The court has ruled that police can execute your dog.
#1
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The court has ruled that police can execute your dog.
For Scott:
Court: Police can shoot dog if it moves or barks when cop enters home
By RYAN LOVELACE (@LOVELACERYAND) • 12/20/16 2:42 PM
A ruling from the 6th Circuit Court serves as a warning to dog owners: Teach your dog to sit still and be quiet or risk police justifiably shooting the dog.
Mark and Cheryl Brown petitioned the court to hold the city and police officers from Battle Creek, Mich., accountable for shooting and killing their dogs while executing a search warrant of their home looking for evidence of drugs. The plaintiffs said the police officers' actions amounted to the unlawful seizure of property in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
The circuit court on Monday agreed with a lower court ruling siding with the police officers.
"The standard we set out today is that a police officer's use of deadly force against a dog while executing a warrant to search a home for illegal drug activity is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment when, given the totality of the circumstances and viewed from the perspective of an objectively reasonable officer, the dog poses an imminent threat to the officer's safety," Judge Eric Clay wrote in the court's opinion.
In the case of the Browns' two pit bulls, the imminent threat came from the dogs barking and moving around. One officer shot the first pit bull after he said it "had only moved a few inches" in a movement that he considered to be a "lunge." The injured dog retreated to the basement, where the officer shot and killed it as well as the second dog while conducting a sweep of the residence.
"Officer Klein testified that after he shot and killed the first dog, he noticed the second dog standing about halfway across the basement," the court's opinion explained. "The second dog was not moving towards the officers when they discovered her in the basement, but rather she was 'just standing there,' barking and was turned sideways to the officers. Klein then fired the first two rounds at the second dog."
After the wounded dog ran into a back corner of the basement, another officer shot the dog rather than seeking help for it.
"Officer Case saw that 'there was blood coming out of numerous holes in the dog, and ... [Officer Case] didn't want to see it suffer,' so he put her out of her misery and fired the last shot," Clay wrote.
The court decided that the plaintiffs failed to provide evidence showing the first dog did not lunge at police officers and that the second dog didn't bark. Clay wrote that Mark Brown's testimony that he didn't hear any barking when the officers approached the residence did not have any impact on whether the dogs were a threat to the officers after they entered the house.
Court: Police can shoot dog if it moves or barks when cop enters home | Washington Examiner
So there you go. The next time a police officer shoots your dog, don't blame the cop, blame the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
(Unrelated to dog-shooting, and completely serious: I ♥ the appellate courts.)
Court: Police can shoot dog if it moves or barks when cop enters home
By RYAN LOVELACE (@LOVELACERYAND) • 12/20/16 2:42 PM
A ruling from the 6th Circuit Court serves as a warning to dog owners: Teach your dog to sit still and be quiet or risk police justifiably shooting the dog.
Mark and Cheryl Brown petitioned the court to hold the city and police officers from Battle Creek, Mich., accountable for shooting and killing their dogs while executing a search warrant of their home looking for evidence of drugs. The plaintiffs said the police officers' actions amounted to the unlawful seizure of property in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
The circuit court on Monday agreed with a lower court ruling siding with the police officers.
"The standard we set out today is that a police officer's use of deadly force against a dog while executing a warrant to search a home for illegal drug activity is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment when, given the totality of the circumstances and viewed from the perspective of an objectively reasonable officer, the dog poses an imminent threat to the officer's safety," Judge Eric Clay wrote in the court's opinion.
In the case of the Browns' two pit bulls, the imminent threat came from the dogs barking and moving around. One officer shot the first pit bull after he said it "had only moved a few inches" in a movement that he considered to be a "lunge." The injured dog retreated to the basement, where the officer shot and killed it as well as the second dog while conducting a sweep of the residence.
"Officer Klein testified that after he shot and killed the first dog, he noticed the second dog standing about halfway across the basement," the court's opinion explained. "The second dog was not moving towards the officers when they discovered her in the basement, but rather she was 'just standing there,' barking and was turned sideways to the officers. Klein then fired the first two rounds at the second dog."
After the wounded dog ran into a back corner of the basement, another officer shot the dog rather than seeking help for it.
"Officer Case saw that 'there was blood coming out of numerous holes in the dog, and ... [Officer Case] didn't want to see it suffer,' so he put her out of her misery and fired the last shot," Clay wrote.
The court decided that the plaintiffs failed to provide evidence showing the first dog did not lunge at police officers and that the second dog didn't bark. Clay wrote that Mark Brown's testimony that he didn't hear any barking when the officers approached the residence did not have any impact on whether the dogs were a threat to the officers after they entered the house.
Court: Police can shoot dog if it moves or barks when cop enters home | Washington Examiner
So there you go. The next time a police officer shoots your dog, don't blame the cop, blame the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
(Unrelated to dog-shooting, and completely serious: I ♥ the appellate courts.)
#4
Court Rules It Was ‘Reasonable’ For Cop To Shoot Dog For Barking
A dog killed in a raid was "just standing there" when an officer shot her.
4 days ago
Hilary Hanson Viral News Editor, The Huffington PostA federal appeals court has sided with police officers who fatally shot two dogs during a drug raid, even though officers testified that one of the dogs was merely barking and “just standing there.”
Mark and Cheryl Brown of Battle Creek, Michigan, first brought a lawsuit against the City of Battle Creek, the city’s police department and three officers in 2015, the Battle Creek Enquirer reports. A drug raid gone awry had resulted in their two dogs being killed two years prior.
The Browns argued that the police killing their pets constituted unreasonable seizure under the Fourth Amendment. A lower court dismissed the suit, and on Wednesday, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati released an opinion upholding the lower court’s decision. (Read the opinion in its entirety here.)
Neither Mark nor Cheryl Brown was a criminal suspect. But police obtained a warrant to search their residence because they had received reports that a man named Vincent Jones had been distributing cocaine and heroin from the home. The owner of the home was Cheryl Brown’s mother, who had a child with Jones.
Police said they received word on the way to the residence that Jones had already been arrested and was in custody. They also learned that Mark Brown — who was on his lunch break from work — was at the house, and that there was a dog in the backyard. Officers handcuffed Brown in front of the home when they arrived. Brown testified that he informed one of the officers that his two dogs were inside, and offered them keys to the place.
Officer Christof Klein, who later said he hadn’t heard Brown offer his keys, used a large metal ram to open the door."
#6
Jesus Christ. Even the officer's description sounds like he executed the two dogs. First shot maybe okay. I wasn't there. Then he follows it to the basement and finished it off. Second dog is obviously scared and showing signs of submission. Might as well kill that one too. The last shot I'm okay with because I agree it was likely best to put it down at that point.
#10
And if you speak out a bit too loudly, citizen, that may include you.
#11
You seem to be forgetting that cops have literally the most dangerous job on the planet. Every traffic stop might end in their death. Every individual is potentially high on PCP and might physically overpower them. Every labrador retriever may have some latent pit bull ancestry just waiting to reveal itself in bloodthirsty manner upon a policeman's jugular. There is no time for consideration, evaluation, discussion, or debate. All threats must be eliminated immediately.
And if you speak out a bit too loudly, citizen, that may include you.
And if you speak out a bit too loudly, citizen, that may include you.
#15
Why was it so time sensitive that they didn't just call animal control. Better yet have them there before executing warrant. I am sure there where plenty of signs they had dogs.
I think shot first ask questions later is the wrong approach.
They choose a dangerous job and I truly appreciate them for it.
I think shot first ask questions later is the wrong approach.
They choose a dangerous job and I truly appreciate them for it.
#16
Yeah, they shoulda told the drug dealer they're coming 24 hours in advance so he had time to train his dogs to sit in a corner and not bark
Then, and only then should they have entered the house to look for hidden drugs
*edit: actually no, they shoulda just called the drug dealer and asked him if he had drugs. made him promise to tell the truth. avoid entering the house in the first place
Then, and only then should they have entered the house to look for hidden drugs
*edit: actually no, they shoulda just called the drug dealer and asked him if he had drugs. made him promise to tell the truth. avoid entering the house in the first place
#17
Yeah, they shoulda told the drug dealer they're coming 24 hours in advance so he had time to train his dogs to sit in a corner and not bark
Then, and only then should they have entered the house to look for hidden drugs
*edit: actually no, they shoulda just called the drug dealer and asked him if he had drugs. made him promise to tell the truth. avoid entering the house in the first place
Then, and only then should they have entered the house to look for hidden drugs
*edit: actually no, they shoulda just called the drug dealer and asked him if he had drugs. made him promise to tell the truth. avoid entering the house in the first place
Or maybe they should have used the key they were offered by the other person living there, who's dogs were shot, and who offered to let them in and deal with the dogs. Instead, they hand cuffed him, broke the door down and shot the dogs.