Lubbock, TX PD dashcam: LEO quickly kills pitbull w/ 1 round

[The Annoyed Man]

It looked like the other dog tried to come to the dying dog's aid, and the officer kicked it away. My boxer/lab mix plays like that all the time with his full boxer "brother" which belongs to my son. Neither dog ever actually hurts the other, and they'll play like that for hours, chewing and slobbering on one another.

And he kicked it more than once.

I'm pretty irritated watching that video.

[strider67]

I disagree with the officer's decision for several reasons (some previously stated):

1. Danger of richochet on the terrified onlookers. (They seemed about as afraid of that dog attacking them as I was from here watching the video in my home).

2. Not being able to dispatch the killer rouge from point blank with one shot and...

3. Not finishing it off. Had it been a rabid, crazed, man-eater, I'd have been a lot more tolerant of #3.

Granted I wasn't there, and there could have been some circumstances I was unaware of, but I also think the officer already had his agenda set upon arrival...just my $.02.

[texasmusic]

Feral dogs have killed many livestock and other dogs. They are shoot-on-sight as far as I'm concerned. If they were pets then whatever idiot let them out to roam deserves the blame.

Also the dog looks DRT to me. It looks like a wounding shot at first but the "galloping" motion while he is laying sideways is a telltale sign.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

When I post "Subject" lines and in my posts, I try to use accurate and concise language but this thread
is lacking a little something on my part.

A commenter above noted that the officer didn't "kill" the dog quickly, which is a correct assessment.

I should have stated that he "shot" the dog quickly. I knew that the outcome of the 1 round was death,
but the "subject" line wasn't long enough to fully describe the activity.

Although this officer's actions have been questioned by many, he was in the usual "darned if you do, darned if you don't"
dilemma in which most LEO's find themselves. If the dog had suddenly released his grip and gone on to run wild and
disfigure a nearby child, the cop would have been chastised for not stopping the threat more quickly.

In the final analysis, no humans were harmed in the making of this video.

SIA

[knotquiteawake]

In the final analysis, no humans were harmed in the making of this video.

SIA

Playing or not. Its hard to tell if you don't know the dog personally. If your "aggressive breed" dog is loose, unsupervised, and attacking or mock-attacking another dog in public then people are probably going to assume its actually attacking. Office stopped the apparent threat.

Also, regarding animal control... give me a break! When is the last time animal control showed up within 2-3 hours of calling them?

[fickman]

Better audio would help a lot, but that didn't look like playing to me. It looked like the dog on top was chewing the other one pretty good, and when the officer kicked it, it looked at him and took a step in the wrong direction. If I was the officer, I wouldn't wait to find out if he intended to bite me in that instance.

Also, those looked like involuntary death twitches / muscle spams to me, not an animal writhing in pain.

All we know for sure is that there were two unleashed dogs locked up in a way that caused somebody to call the police. They were still like that when the officer arrived. He felt like one might bite him and dispatched it.

Unless a major twist is unveiled, I'm inclined to offer the LEO my gratitude for a job well done.

[fickman]

When is the last time animal control showed up within 2-3 hours of calling them?

Very few cities have after-hours animal control anyway.

[MoJo]

Dogs, a breed of dog is only as good or as evil as their training/conditioning. In the '60's-70's the evil dog was the German Shepard, 70's-80's the Doberman, 80's-90's the Rottweiler, now its the Pit Bull. In the early days of the 20th Century the Pit Bulldog was known as the "nanny dog" because of their gentle nature and protective behavior. Remember "Petey" from the "Little Rascals"? So what breed will be next? The Labrador, Golden, Brittany, or maybe the "Killer Chihuahua?" Dogs suffer the same discrimination as gun owners in the eyes of the media.

[WildBill]

Dogs, a breed of dog is only as good or as evil as their training/conditioning. In the '60's-70's the evil dog was the German Shepard, 70's-80's the Doberman, 80's-90's the Rottweiler, now its the Pit Bull. In the early days of the 20th Century the Pit Bulldog was known as the "nanny dog" because of their gentle nature and protective behavior. Remember "Petey" from the "Little Rascals"? So what breed will be next? The Labrador, Golden, Brittany, or maybe the "Killer Chihuahua?" Dogs suffer the same discrimination as gun owners in the eyes of the media.

Very interesting. I hadn't really thought about that progression.

[C-dub]

Dogs, a breed of dog is only as good or as evil as their training/conditioning. In the '60's-70's the evil dog was the German Shepard, 70's-80's the Doberman, 80's-90's the Rottweiler, now its the Pit Bull. In the early days of the 20th Century the Pit Bulldog was known as the "nanny dog" because of their gentle nature and protective behavior. Remember "Petey" from the "Little Rascals"? So what breed will be next? The Labrador, Golden, Brittany, or maybe the "Killer Chihuahua?" Dogs suffer the same discrimination as gun owners in the eyes of the media.

Very interesting. I hadn't really thought about that progression.

Very true, except that Pete from the Little Rascals was an American Bulldog.

[WildBill]

Dogs, a breed of dog is only as good or as evil as their training/conditioning. In the '60's-70's the evil dog was the German Shepard, 70's-80's the Doberman, 80's-90's the Rottweiler, now its the Pit Bull. In the early days of the 20th Century the Pit Bulldog was known as the "nanny dog" because of their gentle nature and protective behavior. Remember "Petey" from the "Little Rascals"? So what breed will be next? The Labrador, Golden, Brittany, or maybe the "Killer Chihuahua?" Dogs suffer the same discrimination as gun owners in the eyes of the media.

Very interesting. I hadn't really thought about that progression.

Very true, except that Pete from the Little Rascals was an American Bulldog.

When I was a kid, I remember many families had American Bulldogs. I remember them slobbering a lot, but I don't ever remember them being aggressive.

[mrvmax]

My observations:
1. It is easy to sit here and critique what you would have done.
2. If you do not want your dog shot, keep it at home where it should be.
3. The bystanders did seem too close to me, I would have been afraid of hitting one of them.
4. It did take a bit for it to die, but I would rather shoot the dog than take the chance of getting bit - I do not trust animals. Plus, I do not see any indications he wanted it to suffer.

[snatchel]

This is why I stress keeping dogs on a leash! I don't care who you are, how obedient & gentle your dog is... keep it on a leash in public. I have a German Shorthaired Pointer who regularly gets beat up by our cat, and once actually caught a squirrel, carried it around for about 2 minutes in his mouth (pointers have really, really soft mouths and don't really bite or chew), until the squirrel got tired of it and bit his floppy ear. He has never harmed a thing. Ever. I can take him off leash and he won't go further than 2 or 3 feet from me, returns when called, etc. Still, when we are out in public I keep him on a leash--for his own good.

A few months ago some lady was at petsmart when I ran by there, and her lab wasn't on a leash in the parking lot. She wasn't paying attention and her lab walked out into the road, was ran over, and died a very slow death. Senseless, and could have been prevented by just keeping the dog on a leash.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

snatchel:

You are preaching to the choir here my friend. On April 6, 2011 I was going about 30 MPH on a busy 30 MPH road.
A man was on the sidewalk with his 2 dogs, neither of which he had on a leash.

One of his dogs was a long-haired dachshund, possibly a dachshund mix. He dashed away from his owner and ran into
the road at me. I jammed on the brakes quickly but my left rear tire caught him and he expired after a few breaths.

I love dogs and was crushed that this happened. The man came over to his deceased pet, picked it up, and started
wailing its name, and saying "I should have had you on a leash." While he was bemoaning the loss of that dog, he wasn't
paying any attention to his other dog, who was wandering in the roadway, about to meet the same fate as his buddy.
(The other dog did not get hit, but it was close.)

It was a painful day for all concerned. 2 leashes would have prevented all the heartache.

SIA

[BigBen]

I have a pit-bull. She is sweet, spoiled, and great with kids. Hates cats and barks up a storm every time someone knocks or rings the doorbell. BUT I would never let her out in public without a leash and her choke-collar. She is naturally protective and could do damage if not controlled. Kinda like my glock. When I was growing up my dad had a rottweiler that he could control with just three words:Stop, back, and get'em. He still kept it chained. Mainly cause our neighbors liked to abuse it with beer bottles and fireworks. If you ask me that officer did right. If the owner won't look after their dogs let them be put down. It is sad but I'd rather see dead dogs than kids ripped up.