Police shoot dog in St. Clair Shores after complaints about excessive barking

[damnedifIknow]

SAINT CLAIR SHORES, Mich. (WXYZ) - "Friendly, loveable, playful,” said Brittany Preston as she described her dog Lexie. “She was just my puppy."

Preston says she left her dog with her Grandpa at his home in Saint Clair Shores, went to work overnight, came home, and the dog was dead.

She says Grandpa has mild dementia and forgot he let the dog out. The dog started barking. Between the hours of 3:00 and 7:00 a.m. several neighbors sick of the noise called police.

Preston says police surrounded the dog as her grandpa tried to let the dog in the door.

Lexie barked at police instead of going in the house. The police report says the dog charged police and they shot her.

Preston says witnesses told her that as the dog cowered against the house – they kept shooting.

“Eight shots in my dog is just horrendous,” said Preston.

Video at link: http://www.wxyz.com//dpp/news/region/macomb_county/police-reaction-to-excessive-barking-complaint-results-in-dogs-death

[NYC_SKP]

1. A horrible outcome, and one that could have been prevented.

Poor dear.

We'll never know if police over-reacted but I sure wish that the neighbors had called Ms. Preston instead of police.

It's hard enough to have a parent with dementia, and then working odd hours and then your dog is killed.

Damn.

[atreides1]

2. Uh huh!

"Preston says witnesses told her that as the dog cowered against the house – they kept shooting."


But the police didn't over react...

[sulphurdunn]

48. I agree.

[dipsydoodle]

3. Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.........

That is appalling.

[Aerows]

4. Police need MORE power to shoot

and kill people and animals while not being held accountable, not LESS...

... said nobody ever.

Why is shoot first always the answer these days? The dog is dead, the owner can do nothing about it, and the cops who shot the dog have zero repercussions. It's sad.

[Chuckmonico]

5. Misleading headline, also called "linkbait"

When I first saw the title, I had no idea the police claims the dog charged them. My first thought was that a dog far away from cops barked a lot, according to neighbors, saw the police shot him, period. But once we go to the body of the article we learn that the police claims the dog charged them. It may be true or false, but it's not in the headline.

These days news websites want clicks; and the best way to achieve this is with short, snappy shocking headlines meant to cause outrage that will be re-posted in message boards and will get many reactions none of which will mention the fact that the dog may have charged the cops.

Was a cop close to being bitten by the dog? It's not a fun question.

[xchrom]

8. flamebait post. nothing added to the actual article except bullshit speculation.

plenty of posts have been posted of police needlessly shooting the family dog.

this is another example.

the only danger the dog presented was noise -- nothing lethal.

i'm sure the noise of gunfire -- 8 times -- helped the night pass peacefully.

[damnedifIknow]

10. Why was the dog cowering near the house when shot?

If the dog did indeed charge as police are saying wouldn't it have been shot further away as in the yard somewhere? Unless the dog charged and then retreated.

[NYC_SKP]

11. "Preston says" "Police say" "Witnesses tell 7 Action news Brittany’s grandpa said the dog wasn’t his

The truth is somewhere in between.

Police do not typically want to shoot dogs and draw terrible press.

I tend to believe what they're saying, and not so much what Preston says neighbors said (double hearsay).

As I said, a tragedy that could have been prevented.

Luckily, dad didn't forget and let the dog out the front door to bite someone or get hit by a car.

Should she have trusted her dog to her elderly father?

Probably not.

[sulphurdunn]

36. Plenty of police

with a choice of using or not using their guns in encounters that are not life threatening, take the opportunity to use their guns. It seems that far too many cops are more interested in controlling situations by force and in protecting themselves than in peace keeping and protecting the public.

[hatrack]

19. You have made my day, you wonderful person, you!

Your amazingly original and perceptive post revealed to me the truth behind this totally justifiable police action!

Let us join Chuckmonico in a ringing denunciation of the sensationalistic press!

And let's come together to applaud the heroic officers who needed a full eight rounds to bring down this monstrous animal, in the process providing the fate the killer dog so richly deserved!

Bravo!

[Bragi]

21. Well said

[rhett o rick]

54. Good grief. "Was the cop close to being bitten by the dog?"

Most likely not but nice try. Police are on a dog killing spree and you side with them. "oh maybe the poor policeman was in danger of being bitten so he shot the mean nasty dog eight times" The police love to shot and kill stuff. Dogs or people. And then there are those that side with them and rationalize why they get to kill.

[mstinamotorcity2]

6. the dog needed an

Emergency Financial Manager. They should have called Governor Snyder.

[Vattel]

7. Too many police these days are wusses.

They are too afraid of getting hurt.

[NYC_SKP]

14. Their job isn't to go out and get hurt because someone else is negligent.

They spent hours and had animal control out there, too.

Preston should have taken better care if she loved her dog so much.

I wonder if she'd leave her child with someone with dementia.

[Vattel]

25. Taking risks is part of their job, or at least should be.

I don't know the details of what happened in this case, but if it walks like a wuss and talks like a wuss then it is prolly a wuss.

[KurtNYC]

18. Why should "getting hurt" be part of the process?

The issue is not "wussiness" but training and having gear available for these situations. There are ways to subdue pitbulls without shooting them but I can't expect cops or anyone else to just take a chance that the dog won't injure them in a way that could end their career. Have a look at the hands of this girl and the animal control officer (poorly trained) who get nailed by this pit...

There is a better way. Neither the dog nor the officer needs to be injured. And the guy with the stick is likewise not using any good tactics -- he could have killed the dog or hit the officer.

[Earth_First]

9. Yay. Cops. nt

[Brigid]

12. Quick, somebody post the pic of the milk-carrying cop!

My phone won't do it.

[NYC_SKP]

13. "Negligent owner blames everyone but herself for death of her Pit Bull"

Preston's dad said the dog wasn't his, so they proceed to try to capture the dog, lest it bite someone or be hit by car.

Police with animal control spent hours trying to round up the animal before resorting to use of firepower.

Sad all the way around but I watched the video and get the impression that Preston takes no responsibility for leaving her dog without an adequate care provider.

Easy to blame the cops. I blame the self-centered anyone's-fault-but-hers owner.

[joeybee12]

15. Even if the owner is at fault, there's no justification for 8 shots...

These cops have gotten too trigger happy.

[NYC_SKP]

17. Did you see the video? The dog was still alive when taken away by animal control on a restraint pole

Which makes me wonder when the shots occurred and what they were shooting.

Unless that was just file footage B-roll on the clip.

In any case, the immediate scorn for police is cruel and unwarranted.

One Facebook poster wrote: "Shoot St. Clair Shores cops, not dogs."

[TBF]

20. Authoritarianism alive and well -

shoot, shoot, shoot ...

[get the red out]

39. Bloodthirsty

Fucking vampires.

[Garion_55]

23. no! ALWAYS blame the cops!!!

ever hear of a fedex man, mailman, ups guy or amway salesmen shooting and killing someones dog? why not?

because they dont! why not?

they are trained and they arent pussies.

I dont know if cops are trained to be afraid of dogs or if the police just hire the biggest cowards out there but something is causing police, thousands of times a year, to grab their guns at the first sign of a dog and shoot first, ask no questions later.

there is NO accountability with local police to prosecute their own. NEVER EVER does an agency say that the shooting was not justified and their officer is being prosecuted. 100% of the time the police clear their guys. just a fact. that they get training for.

so until changes are made, until police stop shooting peoples dogs for no reason (and really most shootings can be avoided but its up to the officer to control themselves) damn right blame the police.

whats sad is that even when they are prosecuted the officer usually gets a slap on the wrist and the city takes a huge hit in the budget. taxpayers gets screwed the police keep rolling on.

[NYC_SKP]

24. The police are tasked with protecting the public from loose animals. If they did nothing...

...and the animal bit or killed a child, then the cops would be blamed.

Keep your animals under control and this won't happen.

Simple.

[Garion_55]

26. keep your officers under control

animals get out and run around. thats what animals do. you are right, often times these people are tasked with rounding up someones pet. thats why they need training and then maybe so many pets wont end up dead.

no officer in the history of law enforcement has ever been killed by a dog yet they shoot and kill thousands each year.

until your pets learn how to start shooting back, keep your officers under control and your pets wont die for no reason.

[NYC_SKP]

27. Keep your pets under control. Our police have better things to do.

eom.

[Garion_55]

30. EXACTLY the point

thats the attitude too many officers show up with when confronting someones pet.

better to just pull the gun and end the situation quickly. these cops got better things to do then watch out for the safety of your pet. if your dog happens to get out, too fucking bad, its dead. it shouldnt have gotten out. cops dont have the time to be screwing with Snuggles. they got donuts to eat.

[NYC_SKP]

45. People come first. In the eyes of the law, pets are mere property.

The owner should have been watching out for the safety of her pet.

She is the one who put it at risk by leaving it in the care of a man with demetia.

She could have had a kennel or crate for when she was away, or found a better care provider.

This is her fault.

I don't want her dog or your dog or anyone's dog running around the neighborhood off a leash.

[Garion_55]

51. but if they do escape

i dont want some trigger happy ahole cop shooting it because 'he has better things to do'

[awoke_in_2003]

63. Yeah...

they need to look for a minority to shoot.

[sulphurdunn]

40. But the dog didn't bite anyone, did it?

Did it even try to bite anyone? Sounds to me like the dog was just running around barking a lot, and that the actions of the police only aggravated the situation. Bullets flying around are more likely to hurt people than dogs. Did any of those boys in blue suggest tossing the dog a piece of steak? They had a long time to figure out a non-violent resolution. The police should only use deadly force in deadly situations. Nothing suggests to me that this was such a situation.

[NYC_SKP]

42. The video clip says that several hours were spent trying to capture dog.

I wasn't there, I don't know what happened.

In the clip you see that animal control is there dragging a still living dog away on a pole device.

Dog doesn't look shot like it's been shot 8 times.

Just don't know.

[sulphurdunn]

46. I wasn't there either,

but I have trouble trying to figure how a dog that runs away from you for hours poses a threat that requires a terminal resolution.

[rhett o rick]

55. The dog barked. He barked. I dont like barking dog but I dont want them killed.

Brutally killed with eight gun shots by some trigger happy psychopath.

I guess it's lucky that the gun happy cops didnt shot grandpa.

[NYC_SKP]

58. I watched the video and read the stories that are out there.

And, I wasn't there at the scene.

Apparently, multiple complaints were made. In my town they'd be met with no attempt to help keep the peace.

And, the police arrived, and asked the father if it was his dog, it was not, so they attempted to capture it.

To neglect capturing it would be dereliction of duty, it's their job to prevent roaming animals from harming the public.

They called animal control for help.

They spent hours trying to round up the dog.

Exactly how and why the shots were fired still isn't clear.

It's sad all the way around.

The owner could have prevented all of this....

[rhett o rick]

59. Thanks. I may have overreacted. I just get sick of stories of police killing dogs. There

has to be other solutions.

[NYC_SKP]

60. Somebody mentioned using a tazer.

That seems like a good idea, not sure if it was tried in this case.

Sad event all around.

[catbyte]

16. Why not charge them with animal cruelty? I don't care if it WAS the cops

[mnhtnbb]

22. Good god.

I once hired a pet/house sitter who was to walk our dog while we were away
and sleep at our house. When I came home, I had a message from animal control on the answering machine
that they'd had a report from a neighbor that the dog was barking all night.

Turns out the pet sitter left the dog outside (fenced area) all night and went out
partying.

Thank goodness the cops didn't come and shoot Tanya.

How sad. And unnecessary.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

28. I didn't know Tackleberry became an instructor at the Academy....

http://blutube.policeone.com/police-cool-stuff-videos/935358352001-cat-in-tree/

[Brigid]

64. Funny scene. And funny character.

Unfortunately, too many cops seem to think of Tackleberry as a role model.

[Taitertots]

29. Leaving a dog with someone that mentally/physically can't care for it is extreme negligence n/t

[damnedifIknow]

33. Yes but mistakes happen

I haven't met the perfect person as of yet. I just don't understand why the police seem to have so much trouble with animals and yet mail carriers and the like seem to get through their day without resorting to a firearm.

[Taitertots]

35. Getting bitten by dogs has always been a huge problem for mail carriers

http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2013/pr13_052.htm

There are over 5,000 mail carrier (USPS alone) attacks every year.

[damnedifIknow]

37. They know the risk when taking the job

They know they will be dealing with these types of situations just as police do. Well, I guess in order to remedy this situation we should just arm mail carriers also. Probably not.

[Taitertots]

47. It is callous that you have no empathy for thousands of people hurt by other people's negligence

Especially when you get called out for trying to assert that mail carriers don't have a problem with negligent pet owners.

Frankly, it is pretty disgusting that you think police officers/mail carriers should accept potentially severe injury to avoid shooting an animal that is attacking them.

[damnedifIknow]

53. Disgusting?

I find it disgusting killing is your first choice:

[Taitertots]

61. Your video makes perfect sense because bear=Dog and hiker=police officer

An injured bear running away into the woods is a good solution to that problem. An injured dog running away in an urban area is not a good solution to that problem.

Killing is the last choice. Because the situation has gotten to the point where there is a reasonable expectation of an animal attack.

[damnedifIknow]

62. How was there reasonable expectation of an attack?

"Preston says police surrounded the dog as her grandpa tried to let the dog in the door."

I posted that video to show if a can of bear spray has the power to stop a pissed off bear then surely stopping a dog would be cake.

"Studies Show Bear Spray More Effective Than Guns Against Grizzlies"

http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2008/03/studies-show-bear-spray-more-effective-guns-against-grizzlies

[Taitertots]

66. I'll make this simple for you.... You want a bear to run off into the woods and you don't want

a dog that you are trying to capture running away in an urban area.

But of course you think they are the same. Because you don't care about all the innocent people who are put in danger by your non-sense recommendations.

"How was there reasonable expectation of an attack?"
Read the article before posting next time....
"The police report says the dog charged police and they shot her."
http://www.wxyz.com//dpp/news/region/macomb_county/police-reaction-to-excessive-barking-complaint-results-in-dogs-death

[Ikonoklast]

65. "It is callous that you have no empathy for thousands of people hurt by other people's negligence."

But not family members killed or maimed by negligent gun owners who should have their rights terminated for being careless.


MUST DEFEND GUNS AT ALL COSTS.

[Taitertots]

68. Oh, nice attempt to deflect criticism with a thread derailment

But don't let the fact that I think negligent gun owners should face criminal charges stop you from making non-sense posts in an attempt to derail the conversation.

MUST AVOID TALKING ABOUT NEGLIGENT PET OWNERS AT ALL COSTS.

[Nine]

50. What a champion of the working class you are. (nt)

[sulphurdunn]

43. Great! Maybe the mailman

should carry a gun. Geeze.

[handmade34]

52. not only mail carriers...

my kid are all runners and have been chased, threatened and bitten by dogs during their runs… I have been bitten by dogs…

that sweet, wonderful pet often isn't so sweet when approaching a stranger…

[Taitertots]

67. The problem is that the people arguing in this thread don't care about the danger that negligent....

Pet owners cause the people around them. They don't want any chance their animal could be shot, even if it means other people are hurt.

That, and many of them are delusional about the danger their animals create for strangers.

[sulphurdunn]

41. Perhaps,

but what has that to do with the police putting the public at risk by using deadly force in a situation that obviously did not require it?

[Taitertots]

49. Being attacked by a dog is a situation where the use of force is justified n/t

[rhett o rick]

56. Go on. So what? nm

[tblue]

31. Dumb cops. Shame on them. Shame on the neighbors too.

Is that a good use of police resources, to quiet a barking dog. Isn't there something else you can do? Like, maybe, TALKING to your neighbor? "Hey, this barking is going on for too long. Could you please keep the doggie inside?"

Poor little doggie and her owner! Some cops suck at their job, and too many are trigger-happy.

[FarCenter]

32. Apparently, Grandpa told the police that it was not his dog.

So the police thought it was a stray.

[MirrorAshes]

34. Why can't they just taze an animal if it comes to that?

I mean, they do it to people all the time. Regardless of the rest of the circumstances, guns just seem so unnecessary.

[rhett o rick]

57. Discharging firearms is one of the perks of being a cop. They get to brag at

the local cop bar. "I killed a dog today." Assholes.

[get the red out]

38. I would end up on death row

Unless the insanity defense worked. I am scared to death of police being anywhere near my dog, I would rather they shoot me than her if they need fucking blood to feel powerful.

[99Forever]

44. Fucking PIGS.

Those assholes should be locked up for life with no parole.