Shoot the dog, no problem. Shoot the bird, get fired.

Fred Fuller · Jul 1, 2004

http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=39229

ARMED AND DANGEROUS
Cop who shot dog fired for 'shooting bird'
Officer booted for extending middle finger to TV cameras

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: July 1, 2004
1:00 a.m. Eastern
Â© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com

An Oklahoma police officer who shot a family dog has been fired for allegedly "shooting the bird" on television.

Officer Cory Forister fired for obscene gesture (KTUL-TV) (picture)

Bixby, Okla., Police Chief Anthony Stephens decided to fire Cory Forister after Tulsa TV stations aired video of the officer making an obscene gesture to camera crews.

Reporters were covering a canine-aggression class Forister was ordered to attend following his shooting of a golden retriever during a burglary investigation earlier this month. The dog, named Fluppy, had to be euthanized.

According to KOTV-TV, station reporter Patrina Adger sought comment from Forister about the case.

Adger: "Officer Forister, do you want to talk about what you're learning from the class?"
Forister: "No, thank you."

Adger: "Are you learning anything from the class?"

Forister: "I just told you, I don't want an interview."

Footage from the meeting showed Forister resting his head in his hand, with his middle finger extended.

The police chief says he was flooded with calls after the gesture was broadcast, and he was forced to let Forister go for conduct unbecoming of a police officer.

"This type of conduct by a police officer cannot, and will not, be tolerated, under any circumstances," Stephens said.

Forister denies intentionally "flipping off" the reporter.

According to KTUL-TV, the saga began June 5 as Forister was responding to a possible burglary at the home of John and Kathy Benzinger.

Fluppy killed after lunging at officer (KOTV-TV) (picture)

He then saw the family pet, which was tied to a cable as it lunged at him.

"I yelled three times at the dog, 'back, back, back,' and I was running backwards as fast as I could," Forister told KTUL.

He says Fluppy was on a long tether and was less than two feet away when he fired three shots.

"It all happened in a matter of about four seconds," Forister told KTUL. "It was instant. When I felt like my life was at risk, my personal safety at risk."

The city investigated the shooting and concluded no criminal charges should be filed against the officer.

"As far as we are concerned, we've conducted an investigation, held a review hearing, issued a finding, and that's the end of it," City Attorney Jim Frasier told the Tulsa World.

The Benzingers have since obtained another golden retriever puppy, as the family children pooled their money to purchase one.

"[Forister] has still refused to call us and issue an apology!" John Benzinger lamented to KOTV, though the police department itself has issued an apology.

He says the family is still considering a civil lawsuit to cover Fluppy's veterinary and cremation bills, reportedly worth over $1,000.

The case has been a hot topic in Oklahoma, sparking plenty of discussion and letters to the editor of the Tulsa World, including one by Tulsa resident James Blazer.

"When a Bixby police officer, one Cory Forister, shoots a golden retriever because it comes too close, then I would not want him to even have access to a gun, much less be authorized to use it," Blazer wrote.

"The dog killed in Bixby was tethered and could not reach him and, more important, it was a golden retriever, which is just about as dangerous as a 2-month-old baby."

RooK · Jul 1, 2004

Anyone else see it as a little nuts that he was cleared of charges in the incident but still had to take a 'dog' class? Can't say anything about the gesture incident, but they were hassling him. Lastly, any dog can cause harm to another person if trained or kept secluded. I have a Lab mix that I swear would rip anyone a new hole if he doesn't know them, same with his brother that my uncle owns.

sumpnz · Jul 1, 2004

My next-door neighbor has 9 dogs. I don't know why, but he does. Of all of them, the 140# pit bull/rottie mix is sweetest, nicest of the bunch. The dangerous ones are the lab mixes. One female lab mix in particular is likely to either (or both of) get shot, or land my neighbor in civil and possibly criminal court. A golden retreiver can still be a dangerous dog, hardly like a 2-month old baby to many people.

That said, I wasn't there, do I don't know all the circumstances. The cop may well have been, and apparently was justified in shooting the dog.

another okie · Jul 1, 2004

Although I don't live in Tulsa I do get Tulsa papers and occasionally watch Tulsa TV news. This has gotten extensive coverage. I wasn't there, so I don't know what happened, but to say he was cleared is not to say he was right. The DA decided there was no criminal offense, and the department decided not to fire him, but it seems to me he showed poor judgment, and his lack of judgment is proven once again by giving the finger to a TV cameraman. No one's going to get too down on a police officer right now in the Tulsa area. They are in the middle of a gang war over turf, and the murders are coming one right after the other.

By the way, the Tulsa DA also just let a homeless guy go on a self-defense homicide where the homeless guy was urinating just off a bar owner's property and the bar owner and a buddy went over and started beating the homeless guy up with brass knuckles. (Notice they left their own property.) The homeless guy picked up a pipe and beat one of them to death. Watch out who you pick on!

Chipperman · Jul 1, 2004

"...it was a golden retriever, which is just about as dangerous as a 2-month-old baby."

Obviously someone who knows nothing about dogs.

I'm sure if had been a Pit Bull 3 houses down, the shooting would have been "justified" in his mind.

When are people gonna learn that there are good and bad of every breed?

What kills me is that people like this claim to be so open-minded, and not have prejudices about people. If they're so tuned into a dog's breeding, why should they think anjy differently about a Person's lineage? :banghead:

feedthehogs · Jul 1, 2004

Cops are people too. We all just get to a point where the world has dumped enough crap on us and here comes some bimbo reporter who won't leave well enough alone.
The bird was probably justified.
She should have just dumped the film and let it go.
Hope she feels better she had someone fired for something real stupid.

He who has not shot the bird, let him cast the first stone.

For once I'd like to see a president give a state of the union speech with a few expletives thrown in.

Thats the real world.

I can't comment on the dog incident since I wasn't there. There is already too much Monday morning quarterbacking going on in the world.

flatrock · Jul 1, 2004

I wasn't there, I can't judge if the shooting of the dog was justified or not. I suspect that it was.

I can understand the officer getting upset with the reporters that had likely made him sound incompetent in their news reports, and then continued to harass him.

However, one of the unfortunate duties of police officers is to take a lot of crap from the public while not responding. The officer definately showed poor judgement in giving the finger to a news camera.

Shanghai McCoy · Jul 1, 2004

Well here is a surprise,my old duck hunting buddy is Chief of Police and in the news on the Highroad.Sounds to me like bad judgement on the officers part.Bixby has always been a tough town on dogs.A few years ago one of the firefighters was poisening them with antifreeze.

gunsmith · Jul 1, 2004

If it's ok for VP Cheney

To drop the F-bomb then it's ok for the cop to salute the press in a way (I'm sure) most of us have felt at one time or other.

Every cop in Tulsa should refuse to ever talk to that reporter.

As far as shooting the golden retriever? A family dog named fluppy hardly sounds like a dangerous dog to me.
If it had been named brutus the bone crusher or something he might have a case.

RED-DOG 40 · Jul 1, 2004

Reporters....... :fire:

.........

........... :barf:

..Nuff said.

Denko · Jul 1, 2004

You can tell by the picture of the dog that it was a vicious highly trained killer.Sometimes I wonder how I survived my paper route days.I guess dogs are much more dangerous these days.There are few dogs in this world that come back after a kick.Anybody that was afraid of this dog should wear a diaper

Stand_Watie · Jul 1, 2004

If I flipped anyone, anyone, the bird at my job and it were reported to human resources, I'd be fired immediately. The police officer may (or may not) have been 100% right in shooting the dog, but I can't feel any sympathy for him for losing his job for shooting the bird.

molonlabe · Jul 1, 2004

The shooting is questionable, the action indefensible no matter what anyone thinks. He can join the ranks of all the unemployed LEO's who discredit the uniform, falsify reports (yes that is a commandment). I've seen them and they don't belong in uniform let alone a Security Guards uniform.

KMKeller · Jul 2, 2004

At my workplace, it's considered a standard greeting to flip people off... No kidding at all. Mostly ex-mil types who are more than willing to pester the living crap out of you just for being there. It's a fun place to work and the office decorum is rather unusual.

fjolnirsson · Jul 2, 2004

While some may consider shooting the dog out of line, none of us were there, and Golden's can be vicious, just as any other breed. He may have been right, he may have been wrong.
As for the bird, He was in uniform, and he shouldn't have done it. I've had everything but semen flung at me, up to and including feces, while in uniform. I've had my ancestry questioned, and my parentage insulted, as well as personal threats against myself and family.
When in uniform, it is not permissible to take things personally. Period. The reporter was heckling the man, and he used a juvenile gesture. You can see in the photo that he is smirking when he does it. It was bad form, and deserves discipline. Does it merit firing? No. Suspension? Probably. Would most of us be fired for the same? Most likely. Does that make it right? No.
JMHO, YMMV

1911Tuner · Jul 2, 2004

Dogs, etc.

Any dog can be a threat at any given time. Any dog that
snarls and lunges must be considered serious in his or her intent.
There is no breed that should be completely trusted or mistrusted
based on breed alone. Each dog must be judged as an individual.
Many perfectly docile dogs will occasionally go berserk on contact with
certain people...and nobody really understands why except the dog.

I'm a former Collie breeder, and current owner of 4 Collies. All good dogs
that have shown no overt signs of unprovoked aggression toward any individual , but I can promise that if provoked aggressively enough,
that two of my big males would be a serious problem. Ditto for anyone who
entered the house without one of us being here. They spring to battle
stations to repel borders, but stand down quickly and get silly as soon as
they see that I'm okay with the entry. If I'm not here, all bets are off.

People ask me if my dogs bite. My answer is that all dogs will bite if
you push the right buttons, and when a good dog goes bad, it's usually
something that you did to provoke it. Provocation can range anywhere
from playful manhandling of a member of this household to approaching
the dog before you've been formally introduced to opening the door to
yell..."Anybody home"?

All dogs will bite. That's what they're designed to do. With the exception of attack-trained dogs, all dogs want to be,friendly, but it must be on the dog's terms. Respect his territory and his personal space until he makes up his mind about you and makes the first move. Would you want a total stranger to get in your face? If you looked out your window and saw a stranger walking across your back yard...would you prepare to repel? If a stranger opened your door and walked into your living room...what would your reaction be? Moreover, unless you're a member of the "pack" each repeat contact with the dog must be done on the dog's terms. Just because he licked your hand last week and let you rub his belly, doesn't
mean that he trusts or accepts you completely.

The cop was fearful of a large, apparently agressive dog. He responded.
He acted in the manner of the "Reasonable Man". Flipping off the camera
crew was unprofessional, and disciplinary action was appropriate, though
firing seems to be a little extreme unless there were other issues during his
tenure that worked against him.

Woof!

Tuner

Zach S · Jul 2, 2004

At my workplace, it's considered a standard greeting to flip people off... No kidding at all. Mostly ex-mil types who are more than willing to pester the living crap out of you just for being there.

Same here. Not a lot of ex-military, but we do have a few reservists and one "there I was knee-deep in brass" kinda guy. One of my co-workers and I got it started and it spread. I keep hoping he flips off the driver of the wrong blue caprice one of these days...

A family dog named fluppy hardly sounds like a dangerous dog to me.
If it had been named brutus the bone crusher or something he might have a case.

I had a pit named fluffy once, Mom used to have a wolf named Toshiba. A neighbor had a pomeranian named Jaws. Your point?

I'm with Tuner on this one.

molonlabe · Jul 2, 2004

fjolnirsson

When in uniform, it is not permissible to take things personally. Period. The reporter was heckling the man, and he used a juvenile gesture. You can see in the photo that he is smirking when he does it. It was bad form, and deserves discipline. Does it merit firing? No. Suspension? Probably. Would most of us be fired for the same? Most likely. Does that make it right? No.
JMHO, YMMV
---------------------------------------------------------

I agree with you and I am glad to see that your not defending his actions or critizing the reporter that was simply being a reporter. I use to wonder why chiefs hated them I don't anymore. Often there is a history preceeding these actions that we will probably never know about. Since we don't know what we dont know we should accept the Chiefs administrative decision.

Shanghai McCoy · Jul 2, 2004

I have known the Chief there since he was a patrolman.We used to be neighbors and have hunted together many times.He is a very squared away cop and a level headed guy so I would tend to believe that the firing of the patrolman was justified.

Chipperman · Jul 2, 2004

"Does your dog bite?"
"No."
-pat-pat- CHOMP.
"OUCH!! You said your dog doesn't bite!!"
"That's not my dog."

gunsmith · Jul 2, 2004

Zach

Tounge was in cheek-kind of

A neighbor had a pomeranian named Jaws. Your point?

Ok, lets say your being investigated for shooting a dog and you havn't
given the finger yet to to the gal with the camera.
The Jury is trying to decide whether you'll be fined or fired or sent to "dog awareness class" Do you want the doggone victim to be named Vlad the vien chewer or Fluppy?

Also, I've worked with big mean dogs before and have been bitten a few times as well I've had the golden retriever breed bark at me and snap but never bite.

I admit I wasn't there but speaking from the security of my armchair I think that the cop could have just kicked the dog and that would have been the end of the story.

I wonder about this dog awareness training,I've never heard of it before. It leads me to believe that his superior officers think he could have handled it better as well.

Shoot the dog, no problem. Shoot the bird, get fired.

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