Entire Dog Blog

Yvonne Todd of Muskogee (Oklahoma) is suing the city and four of its police officers after she says they executed her 6-year-old Saint Bernard Shelby with no provocation and physically manhandled her to the point she needs ongoing care. The police conducted one of their "internal investigations" and determined (surprise) the officers had done no wrong.

I hate these stories, and not just because they involve the death of a dog. I know the police have a tough and dangerous job and need to protect themselves. On the other hand, I have never heard of an "attack Saint Bernard" or a wild biting rampage by a Saint Bernard. They are not known as particularly agreesive breed. They are, in general, quite friendly, easy going and affable.

“It happened so fast there was nothing I could do, and they (the police officers) acted like doing away with my dog was just a big joke.”

Police said they were responding to reports of gunshots when they arrived in March at Todd’s apartment. Witnesses said they heard no gunshots until after police arrived and Shelby was shot.

[...]

According to the lawsuit, which was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Oklahoma, some of the police officers at the scene “used excessive force” in shooting the dog and then trying to subdue Todd after the shooting.

“They tightened the handcuffs too far, they hit her, kicked her, they threw her down, and they stomped on her back,” the complaint alleges. “Plaintiff suffered numerous injuries because of the defendants’ actions, some of which require ongoing medical care ...”

Other officers, the complaint alleges, failed to intervene on Todd’s behalf or report the alleged use of excessive force and frustrated her attempts to file a grievance with city officials.

Todd never was charged with any crime after police detained her during the investigation of what Eskridge described at the time as a rather serious domestic dispute.

A woman who witnessed the shooting told the Phoenix last year that police grabbed Todd by the arm after she opened the apartment door and ordered her to control her dog. Elizabeth Garcia said a police officer shot Shelby in the head before Todd had time to react to the officers’ commands.

I hope the truth comes out through the lawsuit. Based on the witness statements cited in the article (couldn't the folks doing the "internal investigation" find these witnesses?) it doesn't sound like Shelby did anything to warrant being shot in the head.

I read a lot of these "police shoot dog in the head" stories every day. I don't know if every one makes news or if there's some rash of police shooting dogs in the head, but it is seems to happen a lot. There should be something in between "Hey, control your dog" and "Bang."