Shoot the dog first, ask questions later
June 27, 2008 at 9:09 am by Mara Shalhoup in NewsIn Hall County, up in north Georgia, deputies serving a warrant this week shot and killed a homeowner’s dog. And the homeowner wasn’t even the guy they were looking for:
Franklin Reeves, a 58-year-old Baker Road resident, says he does not know why deputies thought they needed to shoot at his three boxers — killing one and injuring another — but Maj. Terry Conner, commander of Administrative Services for the sheriff’s office, said the two deputies were protecting themselves.
The situation up in Hall County reminds me of a few stories I wrote years ago about local cops shooting dogs. On one occasion, an Atlanta police officer shot a Virginia-Highland woman’s yellow Lab that was sitting outside a corner store. In Little Five Points, a man’s Rottweiler was shot by a DeKalb County marshal while the man was being evicted from his apartment — the day before his court date on the eviction.
While I understand that scary, aggressive dogs are often used by drug dealers as a buffer between contraband and the cops, don’t dogs have rights, too?
June 27th, 2008 at 10:10 am
never mind that a boxer is about as far as one can get from a scary, aggressive dog. size does not denote temperament.
June 27th, 2008 at 10:41 am
So true, Amy. As a boxer owner myself, I can attest to that!