarceration rates by gender and race in the US?  If you think this kid stands the same chance of going to jail as a white kid, a middle class kid, or a girl, you are kidding yourself, perhaps in a terribly convenient, self-serving way.

Same crime, same conviction -- vastly different sentences.

In one recent study, mock juries heard identical cases except that the accused was changed (four versions: white woman, white male, black woman, black male).  

First, none of the juries remotely understood the concept of reasonable doubt -- all convicted even when they explicitly estimated the likelihood of guilt being well below 100%.  Now that's a worry.

Second, the gender and race both mattered in the juries' estimation of guilt -- but not as you might imagine.  In the case, the accused was caught with a gun.  Because our society thinks this is more "normal" for a black man than a white woman, the probability of guilt of the white women was HIGHER than the black man.

Third, it turns out that how likely you think an accused is of having committed a crime does not appear to say much about whether or not you vote to convict. Despite estimating the likelihood of the white woman being guilty as being 20% higher than the likelihood that the black man was guilty, the juries nonetheless convicted the black men at a higher rate.

Fourth, when asked why, they said: letting a guilty white woman (with a gun) go free is not as risky as letting a guilty black man (with a gun) go free.  This "logic" led them to convict black men who they thought were as little as 50% likely to be guilty.  

50% chance of innocence is not apparently "reasonable" doubt for a black man in our society.

The date of this research? 2008.  Not the past, Maggie Mae.

My color and gender? White male, aged 56, doctorate, from a poor family (all scholarships) -- so I am not a " lazy black or latino looking for an excuse," Snaiper.

I am just paying attention to the real world, at the level of nuance revealed by real analysis and data, and not what we would like to believe.  I want to believe as much as many of you that racism is a thing of the past.  But it is not.  I also value the lives of dogs (and other animals) as highly as most of you (I haven't eaten an animal since 1981) -- but I do not think even a valiant K9 is important as a 17 yo kid, even if he is poor, black, and guilty of burglary.  

Oh, and MAGGIE MAE: my wife just read your joke and she wants you to know what I would really do.  She says I would throw down the gun, knock the knife out of the guys hand, and kick the crap out of him with my bare hands.  

Perhaps not since my cancer, but that's probably right before I got sick.  

If I send my dog on a person who is breaking in my home they not only have to deal with the dog they also have to deal with me.  I am sure the same would be true with this situation.  It is just too bad that the cop did not keep his dog on a long line untill the suspects were in sight .  I am sure things would have turned out different.

Maggie -- very funny.  It's an expression.  As I was a judo fighter in my youth, I wouldn't technically kick or punch anyone, anyway.  I'd probably grapple.

You're probably being rhetorical but the answer to your question depends upon the category of crime.  For the most violent crimes, about 2 in 5 are committed against African-Americans and about 11 of 12 of those accused of committing those crimes against African-Americans are themselves African-American.   I assume that's what you are getting at.

Kindly point out where I have offered "excuses" for crime?  I have argued for the protections that any civilized democracy needs to offer to all human beings before conviction, no excuses.  Is everything so simple to you folks that someone who wants to put in place civil protections is offering "excuses" for crime?

My wife thinks I'm nuts for even discussing this with you folks.  To her (corrupted by her elite education at Yale, I guess) you all seem like a bunch of neo-Nazis, ready to shoot or incarcerate for 10+ years a 17 yo black kid who burglarized a house and strangled a police dog who was biting his brother.

As for trashing the US, I think some things about us are great: 1) Our declaration of independence put into practice (and beautiful, inspiring language) the ideas of the late 17th century and early 18th century English and Continental philosophers -- advancing the English system of self-representation considerably; 2) Our constitution -- which took a long time to sort out, which is a good thing (being a liberal, I like analysis, as Maggie points out) -- remains after 200 years a model around the world; 3) Our erratic but enduring desire to provide justice in the courts to everyone who comes before us takes great moral courage -- too much for most people when they see their "enemy" before them -- but we do try, at least now and then, to realize this goal; 4) Our relatively open immigration policy for over 100 years that lead to a melting pot -- or a big diverse rainbow (whatever you want to call it) -- and makes us a haven for many people looking for a new start in life; 5) Our scientific establishment which, until the war on science conducted from Washington from 2000 onward, made us the best in basic R&D in the world; 6) Our enduring attempt to maintain a free press, an open media, freedom of speech, and free elections -- I find this very admirable, even if we are not perfect.

I just don't like the constant denial about our continuing problems -- things which continue to destroy lives at home and abroad.  We rank between Costa Rica and Slovenia in health care (#37 in the world), but we brag about our system!  And the odd sense that our people -- some of the least educated in the modern world -- are somehow superior to people around the world -- many of whom speak not only their own language but speak and write English better than we do, know our own literature and history better than we do, and marvel at our self-promoting, bombastic, pomposity (Republican and Democrat alike) with respect to the rest of the world.  Whether it is the hapless Bush or the rhetorically-gifted Obama, it is still offensive to me that our leaders are lecturing the rest of the world.  That is not our place IMO.

And, for the record, the health care plan that is coming out of the Senate is going to be worse than nothing.  Washington is broken.

The very best Professor I ever had simply told us your rights end were others begin !! I believer that to be incredible true. MVF for you to compare actions of common street thugs seeking nothing ether then instant gratification, to the holocausts is absolutely insinuative but also ignorant or to any other injustice that has happened in humanity in the past two century's!! I myself have a BH in CJ and am also seeking my MD in CJ and there is nothing and I MEAN NOTHING IN THE EDUCATIONAL FIELD to found such clear ignorance much less out right or disregard for humane life much less humane nor animal !!!! Those criminals weather acting under the influence of a narcotic or any other agent whether protecting a member off there family or a friend should know the penalty and be aware of the crime they are commissioning you better then any, should know that ignorance is not a defense of the law!! Nor should indigence be. Defending a co=conspirator of a crime in recommission of a crime itself !! If a police officer shot the individual that drove the ( CRIMINAL) OF THE GET AWAY TRUCK OF THE CAR THAT ROBBED THE BANK even if he did not actual rob the bank but was a co-conspirator does he not carry just a length sentience to detoured other in the commission of sad crime?A life was take here and that it's self is a travesty!!! BLEK was a hero and should be remembered as such without ignorance or doubt clouding his legacy!!!I I believe that he gave his life to protect democracy and his handler and all the right s we in America stand for !!!! And I would like to give my sincere condolences to Ted Dahlin of Harris County and to extend that I have a litter of working line GSD's that will whelp January 28 and that if he would be willing to except a pup from this litter in Blek's honor that I would be pleased to give it to him in honor of all fallen k-9 on behalf of Avery Hill Kennels
                           Avery Hill Kennels Jaime Wells (304)988-0253        1/2 west working lines 1/2 Czech lines

Wow, amazing!  No where did MVF equate thugs with holocaust victims, and more than once he reiterated he would like to see stiffer sentences handed down for convicted criminals who injure or kill a police K9.   MVF's original premise was simply that in this society people are innocent until proven guilty, this is not a case of one sentence fits all,  and finally in fact,  all people are not treated equally.   Sometimes innocent people do stupid things when they get scared  - like run from the police. 

MVF I agree with you, but I also agree with your wife,     hence I haven't spoken up as I usually would since it's pointless to do so......like the Bonobos, my friend!

Speaking of funny, as I was driving to club tonight,  I saw a bumper sticker that said  "Friends don't let friends vote Republican" hahahhahha!     Oh come on folks, it's at least as funny as the other joke!