15 replies to this topic

[CAB]

See Kevin's post below.

[keporter]

Bulldog shot by Adrian policeman

By Chris Gautz -- Daily Telegram Staff Writer

ADRIAN -- An Adrian police officer shot and killed what he believed to be a pit bull after it bared its teeth and lunged at the officer's groin Thursday afternoon.

While chasing a suspect who had fled on foot from a traffic stop, Officer Vince Emrick found himself in the back yard of a home at 1136 E. Maumee St. when he realized he was not alone, according to the police report.

The dog actually was an Old English bulldog, according to owner Troy McGowan.


"He probably weighed 67 pounds the last time I had him weighed," McGowan said, adding that he had paid "almost $2,000" for the pet. "He stood 18 or 20 inches high at the most."

"It's an extremely unfortunate incident all around," Adrian Deputy Police Chief Terry Collins said. "I'm convinced the officer had no viable alternative, but to do what he did."

At about 3:15 p.m. the Lenawee County Sheriff's Department made a traffic stop on Dean Street, near Erie Street, when a young Hispanic male fled from the scene.

The APD was called to assist on the foot pursuit and about eight law enforcement officials from both departments joined in the chase, Collins said.

The chase led Emrick, who has served with the APD for four years, to the back yard of the East Maumee Street home. It was there he noticed the brown and white male dog growling and baring its teeth. Emrick drew his weapon and began to back away, but was in the middle of the yard and realized he would not have time to get over the fence, Collins said.

"I don't think he had any other choice," Collins said. "I was thoroughly satisfied with the way the officer handled himself."

A second large and aggressive dog in a fenced-in area behind Emrick then began to bark, the report stated. Emrick noted in his report that he didn't know the second dog was there until it started barking, and said it was trying to climb over the fence to get to him.

The barking of the dog that was behind the fence seemed to trigger the dog to attack, the report noted. The bulldog then bared its teeth again and charged at the officer.

Emrick fired a single shot into the dog's head, killing it instantly.

In his report, Emrick noted that the dog was less than a foot from the muzzle of his .45-caliber Smith & Wesson when he fired it.

Emrick then jumped over the fence to continue the pursuit of the suspect and to get away from the second dog. The suspect was no longer visible by the time he was over the fence, however.

Lt. Cletus Smith of the Lenawee County Sheriff's Department said the suspect has yet to be apprehended. A positive identification of the suspect has been made and authorities are seeking a warrant for his arrest.

McGowan arrived on the scene after the shooting and was visibly upset and began screaming after he saw his dog lying in the yard, according to the report.

The officers removed the dog from the yard and disposed of it.

Collins said both he and Emrick feel sympathy for the owner of the dog, because it had to be put down.

Emrick's weapon was secured until an investigation of the incident was completed later that evening, Collins said. His weapon was returned to him the next morning and he was back to work.

http://www.lenconnec...news/news03.txt

[mihalik1413]

Bulldog shot by Adrian policeman

By Chris Gautz -- Daily Telegram Staff Writer

ADRIAN -- An Adrian police officer shot and killed what he believed to be a pit bull after it bared its teeth and lunged at the officer's groin Thursday afternoon.

While chasing a suspect who had fled on foot from a traffic stop, Officer Vince Emrick found himself in the back yard of a home at 1136 E. Maumee St. when he realized he was not alone, according to the police report.

The dog actually was an Old English bulldog, according to owner Troy McGowan.


"He probably weighed 67 pounds the last time I had him weighed," McGowan said, adding that he had paid "almost $2,000" for the pet. "He stood 18 or 20 inches high at the most."

"It's an extremely unfortunate incident all around," Adrian Deputy Police Chief Terry Collins said. "I'm convinced the officer had no viable alternative, but to do what he did."

At about 3:15 p.m. the Lenawee County Sheriff's Department made a traffic stop on Dean Street, near Erie Street, when a young Hispanic male fled from the scene.

The APD was called to assist on the foot pursuit and about eight law enforcement officials from both departments joined in the chase, Collins said.

The chase led Emrick, who has served with the APD for four years, to the back yard of the East Maumee Street home. It was there he noticed the brown and white male dog growling and baring its teeth. Emrick drew his weapon and began to back away, but was in the middle of the yard and realized he would not have time to get over the fence, Collins said.

"I don't think he had any other choice," Collins said. "I was thoroughly satisfied with the way the officer handled himself."

A second large and aggressive dog in a fenced-in area behind Emrick then began to bark, the report stated. Emrick noted in his report that he didn't know the second dog was there until it started barking, and said it was trying to climb over the fence to get to him.

The barking of the dog that was behind the fence seemed to trigger the dog to attack, the report noted. The bulldog then bared its teeth again and charged at the officer.

Emrick fired a single shot into the dog's head, killing it instantly.

In his report, Emrick noted that the dog was less than a foot from the muzzle of his .45-caliber Smith & Wesson when he fired it.

Emrick then jumped over the fence to continue the pursuit of the suspect and to get away from the second dog. The suspect was no longer visible by the time he was over the fence, however.

Lt. Cletus Smith of the Lenawee County Sheriff's Department said the suspect has yet to be apprehended. A positive identification of the suspect has been made and authorities are seeking a warrant for his arrest.

McGowan arrived on the scene after the shooting and was visibly upset and began screaming after he saw his dog lying in the yard, according to the report.

The officers removed the dog from the yard and disposed of it.

Collins said both he and Emrick feel sympathy for the owner of the dog, because it had to be put down.

Emrick's weapon was secured until an investigation of the incident was completed later that evening, Collins said. His weapon was returned to him the next morning and he was back to work.

http://www.lenconnec...news/news03.txt

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How mad would you be if this happened to you and got this lame excuse? I can't believe anyone is okay with this, what is this world coming too.

/no recourse on the officer?
//officer didn't belong in the guys yard, I don't care who or what he was chasing
///no monetary value could be placed on your pet to make up for this either
////my opinion on that, sorry for some reason this bothered me tonight.

[Heather M]

Reading this article made me angry, too. I can't imagine how upset I would be if someone jumped into my backyard then shot my dog because it was alarmed, no matter what the reason. Don't police ususally carry pepper spray? Shouldn't this be the first line of defense? I wonder how much training the police get in reading and managing dogs they might encounter. I would seem like a good thing to do.

[mihalik1413]

Reading this article made me angry, too.  I can't imagine how upset I would be if someone jumped into my backyard then shot my dog because it was alarmed, no matter what the reason.  Don't police ususally carry pepper spray?  Shouldn't this be the first line of defense?  I wonder how much training the police get in reading and managing dogs they might encounter.  I would seem like a good thing to do.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Very much agreed Heather, they should have had some type of formal training for encountering the various types of circumstances that they encounter aside from shooting everything in sight. It seems like shooting anything that requires them to do their job is the only way anymore.

Larry

[Vicki_Wood]

Tell me this one didn't frost my butt. What is this world coming to? Aren't they suppose to subdue a two legged criminal as best as possible starting with pepper spray and again why didn't he try that first. Of course, if this happened in Florida after the new gun law that Jeb Bush signed, anybody could shoot anybody human or not if they looked intimidating. Well haven't we come a long way baby!!!

[Daisy]

English Bulldogs arnt know for aggressive behavior,
A friend of ours has one & we are around alot of them
at the shows & have spent time with several breeders ect.
The police officer should have used pepper spray, it is a shame
he wasnt better trained & the owner should sue him for damages,
know it wont bring back the dog & yes the average price on a bulldog
is 1,500-2000. The officer was in the DOGS Yard, not loose on street...
I never leave my dogs outside when we arnt home, too much can happen
to fast.... Ticks me off too....
Daisy

[dobeluvr]

I just have to say one thing in defence of the officer.

My brother in law was stabbed by a man who was originally standing over twenty feet away from him. If you look up the stats you will find that a person can run over twenty feet in less than three seconds and stab you repeatedly in that short time frame. He was a police officer at the time and ended up brain damaged, paralyzed, blind and with the mentality of a two year old. He has since passed away.

In my opinion the officer only had a few seconds to make the many decisions that had to be made in this situation. I'm not inside his head and I wasn't there. If he judged that the dog was a threat, then I'm not going to stand over here in my safe house and tell him that he was wrong.

Jane

Edited by dobeluvr, 24 May 2005 - 08:38 AM.

[Heather M]

Jane, I am sorry to hear about your brother in law. It is a tragedy and a reminder of the risks that persons on the police force face everyday. It is easy for us to sit back and say what "could have/should have been done". I still wonder though, if the police get any training in interacting with dogs. With so many American household having them, it would seem like an important step in increasing our pets' and the officers' safety.

[mihalik1413]

Jane,
I'm very sorry to hear about your brother-in-law. This isn't really the same type of situation though and I do hope the police department gets a lot of heat for this. If I ever did leave my dogs out and this happened I would want someones a$$ over this.

/just sayin.

[dobeluvr]

Jane, I am sorry to hear about your brother in law.  It is a tragedy and a reminder of the risks that persons on the police force face everyday.  It is easy for us to sit back and say what "could have/should have been done".  I still wonder though, if the police get any training in interacting with dogs.  With so many American household having them,  it would seem like an important step in increasing our pets' and the officers' safety.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks Heather.

You can call your local police department and ask them what their policy is regarding dogs. Many of the larger cities have the K9 units so they are very familiar with dog behavior and training. There are also county agencies as well as the state police. I'm not sure if they have set standards throughout all of law enforcement or not. I'm not sure if the state dictates to the local and county level and state level through the state legislature. I'm sure you could find out if you called though.

Jane

[Jennymay]

Jane,
I'm sorry to hear about your brother-in-law, that's horrible, but as Larry mentioned, it's not really the same type of situation, but I know you used it as a comparison about time and thinking rational on the side of being an officer.
However....the dog was in ITS backyard, which was fenced, on his own property, minding his business when an officer WILLINGLY jumped the fence into the yard, not contemplating what could be in that yard before so. I'm sorry, but because this officer wanted to get a guy who ran during a traffic stop (what was this guy stopped for, anyways? Running an amber light?) , an innocent lost his dog, who was ONLY doing his job by protecting his property and home.
I would be LIVID if someone jumped into MY yard, and shot Brody (and he acts like a fool, barking and going crazy just when people are near the privacy fence), for that person has NO right to be in my yard, for whatever reasons, and just because Brody ACTS like that, that is NOT his demeanor what so ever, he loves EVERYONE that he meets, and is not aggressive in the least when it comes to humans.
I hope the owner of the bulldog sues the police department. That officer put himself into a bad situation, NOT the dog. And as for the B.S. that the other dog initiated the bulldog to attack???? Come on...what's next, the dog was panting and I thought he might be rabid??
WHAT is this world COMING to?
Sorry, just like Larry and Heather, this article and news really disturbed me on this fine Friday morning, especially considering I didn't even see it when Kev and Cheryl had posted it originally....

[keporter]

Adrian bulldog owner paid

ADRIAN - The owner of an Old English bulldog that was shot and killed by an Adrian police officer in its own back yard has been compensated by the city for his loss.

Adrian City Administrator George Brown said the owner was paid $1,500 for the dog, which was killed March 31.

The officer encountered the dog in the course of chasing a suspect through the dog's backyard, and shot it when it began to lunge at the officer's groin.

http://www.lenconnec...news/news07.txt

[mihalik1413]

Adrian bulldog owner paid

ADRIAN - The owner of an Old English bulldog that was shot and killed by an Adrian police officer in its own back yard has been compensated by the city for his loss.

Adrian City Administrator George Brown said the owner was paid $1,500 for the dog, which was killed March 31.

The officer encountered the dog in the course of chasing a suspect through the dog's backyard, and shot it when it began to lunge at the officer's groin.

http://www.lenconnec...news/news07.txt

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is just adding insult to tragedy, to me no amount of monetary value can be placed on an owners loved pet.

I hope the owner isn't alright with this and will take this as far as he/she can go with it.

Edited by mihalik1413, 13 June 2005 - 08:11 AM.

[keporter]

I felt the same way Larry, but the way it looks they are settling on this amount.

[Jennymay]

What a crock of $hit.

Sorry guys, for the language, but I know you guys are all thinking the same as I just wrote.

Larry, I agree...adding insult to injury.

Edited by Jennymay, 13 June 2005 - 08:39 AM.