Yup like any dog I have ever seen he was trying to smell his butt, the officer responded with a .40cal, this was while the owner was standing there, along with his two children, right in their own backyard.
And if anyone else did that, you'd put two in their chest out of fear that they'd gone mad, however, since it's the po-po you just stand there and take it because any deadly-force action for any reason against a police officer will get you in one of very few scenarios.
1. Shot by his partner(s) a total of 48 times, or more depending on whether or not they all have 50 or more rounds on them at the time.
2. The victim of police fabrication to prove you murdered the cop.
3. Out $1,000,000.00 in legal fees defending your life against fraudulent charges of a system gone mad.
Do I appreciate the police and what they do? Yes, absolutely. I even sent a check to the Texas State Troopers Association this morning to show that appreciation. I have a real problem with this kind of thing though, a real problem with the CYA tactics being used by police all over the country to pass it off as though they are never wrong in anything they do. PROCEDURE seems to be the word of the day and SENTIENT THOUGHT seems to be left on the bedstand once the gun and badge are pinned on for the days shift.
Personally, no bones about it, I'd just assume lose the cops and worry about the "criminal element by myself without them. I do that anyway, I carry a gun, and I keep one in my home just in case I or my family ever need to be protected from a criminal. I doubt I'll ever need to call the cops to come save me from a problem other than to serve as cleanup crew, but I've been a victim of overzealous policing more than once in my short life, and I have no doubt I will be again.
This entire situation was created by hellbent emotional response and wasn't based at all on any facts. All we have is a wallet found on the side of the road, that's all, and somehow that led to a dead family pet. Levying any responsibility on the family for that is childish. We have a family who was minding their own business, heading home from a vacation, and their lives were violently intruded upon by the THP and the local city police.
The LEO presence here wants me to believe this was somehow the fault of the Smoak family or of the "good samaritan" that called this in. I'm sorry, that just doesn't work, and I have done a ride-out before. First step in every stop? Plate gets run...seems like the entire situation could have been avoided had that simple step been taken. Instead, we have a dead family pet, and everyone involved is innocent.
Everything was done according to "procedure."
The police were "trained" to do it that way.
Out of a handful of cops, could someone have used their brain for 2 seconds and simply run the plate on the car to see if it matched the ID on the "stolen" wallet? Maybe, but that probably wouldn't be "procedure", and it probably wouldn't be as exciting as running a few people out of a gun at car point, and "procedure" must be followed above and beyond common sense.
I see the same thing taking place right now, today in Arlington, TX where I live, and in Ft. Worth, TX just up the road a piece.
A guy jumped off a bridge on 360 in Arlington. Cops said they had no clue why, wrote up a report and that was that. When asked if they tazed the suspect, they refused to comment on "ongoing investigations" and off the record said they didn't taze the guy. There was absolutely no mention of tazing the subject mere seconds before he went over the edge of the highway overpass. Unfortunately for the Arlington PD, a reporter snapped an excellent photo of an officer with a Tazer pointed at the suspect, the coil attached to both the device and attached to the jumpers side. The APD of course has no comment and will "look into it."
In Fort Worth a few nights ago, an undercover cop busted into a convenience store and ended up shot by the store owner. In the initial report, FWPD said that the officer WAS wearing a vest, DID identify herself as a police officer, WAS wearing proper ID, WAS NOT wearing a mask, and said she WAS entering the store to arrest a suspect that she sold $20 worth of crack to INSIDE the store.
Today, after serious questions into the outright lies told by the FWPD, they issued a revised report that stated the officer WAS NOT wearing a vest, that she DID NOT identify herself as a police officer, that she WAS NOT wearing proper ID, that she WAS wearing a mask, and that she WAS entering the store GUN DRAWN to arrest the suspect inside, but that the deal had actually taken place OUTSIDE the store. A total change of EVERY fact originally reported once they were called on their total fabrication of the events.
They also wanted to refer the case to the grand jury for charges against the shooter, but after being made out as liars and fools, they "might" reconsider that action.
That's in my neck of the woods, and that's the kind of departments I have to think about. Always looking out for themselves, and totally willing to protect their own by lying and fabricating the facts to absolve police of any possible wrongdoing. When the "Thin Blue Line" is no longer a threat to myself and my loved ones, perhaps I'll feel more respect for cops themselves. I respect what you guys do, and I respect the authority you represent, but I only respect the people behind the badges on a case by case basis.
I look at police with total suspicion and distrust until they prove worthy of better, just like they look at me.
-SS
:banghead: