Max Shot GET Involved !!!! - Page 1

I  have forwarded this story along with a letter to the S.O. letting them know my concerns...

 Anyone who wants to get involved can email me for the letter "type"  you can add to it or change it around some or leave it the way it is,  it's up to you.  Just email me with the request and I'll send it to you or you can copy and paste it from below...  I think everyone who can is willing and able to needs to get involved in this one.

This guy showed Very Poor judgement,  Very Poor skills, and this family is suffering,  If we can help this family by just showing them some support well then to me it's worth it.

God Bless everyone and hope you are able to help in some way.

You can call the SO at 301-932-2222 or email them at

coffeyr@ccso.us

The letter is below

Dear Sheriff Rex Coffey,

    I am writing to you with concern over the German Shepherd Dog that was gunned down while he was “tethered” on his owners property. I am very concerned that this is not the first dog that has been destroyed by this particular Deputy. Your deputy fired 6 shots and in the hail of lead some of the bullets found they’re mark, But apparently not very well, This dog suffered a horribly painful death that was less than immediate absolutely caused and educed by your deputy with little regard, in my opinion this dog was maliciously killed with reckless and wanton disregard of life. In our State he would be brought up on charges.

   It is also a concern that you would send a deputy to the “Wrong” home and then inflict this type of pain and suffering upon any family in your county, with such disregard and disrespect. Would a phone call have been prudent ? It is a concern that your deputy certainly had a choice to back out of the situation before putting himself into the “dogs range of area”, Certainly your deputy after only being nipped could have backed out and gotten out of range and then waited for the family to come home and contain the dog and then ask his questions. His choices were unlimited, The dog was left with no choice Thanks to your dead aim deputy, who apparently needs some time on the shooting range for practice.

    I am very concerned that you have allowed this deputy to dispatch animals in this type of manner before and that he is being allowed to continue this behavior. Obviously this deputy has some type of issue with dogs and is in need of a full Psych Evaluation by an Independent or several Independent evaluators.

    Please do the right thing, Reprimand, Dismiss, and Discontinue this individual’s Sadistic Behavior against dogs. You have deeply wounded and depraved this family of a cherished “family member” Max was not just a dog he was Family and he was LOVED You have deeply wounded a family in your County by allowing this deputy to do this type of thing before and by allowing him to continue on to Max. This must stop !!

    You must do the right thing for your County citizens who hired you to keep them safe. This behavior of this deputy is disturbing and wrong, Surely you can recognize this. Please remove this dangerous deputy from your force. For the safety of your people in Charles County and for they're pets safety as well.

Sincerely,

The only thing that could have made the difference and IMO should have made the difference is a kennel not a tie out chain!! I feel horrible for this family, my only advise I can give is to have a safe environment for the next family member...

I will be sending an email and expressing my concerns with this deputy!!

sent 5/24/07

Here is the email I sent to the Sherrif,

 "Dear Sherrif Coffee,

Regarding the recent incident of Max the German Shepherd being shot, I would like a moment to voice my concern over the matter. As a law-enforcement officer, I know that each situation is unique and unpredictable. I am deeply disheartened over the cruel killing of this dog. Apparently, child support documents were to be served on an individual who's last known address was at the residence where this happened. If this was the case, your deputy failed in his duty to clearly establish contact with the current owner. It was his responsibility to act with respect and safeguard of the homeowner, who he wasnt sure of the identity at the time he entered the premises. The very moment he saw the dog, he had a responsibility to step back and defuse the situation. Instead, he engaged the dog and trespassed onto the owner's premises. His attitude toward animals is quite evident, given his past history of animal shootings. He put HIMSELF in harms way by disregarding the dog and playing "king of the hill" with it, in his obviousneed to establish dominance with dogs. If this had been an entry search warrant and the dog had attacked, he would be 100% justified in his actions. Will he possibly shoot an innocent person next time because he does not have the skill to think how to defuse a situation? As law enforcement, it is his sworn duty to protect the lives of property of citizens. Acting without regard to this animal clearly violated his oath to protect & serve. Im sure you have seen the pictures of the mangled pieces of the dogs jaw lying on the ground. For this family to come home to find that is a disgusting travesty. Your deputy is incompetent and should be removed from duty immediately! This wasnt even the correct residence of the subject of the summons, and an innocent family has suffered due to his mistake. Your state & local laws require reasonable confinement/control of dogs which the owner had done. Im quite sure this matter is clear to you. If indeed, this dog did take abite or nip at your deputy, it would have been avoided had he not trespassed first, then made a poor choice of putting himself in biting distance of the dog. Please remove this deputy from duty, compensate the grieving family and offer a public apology. It is only right.

Sincerly,"

Dear Sheriff Coffey,

I have the utmost respect for the law enforcement community. I believe that most officers are honest, hardworking, self-sacrificing citizens who do their best to uphold the laws and protect the citizenry. This absurd and brutal act brings shame and distrust down upon your department. If such acts are allowed, the effect will be to further undermine the trust of the community as well as those of other jurisdictions. Having kept, bred, and trained dogs for many years I have witnessed a good many bites both intended and unintended. Every unintended bite that I have witnessed was the result direct or indirect of human error. It is my opinion that the bite in question was an appropriate defensive measure considering the fact that your officer was trespassing on the premises being guarded by this dog. Furthermore, as the dog was chained, the deputy could easily have avoided or even aborted his mistake without consequence. Your officers actions demonstrated clearly his ineptitude and inability to perform his duties safely or correctly. Perhaps next time such a situation develops the owner will be present to defend his dog, or perhaps the court will decide that YOU are liable in this case as you had ample opportunity to evaluate the competence of the deputy in question and dismiss him before he could cause such harm. I am fully cognisant of the complex dynamics of running your department and keeping adequate personnel on staff to get the job done. I hope that you will handle this situation judiciously and decisively. Sincerely, Jonah D. Harshbarger 

This is the letter I have just sent:

Dear Commanding Officer:

As an animal lover, I am shocked at the callous disregard for animal life and feeling shown by your derlict officer; as a citizen, I am shocked that such behavior can go on in an American community, and thankful that it has not happened in mine; as a professor of judgment and decision-making, I plan to make your officer and your department a case study in my classroom.  I do hope the end of the story will redeem, as well as possible, the start of it.

I am not a law enforcement officer, so the protocols that were in place are admittedly not known to me, but if an officer of the law can violate the basic social norms violated in this instance, and further violate the basic judgmental protocols available to the most ordinary, untrained citizen (who is stupid enough to challenge a dog on a chain when it is not necessary?), and he has not violated your department protocols, there is something seriously amiss.

The insult piled upon injury in carting the family pet off for decapitation is too much.  Why not make the punishment for this heinous act the uncertainty that such a man would face if the dog be allowed to be buried in peace?  Let that be a lesson to trigger-happy dog killers who watch too many TV action movies, and cannot discern the pursuit of a homicial killer from the serving of a warrant.

Any official reply to this email will be, in the interest of fairness, included in my case packets in my MBA program at the State University of New York.

Wishing you the best in dealing with this rogue cop,

Michael Fortunato/ Professor of Management and Economics