Cops sued over dog shooting.............

[444]

[email protected]

Governor:
I enjoy travel, and when traveling I usually take my dog. He is a part of the family and I enjoy his company. A couple times a year, I will drive to Mexico for a long weekend. One thing I don't do however is to take my dog into Mexico. The reason is that throughout Mexico there are roadblocks set up, and manned by young soliders. I don't know, but from their appearence and reputation they seem poorly trained. I have always worried that if they stopped my car and I had to get out for a search, my dog might try to defend me or my vehicle and would be shot by a trigger happy, poorly trained, third world soldier. I see now that Tennessee is another third world country that I need to avoid. I sincerely hope that tourists from all over the country take heed and avoid your state like the plague.

Ken Gilcrest
Pahrump, NV

 

[spacemanspiff]

going into a situation without getting all the info from dispatchers is NOT 'just doing their job'.
JBT deserves the lawsuit.

 

[J Miller]

I said my piece about this issue on on of the other threads.
But thanks to Tamara's nice link defining anarchist I am feel better. I am one.
I have always believed that the government could do nothing for me that couldn't be done better by private people.

I am glad that the Smoakes have filed suits against all involved. This abuse of police power is out of hand, and since there will never be any criminal charges for what was done, the suit is the only way they have to get justice done. I hope they win big.

 

[Mike Irwin]

"It was a DOG. NOT A HUMAN BEING."

I certainly haven't changed my position.

The lowest cur is more likable, and responsible, than most humans.

 

[M2HMGHB]

please dont feed the troll people.

 

[spacemanspiff]

new leaf, remember the thread recently about felines, and how the members here posted what they would do if someone used deadly force on thier kitties for pooping in thier flower beds and whatnot?

most people view pets as family. you should definitely have expected people to vehemently defend the smoakes and empathize with the loss of thier dog.

however, just like you have pointed out that we DONT know all the facts, just what has been reported in the news and what the smoakes have had to say about it, we DONT know that the officers were in the right, do we?

dont you think that if the dog-killing officer wasnt alleged to have appeared 'gleeful' at his kill, that people wouldnt be demonizing this cop? i think everyone has a biased opinion of it to begin with, seeing how the assumption and allegations are that the officer in question acted in an unprofessional manner.


not to mention the entire procedure was incorrectly carried out. a suspicion of robbery? without a complaint from a victim? only someone who *thought* it might have been a robber fleeing the scene of the crime? did the smoakes do anything wrong? was there evidence that justified the felony stop? i think not.

 

[Zander]

You attack the hell out of me because I stated my opinion.

You aren't being attacked. Your opinion, however, is being challenged...strongly, in fact.

I see nothing wrong with the process...it's the nature of this board and there is nothing unfair about it.

My opinion, of course...

For those of you who prefer anarchy, you must believe that we need no regulatory agencies whatsoever.

With all due respect, that's a generalization based on an assumption that you aren't qualified to make.

Nevertheless, welcome to the board! Hope you'll stick around and continue your offerings.

 

[2nd Amendment]

Nope, don't know a thing about dogs. I'm not eternally surrounded by Pitbulls and Dobermans. I didn't grow up around idiot bird dogs of assorted breeds and semi-paranoid German Shepherds. I wasn't covered in dog spit last week by two pissed of pitts who decided to duke it out in a friends study.

Gee, you're right, I actually never have had a dog of my own, so I don't know a thing. After years of other peoples dogs I am not still uneasy around them and so I never specifically learned how to deal with them to lessen my unease. Yep.

Boxer, bulldog, chow...kick in the head. Works every single time.

 

[spacemanspiff]

dogs aren't very good at discussions

i'd have to disagree...the last samoyed husky my boss had was quite a conversationalist. she'd come in every morning with her master and greet everyone hello with that samoyed growl/howl and then go to everyone and have a few words individually, to see if they wanted to share any tidbits of their breakfast with her.

now his new samoyed puppy just barks to get attention.

 

[igor]

new leaf, there is a profound difference between being attacked for stating your opinion and being countered in a debate.

Debating carries the prerequisite of gathering all available facts and basing one's arguments on them. You lack in your homework on several accounts and are not being particularly polite in throwing around assumptions off your head and then getting PO'd when debunked.

If you're just trolling, here I went, hook-line-sinker :banghead: . If you're looking to get involved in a reasonable exchange of ideas, hang around and learn. The culture in this board is most educating (form, not imposed content ) if one's open for dialogue as opposed to two-to-n-way monologue.

 

[DeltaElite]

I too like dogs better than most humans, except for strippers.
Strippers are better than dogs anyday.

 

[Mike Irwin]

"A couple big differences.....dogs aren't very good at discussions , and they aren't very good at golf."

Quite frankly, neither are most people, myself included.

It's not that I don't dislike humans that much. It's that I strongly disagree with the high moral and social pedastle on which we've unilaterally put ourselves.

From where I'm standing, it's largely not deserved.

 

[rock jock]

I too like dogs better than most humans, except for strippers.

I don't see much difference.

 

[spacemanspiff]

dogs only want their belly rubbed or behind their ears scratched.
strippers want all the george washingtons in your wallet and whatever you can put on your credit card.


dogs are far cheaper to thrill than strippers are, trust me, i know.

 

[rock jock]

new leaf,

The success of our country has been due to the ability of people to apply reasonable standards for the limits of govt. within Constitutional bounds Some folks on this board want anarchy; most (including myself) recognize this goal as idealistic and naive. We simply want the govt. (and LE as an extension) to recognize their proper role in society - as a protector of rights and public servants. This incident shows the excesses of an all-powerful police state. It is not reasonable by an stretch of the imagination.

 

[Edward429451]

Newleaf when I first started posting on this board (TFL), and posted stuff without thinking it through enough, I kind of thought I was being 'attacked' also. Then after thinking it through and rereading the posts, with a little time I realized that these people were not attacking me but setting me straight. They're a lot of very intelligent people here and routinely talk at a level that I was not used to thinking in. Displacing my emotion I read this stuff almost like a literary work. Like reading philosophy.

Truth hurts. Welcome to the next level. Hope you stick around. Takes a bigger man to stay, discuss and learn than to run.

'Preciate all you intelligent peoples patience with my earlier juvenile rantings... I'm still learning!!!!

 

[Lone_Gunman]

New Leaf,

so we can better understand your perspective, are you a law enforcement officer?

 

[hammer4nc]

Welcome to the board, newleaf...let's turn one over by hearing your positive solution to this problem. Not the legal problem, so much as the rather huge public relations problem this has created for Cookeville and THP.

Roleplay: OK, 3-2-1... newleaf is on "Good Morning America"... addressing the American people, who just witnessed a pet's head blown off while drinking their morning coffee... You are responsible for pulling the leo's chestnuts out of the fire.

PS I don't think "its a dog, not a human" is going to go over too well, but if that's your opinion, you're entitled to it.

The above is not an attack, just an attempt to illuminate what should be the issues associated with this incident (just my opinion).

 

[beemerb]

I wached the tape a little while ago. One dog jumping out of a car with tail wagging looking to get a ear scratched or a belly rub.Maybe a little food handout.That was so clear on the tape everone should be able to see it.
I agree that a lawsuit takes money out of the taxpayers pockets.Thats bad so why not keep the cop who shot the dog on the payrole as say animal control officer? And half his wages go to paying off the money awarded in the lawsuit.
I think could be a fair solution for all.By the way he can't carry a gun.
Bob

 

[TheeBadOne]

Our soft spot for animals

I agree. We tend to go all out emotionally for animals. I think perhaps it's the human tendency to want help things lesser than ourselfs. In any event, here's a link to an article that shows it better than I ever could. Anyone remember the Fluffy dog that was thrown into traffic and run over during a road rage incident in CA? The hunt for the "killer of fluffy" raised more media attention and MONEY than any missing/endangered/killed CHILD, ever! Almost $120,000, yes, one hundred twenty thousand dollars, raised to in Fluffy's memory!

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/GoodMorningAmerica/GMA010416Road_Rage_Dog.html

 

[riverdog]

I for one feel that if one of the Smoak family needed to be sacrificed, then General Patton was the preferred option; however, even his canine life deserved better than what he got. The statement that "it's only a dog" is pretty lame when it was a major LE mistake that caused that death.

Personally, I would like to see the price of boxer-bulldog mixes to get real expensive, not because the Smoaks deserve to get rich, but because LE needs to realize that wasn't "only a dog". It was someone's personal property that was destroyed by unnecessary and negligent LE action. While I see Officer Hall as a hapless triggerman, there was plenty of other negligent LE action that precipitated this event.

 

[Cal4D4]

People were humiliated and degraded unfairly as "collateral damage" in the war on crime. Their family pet's lifespan was shortened dramatically and wrongly by the same failure of procedure that caused the stop. If there was no loss of a life, everything else can be solved by monetary damage. A valued pet died. Money can't replace this. They will get bundles, but this is handled by the insurance carrier. We will all ultimately pay for this. The most that will happen to any of the officers is job loss or maybe a bad reprimand. BFD. Insurance carrier may refuse coverage unless better training standards are met. Good. The officers involved will not feel any real grief.

I propose an act of contrition from all involved on the scene and perhaps the captain or wherever "the buck stops". Ritual held before the entire force and Smoakes if they wish. Pinky finger, sushi board and sharp knife. Simple and effective. Does not impact the employability or any facet of the officers life. Reinforces the lesson that needs to be learned. All will forever be very careful about the caliber of people they work with, as well as their future actions. They can carry a tiny badge of shame for the rest of their careers.

It's only a dog, so very true.
IT'S ONLY YOUR PINKY!

 

[hammer4nc]

...Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson are so throoughly stunned at newleaf's interview, they are momentarily at a loss for words..."Well, I'm sure we'll be hearing MUCH MORE about that story, Diane", is all Charlie can muster, as they fade to commercial. Offline, the news producer books 5 more reporters to Cookeville to cover the followon story, sensing that the incident is FAR from over...

 

[Phyphor]

I think someone's been watching too much "Little Brother" (a Japanese Yakuza-comes-to-USA movie)


But in any case, what's with the insults directed towards the forum? People post their own opinions and ideas, and suddenly it's the forum's fault?

Just because people here don't agree with you is no reason to get nasty about it. If people here are actually attacking you, then feel free to report the guilty parties, don't blame the entire forum for it.

 

[wingman]

poorly trained, third world soldier."


Lots of those running around now, check
our airports.

No reason to shoot the pooch in this case, he was wagging his tail as he hit the ground from the tape I seen.
Judgement/common sense has left the
room in our country, shame.