Blackfork
Member
March 21, 2007
BY NICHOLAS P. ALAKAJIS [email protected]
ROUND LAKE BEACH -- Take a step inside Bonny Palka's home and you'd never guess that her living room and kitchen were the setting for a bloody police shooting just a week earlier.
Floors have been mopped, walls scrubbed and the carpet -- well, the carpet has been cleaned and scrubbed and scrubbed some more. A blanket now covers some of the worst-stained areas.
» Click to enlarge image
Bonny Palka of Round Lake Beach holds up the tank top she was wearing at the time of her arrest. It's covered with blood from her dog, Bam, who was shot by police.
(Marina Samovsky/News-Sun)
But in that very home, at 602 Ivy Court, is where Bonny says one of her best friends was taken away, because of overzealous police officers. And she was forced to spend the night in a holding cell wearing bloody clothes.
Palka's black Labrador retriever, Bam, was shot and killed in the early hours of March 13 while Round Lake Beach officers were serving a drug warrant at the home.
In an odd game of he-said, she-said, Palka claims that police were ruthless in shooting her pup. Police, on the other hand, say they feared for their own safety, and the integrity of the case when they fired three fatal bullets.
About the only thing both sides agree on is the location of the incident.
After an investigation into suspected drug use at the home, village police officers arrived to search the home around midnight. Palka, 49, was home with her boyfriend, Keith Glorioso, 41, her 18-year-old daughter, and her daughter's boyfriend.
Palka said after police pounded on the door and entered the home, her dog, Bam became excited. As she attempted to restrain him, officers began yelling. And before anyone could get Bam out of the way, he was shot -- while running away from officers, according to Palka.
"I saw they had guns, and I said 'don't shoot the dog,'" Palka said. "Then they put three bullets to the dog. They didn't even give him a chance."
Round Lake Beach Deputy Chief Gary Bitler said Palka's story is not entirely true.
"The dog was being aggressive," Bitler said. "It was not running away. Most of the time they just run in the opposite direction."
It is department protocol for officer to shoot a dog if they feel threatened, Bitler said. The discretion is up to the officer.
"We can't be held at bay, standing near the door, while people are running around the house doing whatever they're doing," he said.
Shot three times
Bitler says that Bam was shot in the jaw once and twice in the shoulder, which shows that it was facing officers when shot.
Palka counters that Bam was shot near its rear end. Palka did provide a CD full of photos taken after the shooting. In images too gruesome for publication, Bam's jaw is nearly shot off and there appear to be a bullet wound near the left side of his rear end.
Bam's body was taken to Lake County animal control after the shooting, but spokeswoman Leslie Piotrowski said her agency does not know where the dog was shot, because they were not there.
Bam bled all over the kitchen floor, before Palka took him into her arms, where he bled all over her, while he gasped for his final breaths.
That's when Palka's night got even worse. Both she and Glorioso were arrested for possession of cocaine, and where taken to a separate holding cells before a morning appearance in the Lake County Courthouse. The two teenagers at the home were also cited for possession of drug paraphernalia.
Palka said he wasn't allowed to change out of her bloody, smelly clothes, and was forced to spend the night shivering, in a tank top and sweatpants. The smell caused her to vomit three times.
Bitler said the department regrets forcing her to stay in holding cell with blood-soaked clothes. There was no female officer at the scene, and he said officers made a decision at the time to not let her change, because they could not supervise her.
"I would probably prefer they didn't make her do that," Bitler said. "I guess that's all hindsight."
What makes the story stranger is that Bam wasn't the only dog shot by RLB police last week. The following night police killed a pit bull while serving another warrant.
A pit bull makes more sense, Glorioso said. Those dogs are traditionally violent. Black labs don't have a violent reputation, he argues.
"Bam was rowdy, but he was happy. He was jumpy, (but he) never bit anybody."
Glorioso said he thinks that police are too quick to pull the trigger. He points to last weeks' incidents as a reason for that.
Bitler said that's not the case. Those incidents are isolated, and just happed to occur on back-to-back night, Bitler said. A different officer shot both dogs.
Though all dogs shot by local police are taken by Animal Control, Piotrowski said they do not keep statistics on how many dogs are shot, and which department does the shooting.
Palka said her Glorioso have filed a complaint with the police department. They doubt it will be taken seriously. They've also hired a lawyer.
Palka doesn't pretend to be the perfect victim. She was arrested for cocaine possession, in a home where her adult daughter was found with drug paraphernalia. Still, those ills do not justify her dog being shot, she said.
Bitler did offer some condolences to both families. "We hate to do that. A lot of us are dog owners," he said.
Last week's incidents may change the way the department deals with dogs, Bitler said. How exactly, he's not sure, but he wants to avoid officers having to fire a weapon at pet.
"We'll look at it," Bitler said. "We're always looking for different ways to do things."
BY NICHOLAS P. ALAKAJIS [email protected]
ROUND LAKE BEACH -- Take a step inside Bonny Palka's home and you'd never guess that her living room and kitchen were the setting for a bloody police shooting just a week earlier.
Floors have been mopped, walls scrubbed and the carpet -- well, the carpet has been cleaned and scrubbed and scrubbed some more. A blanket now covers some of the worst-stained areas.
» Click to enlarge image
Bonny Palka of Round Lake Beach holds up the tank top she was wearing at the time of her arrest. It's covered with blood from her dog, Bam, who was shot by police.
(Marina Samovsky/News-Sun)
But in that very home, at 602 Ivy Court, is where Bonny says one of her best friends was taken away, because of overzealous police officers. And she was forced to spend the night in a holding cell wearing bloody clothes.
Palka's black Labrador retriever, Bam, was shot and killed in the early hours of March 13 while Round Lake Beach officers were serving a drug warrant at the home.
In an odd game of he-said, she-said, Palka claims that police were ruthless in shooting her pup. Police, on the other hand, say they feared for their own safety, and the integrity of the case when they fired three fatal bullets.
About the only thing both sides agree on is the location of the incident.
After an investigation into suspected drug use at the home, village police officers arrived to search the home around midnight. Palka, 49, was home with her boyfriend, Keith Glorioso, 41, her 18-year-old daughter, and her daughter's boyfriend.
Palka said after police pounded on the door and entered the home, her dog, Bam became excited. As she attempted to restrain him, officers began yelling. And before anyone could get Bam out of the way, he was shot -- while running away from officers, according to Palka.
"I saw they had guns, and I said 'don't shoot the dog,'" Palka said. "Then they put three bullets to the dog. They didn't even give him a chance."
Round Lake Beach Deputy Chief Gary Bitler said Palka's story is not entirely true.
"The dog was being aggressive," Bitler said. "It was not running away. Most of the time they just run in the opposite direction."
It is department protocol for officer to shoot a dog if they feel threatened, Bitler said. The discretion is up to the officer.
"We can't be held at bay, standing near the door, while people are running around the house doing whatever they're doing," he said.
Shot three times
Bitler says that Bam was shot in the jaw once and twice in the shoulder, which shows that it was facing officers when shot.
Palka counters that Bam was shot near its rear end. Palka did provide a CD full of photos taken after the shooting. In images too gruesome for publication, Bam's jaw is nearly shot off and there appear to be a bullet wound near the left side of his rear end.
Bam's body was taken to Lake County animal control after the shooting, but spokeswoman Leslie Piotrowski said her agency does not know where the dog was shot, because they were not there.
Bam bled all over the kitchen floor, before Palka took him into her arms, where he bled all over her, while he gasped for his final breaths.
That's when Palka's night got even worse. Both she and Glorioso were arrested for possession of cocaine, and where taken to a separate holding cells before a morning appearance in the Lake County Courthouse. The two teenagers at the home were also cited for possession of drug paraphernalia.
Palka said he wasn't allowed to change out of her bloody, smelly clothes, and was forced to spend the night shivering, in a tank top and sweatpants. The smell caused her to vomit three times.
Bitler said the department regrets forcing her to stay in holding cell with blood-soaked clothes. There was no female officer at the scene, and he said officers made a decision at the time to not let her change, because they could not supervise her.
"I would probably prefer they didn't make her do that," Bitler said. "I guess that's all hindsight."
What makes the story stranger is that Bam wasn't the only dog shot by RLB police last week. The following night police killed a pit bull while serving another warrant.
A pit bull makes more sense, Glorioso said. Those dogs are traditionally violent. Black labs don't have a violent reputation, he argues.
"Bam was rowdy, but he was happy. He was jumpy, (but he) never bit anybody."
Glorioso said he thinks that police are too quick to pull the trigger. He points to last weeks' incidents as a reason for that.
Bitler said that's not the case. Those incidents are isolated, and just happed to occur on back-to-back night, Bitler said. A different officer shot both dogs.
Though all dogs shot by local police are taken by Animal Control, Piotrowski said they do not keep statistics on how many dogs are shot, and which department does the shooting.
Palka said her Glorioso have filed a complaint with the police department. They doubt it will be taken seriously. They've also hired a lawyer.
Palka doesn't pretend to be the perfect victim. She was arrested for cocaine possession, in a home where her adult daughter was found with drug paraphernalia. Still, those ills do not justify her dog being shot, she said.
Bitler did offer some condolences to both families. "We hate to do that. A lot of us are dog owners," he said.
Last week's incidents may change the way the department deals with dogs, Bitler said. How exactly, he's not sure, but he wants to avoid officers having to fire a weapon at pet.
"We'll look at it," Bitler said. "We're always looking for different ways to do things."
If any of you think that black labs can not be vicious when people are threatening the family then you are loco. My 100lb lab will give life and limb to protect us and inflict serious damage while doing it.
