Justice For Millie!

[Meddle]

"Local musician Alison Lewis said a weekend trip with her dog, Millie, to play at the old Tiger Stadium site turned into a nightmare when a Detroit police officer shot Millie in the face during what she considered to be a nonthreatening interaction."

As the officers approached, Lewis said her two friends put their dog on a leash. As Lewis reached for her purse and leash, Millie, who was unleashed and about 15 feet away, started to "gallop" toward one of the officers, she said.

"He went for his gun. It was about as long as I had to say, 'What are you doing? Please don't do that. She's not going to hurt you,'" Lewis said in an interview on Tuesday. "It was: Hand on gun. It was out. Boom."

After the shot, Millie bolted away. Lewis said at first she thought the cop shot into the ground, just scaring the dog. But when she caught up with Millie, she was bleeding heavily. She rushed Millie to a animal care facility and the dog went into surgery. Millie has been released and is recovering, although she is having a hard time breathing and will need to be re-evaluated, Lewis said.

http://www.freep.com/story/news/loca...-dog/27980463/

[animatedmartian]

Dog wasn't leashed. Owner wasn't in control of the dog.

[Scottathew]

Dog wasn't leashed. Owner wasn't in control of the dog.

And cute little "Millie" is a pit bull...

Without knowing more details, it's hard to come to a final judgement on this. I'd like to hear the cops' side too.

[Johnnny5]

"She's not going to hurt you." Yeah, I'm sure the cop was fine with trusting his well being to the words of a total stranger when a growling Pitbull was running towards him. It's a shame that it happened, but the owner/one handling the dog is the one to blame, not the police officer.

[animatedmartian]

And cute little "Millie" is a pit bull...

Without knowing more details, it's hard to come to a final judgement on this. I'd like to hear the cops' side too.

What other details do you need? Dogs have to be on a leash unless in a public dog park. The owner was being irresponsible because they thought they had a dog that was too good for the law. Dog wasn't on a leash and lo and behold, it charged at someone. Doesn't matter what it's intentions were, people who haven't been around that dog for more than 5 minutes aren't going to know what those intentions are. Most people in the same situation would defend themselves by any means.

[Scottathew]

What other details do you need? Dogs have to be on a leash unless in a public dog park. The owner was being irresponsible because they thought they had a dog that was too good for the law.

I'd still like to hear more details. I feel the cop was probably justified, but there's a slight chance in my mind it may have been an over-reaction.

You'll note that the OP doesn't mention breed, and there's a very good reason for that! If it had been a Yorkshire Terrier, you know it would be mentioned by the outraged people. But since it was an unleashed pit bull, the detail gets omitted.

Perhaps "justice" in this case would be a fine for the owner for allowing her dog to be unleashed and charging a cop.

[animatedmartian]

I'd still like to hear more details. I feel the cop was probably justified, but there's a slight chance in my mind it may have been an over-reaction.

You'll note that the OP doesn't mention breed, and there's a very good reason for that! If it had been a Yorkshire Terrier, you know it would be mentioned by the outraged people. But since it was an unleashed pit bull, the detail gets omitted.

Perhaps "justice" in this case would be a fine for the owner for allowing her dog to be unleashed and charging a cop.

That's true as well.

[Meddle]

Sigh .... and this is why cops get away with this stuff so often.

I'd fire the guy. He can go flip burgers where cowardice won't bother him. Unless he's afraid of grease.

[Gpwrangler]

Maybe the cops should just leave Detroit to the folks who think they can do better.

[ABetterDetroit]

Sigh .... and this is why cops get away with this stuff so often.

I'd fire the guy. He can go flip burgers where cowardice won't bother him. Unless he's afraid of grease.

Havta agree with Meddle on this one. Blowing away someones dog in a field that attracts all kinds of people to enjoy the outdoors in different ways in front of other people and pets kinda reeks of a coward or a power trip. Neither is needed in law enforcement.

[Johnnny5]

Havta agree with Meddle on this one. Blowing away someones dog in a field that attracts all kinds of people to enjoy the outdoors in different ways in front of other people and pets kinda reeks of a coward or a power trip. Neither is needed in law enforcement.

And what if this dog had been aggressively approaching a child playing in the park instead of an armed police officer? I'd much rather be reading this story than another one about an innocent kid being mauled by an unleashed dog that "Never hurt anyone".

[Honky Tonk]

Kudos to the DPD for their lightning fast response in keeping our abandoned fields safe from ball players and dog walkers. They probably should have taken a few players out as well. They had bats and everyone knows what a threat THAT can be. What if a small child was hurt by one of those swinging bats? Hope they celebrated their triumph over crime with a few doughnuts after.

[Zacha341]

Yep, I agree. I've owned and rescued dogs [[pits, shepherds, dobermans, mutts etc) in another life, cats too. Rule of thumb IMO: Your pet dog unleashed can be a potential danger even if it's a little pug [[my absolute favorite).

I never claimed to have a perfect 'read' of my dogs moods or behavioral shifts relative to others, especially a stranger first encounter. Absolutely not! And I NEVER claimed my dogs would not bite [[uhh, they all had teeth!). In other cities dog-on-leash laws are far more strictly enforced.

A non LEO person could've shot or pepper-sprayed the dog fearing for their safety. Glad Millie is recovering. Leash him in the future. I'll not approach anyone with a loose dog on the street. Nope. I don't want to be in a situation of a growling dog, 'unleashed' heading my way!

What other details do you need? Dogs have to be on a leash unless in a public dog park. The owner was being irresponsible because they thought they had a dog that was too good for the law. Dog wasn't on a leash and lo and behold, it charged at someone. Doesn't matter what it's intentions were, people who haven't been around that dog for more than 5 minutes aren't going to know what those intentions are. Most people in the same situation would defend themselves by any means.

[Wesley Mouch]

Me? I would rather see a hundred dogs shot my mistake than one person mauled by a pit bull.

This doesn't seem like a close call. Cop made a judgement call. Maybe the wrong one. But we weren't there.

Some here seem to rush to judgement. The cop needs some benefit of the doubt from us. I assume that discharge of his gun means a review of what happened. They will probably interview the dog owner, his partner, and other witnesses. Maybe he's a hothead. In that case, we can be glad we're only dealing with an injured dog, not a dead citizen.

[cla1945]

Sigh .... and this is why cops get away with this stuff so often.

I'd fire the guy. He can go flip burgers where cowardice won't bother him. Unless he's afraid of grease.

Sigh...next time you need a police officer, call someone else other than 911.

if the dog was on a leash, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

The rookie cops don't make $15/hr, maybe flipping burgers isn't such a bad idea, at least the only criticism they would receive would be that the burger isn't done enough.

[preserve]

If the owner was so familiar with Corktown, why didn't she take her dog to the dog park a few blocks away? Wonder if she had a plastic bag with her.

[Downriviera]

started to "gallop" toward one of the officers, she said.

Come When Called is the most important command your dog needs to learn. If your dog is not trained in this command then it is at risk of harm or death every time it is off leash. There are many other bad things besides a quick triggered policeman that your dog can get into very fast. I sympathize with the owner who felt the old fenced in stadium is a safe place to run your dog, and most times it is. But this just goes to show you how bad things can happen anywhere. I love dogs and this is a bad situation all around. Hopefully the dog has a complete recovery and other dog owners learn from this.

[Bham1982]

I'm a dog lover, but an unleashed pit bull in Detroit, charging towards an officer?

The dog's owner basically killed the dog, not the officer.

[Honky Tonk]

Sigh...next time you need a police officer, call someone else other than 911.

if the dog was on a leash, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

The rookie cops don't make $15/hr, maybe flipping burgers isn't such a bad idea, at least the only criticism they would receive would be that the burger isn't done enough.

Or overdone. I usually agree with your point of view, but I'm afraid I can't behind some trigger happy cop blowing away someone's pet, because that's what the manual said to do. If he doesn't have reasoning power, he's going to be recooking a boatload of burgers.

[cla1945]

I have a major problem with everything being blamed on the officer who had to shoot the dog, while the owner doesn't want to take responsibility for her animal. You own a pet, you're responsible, and you need to follow the laws regarding having an animal outside. That officer certainly didn't want to get attacked by a dog, he didn't want to go to the hospital, he did what his training prompted him to do.
As with a lot of people lately, when things go bad, it's always someone else's fault

[Junjie]

Up front, I don't think the officer did anything formally wrong or should be punished. And the owner bears some responsibility for having a dog off-leash.

That said, who walks into a big open space where multiple dogs [[and humans!) are playing and shoots the first dog that runs up to him? I hope he never visits an actual dog park - it would be carnage. If I walked down the residential street where my parents live on the west side of the state and shot every dog that came up to me I'd be counting dead dogs on two hands by dinner.

Have some common sense and don't create a problem where there is none, especially one involving discharge of a firearm.

I'm glad the dog survived and I'm glad he didn't accidentally hit one of the folks playing baseball. In future, I hope the owner only takes Millie to sanctioned dog parks if she's going to let her off leash.

[Honky Tonk]

charging towards an officer?

That's one way to win an argument, interject something that isn't there.

[Meddle]

I have a major problem with everything being blamed on the officer who had to shoot the dog,

I have a major problem with trigger happy cops reaching for their sidearm first. That should be the last tool you reach for when there are NO other options and a life is in immediate jeopardy.

'I shot the dog because I was afraid it might ... ' is nothing more than cowardice.

'I shot [[enter target here) because I was afraid ... ' is cowardice.

You shoot as a least resort, not the first.

[Bham1982]

That's one way to win an argument, interject something that isn't there.

Per the thread, the dog was running towards the officer. Either the thread premise is incorrect, and even the dog owner is lying, or you're just making up stuff.

[gnome]

The old Tiger Stadium site is a de facto Off-leash Dog Park; it has had that status for at least 5 years and is maintained by volunteers.

Who goes into a Dog Park and starts shooting running dogs?

oh, and Millie the Dog is not a pit-bull, a pit-mix or a Rottweiler. She's a spotted cattle-dog.

Again, who shoots a dog at a dog park?

i take my dog to dog-parks almost everyday it would kill me to imagine my pooch getting shot for the crime of running inside a dog-park.

Now, if she was running on the street or in an unfenced park, I could understand how someone might want to protect themselves, it would make me sad and heartbroken, but I would understand. But inside a fenced, de facto, off-leash dog park?

no way.