Why are so many pet dogs being killed by police?

Max, a 2 yr. old Rottweiler (pictured), was shot numerous times by Hawthorne police officers in California this past weekend after his owner, Leon Rosby, was arrested and handcuffed for videotaping the police during an armed robbery.

A video was being shot of Rosby and Max as well while all of this happened. You can see it through this link. (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/07/video-shows-dog-shot-killed-by-police/) In it, you will see another man beside Rosby either taking pictures and/or videotaping as well. I wonder why this other person was not arrested. Warning: The video in the link is very graphic

“Hawthorne police said in a statement that they were responding to an armed robbery on the street Sunday evening where Rosby had been walking Max. Rosby interfered with the situation by blasting loud music from his car and walking his dog too close to the home in question, which “created an increasingly dangerous situation.”

The police did not want Rosby and his dog close to their investigation. The police yelled something to him (as seen in the video) and in return he placed Max in his car.

As Rosby is handcuffed, Max jumps out of the back window and walks over to his owner. The video shows Max sniffing grass, even cowering before barking at the police. The police, in turn, felt threatened and shot him FOUR times until he convulsed and died in front of screaming onlookers.

The video is disturbing, upsetting and alarming, to say the least. What we see in the video may not be the whole truth but what seems evident is that Mr. Rosby was cooperative with the police. He put his dog in his car. His dog jumped out and sniffed the ground and even walked backwards before being shot.

Did the police act in a proper manner by shooting a dog several times? Why was Rosby handcuffed for videotaping? Why wasn’t pepper spray or mace used as a first line of defense against Max? Why didn’t they shoot in the air first to scare the dog?

There are many questions and public outrage with this very sad situation.  The Police Department is investigating the killing of Max “to ensure appropriate adherence to our department policies and procedures,” the police said.

Max’s story is not an isolated incident. In the last few years, we are hearing more cases of police killing pet dogs. Is this the case or is social media enabling us to hear more of these stories?

As I began to research this topic, I was astonished to see the sheer number of cases involving dog deaths by police. Most of these cases do not make the news.

Here is an excerpt from an article (July 2009) written by Radley Balko of the Daily Beast about dogs being shot by police.

“And, unfortunately, it appears to be true—the shooting of dogs by police has become troublingly common across the country. My beat as a journalist includes police misconduct, and I’ve noticed an increase in media accounts of police officers shooting the family pet—with a notable lack of remorse or disciplinary consequences. This sad trend appears to be a side effect of the new SWAT, paramilitary focus in many police departments, which has supplanted the idea of being an “officer of the peace.”

“I think all of this drug-war imagery has produced a mentality that didn’t used to exist,” says Norm Stamper, who was police chief of Seattle from 1994 to 2000 and served 28 years in the San Diego Police Department. “It’s ‘I’m part of a war, I have a mission, and nothing is going to get in the way of me completing that mission.’ You’re kicking down doors, barging in with guns, and when animals do what animals do, they become collateral damage. Too many officers have gotten rather callous about it, I’m afraid.”

“National statistics on police-involved pet shootings are difficult to come by. Randal Lockwood of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals recently told the Las Vegas Review-Journal he sees 250 to 300 incidents per year in media reports, and estimates another 1,000 aren’t reported.”

“The Indianapolis Star reported that between 2000 and 2002, police in that city shot 44 dogs. A recent lawsuit filed by the Milwaukee owner of a dog killed by police found police in that city killed 434 dogs over a nine-year period, or about one every seven-and-a-half days. It’s impossible to say how many of those were pets (versus strays), or in how many of those shootings the dog may have actually presented a serious threat to the officer or someone else. But in too many reported accounts of dog shootings, it seems doubtful that lethal force was necessary.”

These statistics are from years ago and are sickening to read. God only knows the number of dogs that are being killed today.

I admire the police and the work they do. But, there will always be the power-hungry police officers who don’t care if they kill innocent animals. Most police officers don’t ever fire their weapons. Perhaps, this is their way of being able to fulfill that desire. I don’t know. I can only shake my head in disbelief to think if I’m being robbed and my dog barks at the police officer, will he be shot to death?

Whatever the reasons for police to kill, something needs to change. Just because they’re police, this does not give them the right to kill pet dogs at this alarming rate. I’m sure there are legitimate reasons to have killed dogs but I’ve come across too many cases where that isn’t the case.

You can visit this site which gives case after case of dogs being shot by police. https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=207846740317443814606.0004cfafec39c0992f16f

Max was killed and his owner is grieving for his best friend.

Rosby told  KABC-TV -“I’m a grown man, I’m 52 years old.” “I never thought I would ever get attached to a dog like that.”

Rosby’s wife, Brigitt Rosby, told ABCNews.com that Max was a smart, friendly dog who was especially close to her husband.

“He loved to take pictures,” she said of the dog. “If you asked him to smile for the camera, he would actually smile for the camera.”

RIP Max