Detroit Police kill 3 helpless dogs

[neavling]

Here's another example of why the Detroit Police Department should remain under federal oversight. http://motorcitymuckraker.com/2012/1...ring-pot-bust/

[Bham1982]

These officers need to be jailed. They're psychos if they're going around killing leashed dogs.

BTW, what is it with the treatment of animals in Detroit? There are so many neglected pets out there. I see dogs all the time running in freeways, packs of strays walking down alleys, etc. Why are people so cruel?

At least there are many volunteer organizations out there dedicated to helping animals. Too bad the police are animal abusers themselves.

[kenp]

There has to be more to the story.
Wasnt one detail of the drug bust.

[iheartthed]

Did they have a warrant to go in his house? If so... Sorry, they had to assume the dogs were a threat.

[Crumbled_pavement]

This is just disgusting. I could understand people, but DOGS! Someone and their boss should be fired over this.

[poobert]

These officers need to be jailed. They're psychos if they're going around killing leashed dogs.

BTW, what is it with the treatment of animals in Detroit? There are so many neglected pets out there. I see dogs all the time running in freeways, packs of strays walking down alleys, etc. Why are people so cruel?

At least there are many volunteer organizations out there dedicated to helping animals. Too bad the police are animal abusers themselves.

I second that. Dogs in this city are regularly chained to cinder blocks and mistreated and malnourisned, and of course, put in dogfights, by their owners. They seem to be yet another status symbol - gotta have that pit bull, adds to the cred - rather than a living creature that feels pain, excitement, and affection.

Call the Humane Society or animal control whenever you see animals being so mistreated. Life of any kind has no value in this city more often than not.

[DetroitPlanner]

A drug dealer with pit bulls? Come on people! You know very well why he had those dogs. He should be lucky that the cops did not shoot him. Generally these type of folks have dogs for one reason, the keep out the other criminals. The dogs have a tendency to take on the mannerisms of their owners, regardless of breed.

[iheartthed]

A drug dealer with pit bulls? Come on people! You know very well why he had those dogs. He should be lucky that the cops did not shoot him. Generally these type of folks have dogs for one reason, the keep out the other criminals. The dogs have a tendency to take on the mannerisms of their owners, regardless of breed.

Yeah, I dunno what people were expecting to happen during a drug raid? Should the cops have sent in Humane Society workers ahead of them in bulletproof vests? Or maybe they should've come in carrying bowls of Kibbles 'n Bits?

[Bham1982]

A drug dealer with pit bulls? Come on people! You know very well why he had those dogs.

Pit bulls are less prone to biting than many other breeds. They're frequently neglected, but that's no reason to go around shooting leashed pit bulls. They're obviously no threat if restrained.

[gnome]

Bham, just wondering ... is there any topic in which you are not an expert?

[Wesley Mouch]

Pit bulls are less prone to biting than many other breeds. They're frequently neglected, but that's no reason to go around shooting leashed pit bulls. They're obviously no threat if restrained.

I wholeheartedly agree. Anytime DPD encounters an animal, they should call for an assessment by Animal Control. Wait until they arrive, and then continue with the drug bust.

Or perhaps you could volunteer to check drug houses for animals before the police enter?

[Bham1982]

Bham, just wondering ... is there any topic in which you are not an expert?

I gave my opinion. Not sure why this makes me an "expert".

I don't see why police have carte blanche to shoot defenseless animals. That's all. A leashed dog isn't a reasonable threat, just like the cops can't shoot grandma just because they have a warrant to enter her house.

[Bham1982]

Or perhaps you could volunteer to check drug houses for animals before the police enter?

Or, better yet, how about we ask the cops to do their jobs, and use some discretion?

Do the cops have the right to blow up your car, just in case someone may use it as a weapon? Maybe shoot grandma, just in case it isn't Charles Bronson in drag?

[Johnnny5]

Sorry for the guy's loss, but this is a totally one sided account of the events and I don't find it very believable that Pit Bull and German Shepard mixes would turn tail and run the other way when strangers bust down the front door.

They very well may not have been mean dogs, but almost any dog will behave aggressively and defend their home and owner. The police have no way of knowing if the dogs would attack or not [[Unless you expect them to take the drug dealers word for it).
Also this was a freaking drug raid! The cops have mere seconds to determine if there is a threat of armed men hiding in the house, they don't have the time to be distracted by large and possibly aggressive dogs.
If they believed the animals to be a threat I don't blame them one bit for taking them out.



.

[Bham1982]

If they believed the animals to be a threat I don't blame them one bit for taking them out.
.

But that isn't what happened. The article claims that the police entered a locked outside enclosure and shot the dog, and then chased two other dogs around the house, until they were cornered, and shot.

And since when do the police bust into homes "looking for marijuana"? They've got that much time on their hands?

[cramerro]

But that isn't what happened. The article claims that the police entered a locked outside enclosure and shot the dog, and then chased two other dogs around the house, until they were cornered, and shot.

And since when do the police bust into homes "looking for marijuana"? They've got that much time on their hands?

This article is some BS - there has to be more to the story, just isn't fitting into thier case of police brutality.

I have to point out that per Bhams description, accurate according to the artice, the two dogs that weren't in the outside cage were chased around the house. IF that is the case, they were NOT "leashed" or otherwise restrained. The cops went in, two agressive dogs in a drug house are running free.

I too wish this tragedy could have been avoided, but this is not a cut-and-dryed case of cops and thier boss being fired for tracking down random dogs and killing them for fun.

[Honky Tonk]

"Woods’ young pit bull, Tank, who neighbors and witnesses say was confined to a locked fence outside and unable to harm anyone, lay dead in a puddle of blood, shot in the face"

IF this is true, then that cop is a POS, [[AND I mean that), and deserves what he/she gets. However, as just witnessed with the "Squatter" article, these things sometimes end up with a different story then first told.

[Wesley Mouch]

"Woods’ young pit bull, Tank, who neighbors and witnesses say was confined to a locked fence outside and unable to harm anyone, lay dead in a puddle of blood, shot in the face"

IF this is true, then that cop is a POS, [[AND I mean that), and deserves what he/she gets. However, as just witnessed with the "Squatter" article, these things sometimes end up with a different story then first told.

We have no confidence in DPD's internal procedures, it would seem. This is all Monday Morning quarterbacking. We don't know what really happened.

I detest animal cruelty. I detest drug lords. I expect my police department to have good policies, procedures, training, and incident follow-up.

If we don't think DPD can address this issue themselves, then we should consider disbanding the department and going Camden.

Detroit deserves good policing.

[Meddle]

Pit bulls are less prone to biting than many other breeds.

Pits are kept at drug houses for one reason ... to attack anyone other than their feeders.

[Det_ard]

My prediction: you're going to see more outcry over these dogs being killed than over an innocent person being killed. Just watch.

[Lowell]

This situation also begs the question of the illegality of a relatively benign substance [compared to alcohol or tobacco].

Aren't there thousands of unserved warrants for violent crimes that should be way ahead of busting a pot grower?

[Zacha341]

For certain there's that 'assumption' of that with the police when they arrive. I have friends with Pits and they know that if the police are called it could be dicey as to the response. Sad but true...

Pits are kept at drug houses for one reason ... to attack anyone other than their feeders.

[313WX]

The sarcasm in this thread is state of the art.

[Honky Tonk]

"Aren't there thousands of unserved warrants for violent crimes that should be way ahead of busting a pot grower?"

Yes, but those aren't sitting ducks and might require some effort. Besides, a lot of those guys don't own dogs.

[Planner3357]

Glad to see Detroit is just as fucked up as it was when I left for Philly in May. Can't wait to move back.