handcuffed woman shot by police

[cracked butt]

Newsflash-
If you walk onto someone else's property and shot their dog because yo thought it look threatening to you, and continued to fire at the dog as it ran away, you will go to prison.
Right or wrong, shooting someone's pet will land you in prison. Its just an animal, but animal rights activists and suburban bleeding heart yuppies have pretty much demanded that pets be treated as people in such cases.

In my area alone, there were a pair of teenagers who threw a live baby in an outhouse during winter- only one is doing time for it, less than 6 years. There have been cases of people in the same area shooting neighbors cats that happen to wander into their yards with the shooters getting up to 8 years in prison.

I know a lady in Milwaukee who had to call the police on domestic disturbance issue. She had a fenced off area in her back yard where her collie lived. The cops that came around to the back door shot the dog on sight just because it wasn't on a leash, nevermind that it was in a fenced in environment.

Cops are not held to the same standards as the rest of us.


Edit:
Sorry Matt G- this post wasn't aimed at you. I wrote it before I read your post. I think in your case, shooting the damn dog could have been a beter choice.

 

[tcsd1236]

2.5 weeks ago, I was bitten in the leg by a German shepard that had just bitten a 14 year old about 30 minutes before. Honestly, it was the hotbutton issue of the social fury that accompanies a cop shooting a dog on its own property that had me holding a baton in my hand rather than a gun when the dog lunged.

An example of how concern over social issues do intrude on our ability to do our job safely.

Why didn't you whack it across the snout, just out of curiosity? I always find that to be a good technique.

Was ASPCA en route to snag the dog for the previous bite? What were the circumstances?

 

[fastbolt]

These incidents always bring out the emotional sides and responses.

We weren't there and don't know what actually happened. We don't have the "facts", let alone the "answers".

Half the witnesses that were there and watching may not actually know what was happening ... and may not have seen what they thought they were seeing. Not uncommon ...

Dogs can bite ... they have teeth. I remember watching a large Boxer act aggressively against a full grown man, and give an excellent performance of a dangerous and agitated large dog.

I grew up with dogs, and understand how people become emotionally attached to them.

On the other hand, I've seen how some dog owners just can't seem to accept that their dog may well become an immediate threat to someone else, capable of inflicting serious bodily injury or death.

My partner is a former dog handler, and he's an animal person. He was recently bitten by a Rott that caught him by surprise at someone's front door ... and which had already reportedly bitten someone else ... and resulted in my partner being there in the first place. He said he felt it wasn't the animal's fault because it was a warning bite.

He and I have often disagreed about aggressive animals, and animals exhibiting feral behavior that might threaten serious bodily injury or death to a someone ... like us. We've handled many, many situations involving dogs acting in an aggressive manner without having to resort to deadly force, however ... and we realize that we've been very, very lucky. We've also used the services of Animal Control a lot over the years, and everything from poles to tranq rifles have been used on dogs for which we've called them out.

People's pets can attack and bite strangers. Cops are often strangers.

Dogs may key off their owner's emotional responses. Not a surprise.

Dogs can be territorial and protective about what they perceive to be their "property", as well as their owners. Again, not much of a surprise.

Some owners may try to get their dogs to attack other folks ... like cops. I've had it happen, and more than once.

If I remember right, the last time it happened, it turned out the pit was smarter than the owner. It also didn't like OC spray ... enough to be dissuaded from biting us. That earned it a reprieve from being shot. The owner apparently decided we weren't going to be dissuaded from performing our duty by his dog attacking us ... and took control of the animal. Nobody got hurt, including the dog.

Another time, a former partner and I were suddenly facing a charging Shepherd, after the owner opened the front door and released the dog, yelling for it to "get" us. And yes, the nature of the situation was such that the owner realized who we were (uniformed patrol), and why we were there ...

The dog ran at us with its ears back, hair up, barking aggressively. As my partner and I split around opposite ends of our car, and drew down on the charging animal in a cross fire position as it charged at us across the front yard ... the dog surprised all of us when it responded to our shouted command to STOP ... and dropped to the ground, where it remained ... fortunately before we both decided it was necessary to shoot. It wasn't happy with us, but it was obedient. Again, it may have been smarter than its owner.

I'd hate to see a dog suffer because the owner failed to control the animal, or took proper precautions to prevent their dog from attacking and injurying someone ... like me. On the other hand, I don't go to work to get bitten, mauled, crippled or killed ... or allow anyone else to suffer the same experience, if it's at all within my power to prevent it.

There may certainly be those times when deadly force, via a firearm, just isn't going to be a viable alternative, though, due to the risk of someone being injured by a missed, or over-penetrating, round.

Using a firearm is deadly force, and is only considered necessary and lawful under certain circumstances. That's what the law (statutory & case), policies & procedures (L/E) ... and yes, common sense & good judgment ... is for, after all.

I certainly don't claim to have all the answers ... but then, I'm not a member of the media, or that small percentage of the larger general public that always seems to know the answers, either ...

 

[gripper]

...good answere;good attitude and a professional demeanor.What gave me a major case of the earlier was the tread response from someone who expressed a reflexive answere to take out either me or my dog as a first resort.I HAVE put down dogs for unprovoked or innappropriate aggression ,I DO know both from experience(firsthand and witnessed)what a medium/large working/fighting class dog can do to you.I
My quirk is that I have an instinctive"fight WITHOUT flight"response hardwired into me if my personal/lioving space gets violated;this is probably what got my nose opened up in general on the report that started this discussion thread.
WTH,I probably have more in common with my favored breeds than I was aware of.....if anyone disapproves I'll dig up their lawn

 

[atek3]

i'm suprised that no one mentioned the fact that desouza was a crazy tweaker and deserved to be wounded.

atek3

 

[JohnKSa]

Half of the witnesses said it appeared DeSousa was trying to place herself between the deputy and her dog...a deputy's bullet went astray while firing at a dog.

First of all, it sounds like she succeeded, and second, given the first statement it doesn't sound like the bullet went astray...

 

[Matt G]

Why didn't you whack it across the snout, just out of curiosity? I always find that to be a good technique.

The bitch had an accomplice! Five of them, in fact, but while 4 were in a semicircle around me barking at me, the fifth one sneaked up behind my left leg, and inched up to try to bite my left leg. It was a smaller (~25 lbs) dog, so I just kicked at it with my left leg. At that point, while I was looking over my left shoulder, the shepherd, which was on the otherside of a low hedge, came through the hedge at speed, biting my leg in passing, never breaking stride. Never got the baton to make contact on her. Heck, dogs are the main reason I carry an expandable steel baton. One on one, I like a baton. When dealing with multiple aggressive hounds, put away the stick and go to gun. Learn from my mistake:

 

[justashooter]

i have a neighbor whose boxers run. we live in the country, and i have never been threatened by them.

maybe it's just because they are more scared of me, than i of them.

 

[FedDC]

This got a lot of funny comments when it first came out. I have a couple of buddies up there and they said this woman is a meth addict that they were trying to arrest when her dog (BIG BIG Dog) charged at the officers... So, they went to shoot it and this meth chick jumps in front of the dog like the Secret Service would for the Pres... She got one in the Leg.

After some checking, this was the second dog she has had shot by the PD bc she had a habit of using the to keep the PD away (Common trick for drug dealers and users, place an agressive dog in the fenced in front yard).

So, yeah...she intentionally jumped in front of a bullet ment for her dog...I don't know if that is heroic or just another meth addict making great decisions. I'd have to go with the second one.

 

[DMF]

DeSousa told detectives she had been visiting Woosley that evening to "get high." She said an unidentified man had just tried unsuccessfully to give her an intravenous injection of methamphetamine when the deputies arrived. . .

. . . Slagle and O'Mara then handcuffed Woosley and De-Sousa and had them lie on their stomachs in the front yard, the report said. . .

. . . All witnesses agreed that DeSousa screamed, "Don't shoot my dog!" and moved just before the first shot. Descriptions of her movement differed, with various witnesses saying DeSousa kicked one leg, or rolled onto her side, or was in a partially sitting position.

Half of the witnesses said it appeared DeSousa was trying to place herself between the deputy and her dog.

Slagle fired his .45-caliber Colt semiautomatic twice and O'Mara fired his Beretta 9 mm three times. The bullets hit the dog and DeSousa, the report said.

How about instead of blaming the cop, realize that the meth addict suspect should have complied with instructions when under arrest. He was shooting at the dog, and she jumped in the way - not the cop's fault.

BTW atek3, no she didn't deserve to be wounded, however it is her fault she got shot.

 

[thefitzvh]

upon reading further details, i'd say it's a case of "stupid woman gets in front of a bullet"

 

[WonderNine]

Oh well, at least they didn't cut her finger off.

 

[Matt G]

Very little relation to this incident, Wondernine, other than officers involved and an arrestee getting hurt.

 

[Daniel T]

We already had a rather long discussion here about that situation, WonderNine. As Matt G says, it really has absolutely no bearing on this case.

If this chick jumped in front of the dog as cops were shooting at it, it isn't logical to put all the blame of the police. Now, she might not have been properly secured, but it's likely the cops were interupted while doing so by the dog attacking.