Police shoot & kill family dog

[TheeBadOne]

Police kill pit bull during attack

Dog turns on teen owner as he works with chain

MISHAWAKA -- Police shot and killed a pit bull Monday while it was attacking its owner, a 17-year-old boy.

The boy's mother, Carol Mortimore, said the family had the 8-month-old pit bull for only two months.

Mortimore's son was treated at Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center, Mishawaka, and released.

He suffered bite marks on his left leg, hands and feet.

Mortimore called police at about 1 p.m. after the dog, named Og, wouldn't release her son.

She wishes the police officer who responded to the call wouldn't have shot the dog.

"My son yelled at the officer to not shoot the dog," Mortimore said, "the dog was on top of my son when he was shot. A bullet could've ricocheted and hit him."

She added: "We thought he could hit him (Og) with a billy club to knock him loose."

Mishawaka Police Capt. Pasquale Rulli said the officers who responded to Mortimore's 911 call acted responsibly.

"They (the family) tried using a rake and spraying it with water. He had no choice; it was either life or limb," Rulli said about the police officer's action.

"The dog wasn't leashed," Rulli added.

He said the officer shot the dog in the hip at close range to ensure the boy wouldn't be hit.

Police officers who shoot dangerous animals do so as a last resort when they believe a life is at stake, Rulli said.

Mortimore said earlier in the day Og had lunged at her while she and her son were taking Og and the family's other dog, Smoky, a Labrador and chow mix, outside. But she wasn't sure if the lunge was directed at her or at Smoky.

"I don't know why he was acting that way yesterday. I don't know why he turned," she said.

Mortimore said her son went outside to untangle Og's chain and the dog lunged at her son's jacket.

Her son was able to remove his coat but then Og grabbed his pant leg and wouldn't let go.

"It was like he was playing, but then he was playing too rough," she said.

Mortimore said her son has a bite mark on his upper left thigh in addition to bite marks on his hands and feet.

She said her son got the dog from a friend who lives on Sixth Street. The friend had named it Og. Police believe the name stands for "original gangster."

The Mortimores live on Battell Street near Cedar Street. Mortimore said Og was often untied in their back yard and he never went after any schoolchildren, including her 6-year-old son and 3-year-old granddaughter.

http://www.southbendtribune.com/sto...20031119-sbt-FULL-D1-Police_kill_pit_bull.sto
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I suspect "Original Gangster" may have been instructed in the art of agression from Junior...

 

[azthistletoe]

Anotehr POS dog is gone. Glad to hear it. It's funny how no matter what a police officer does, there's something wrong with it.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Mortimore called police at about 1 p.m. after the dog, named Og, wouldn't release her son.

The critter probably just hated his name.

 

[Pilgrim]

She added: "We thought he could hit him (Og) with a billy club to knock him loose."

Ahhh, the core of every citizen-police complaint: unfulfulled expectations.

Pilgrim

 

[Cosmoline]

I think the parents should have used a club. If they have to call the cops and waste taxpayer money, they shouldn't complain about methods.

 

[Missouri Mule]

Aw shucks officer...he plays like this all the time but he usually lets go.


Sounds to me like the gene pool around that place could use a good, FLUSH!

 

[Redlg155]

I think all Officers should carry waiver forms in their patrol cars.


No?...I can't shoot the dog?

Please sign this waiver so the dog can gnaw on your boy a little longer.

As for clubbing the dog, I don't know about you guys, but it's hard for me to deliver a pin point full force strike on an object using an ASP. Sure I can hit major body parts such as a limb, but I wouldn't be comfortable striking the head of a young dog attatched to a person. Especially considering the chances of the dog shaking its head or pulling and you missing the intended target. Now you are getting sued for hitting the boy.

Actually I'd be more afraid of the dog releasing the individual and directing itself at me while I am in close proximaty....such as striking distance of an ASP baton. Try doing a fast draw from a high retention level holster while a dog is lunging at you from extremely close range. Especially since you are starting with an ASP in your hand and in the strike position.


Good Shooting
Red

 

[Matt G]

My wife says "why not just beat it with a club first?" It's a valid question. Answer? I dunno; I wasn't there. But it is true that this is one of the main reasons I carry an ASP baton on me.

I mentioned to my wife the prospect of having to deal with an attacking dog that you've just knocked off the victim. She was having none of that: "No, you're not hearing me; if you club it, you club it very, very hard, so that it doesn't get up."

Honestly, in such a situation, that would be my first reaction, most likely.

 

[LiquidTension]

Sounds like the officer took adequate precautions to make sure the boy wasn't accidentally shot. I've got no beef with the way he handled the situation.

I've always said that if any dog of mine ever attacks someone that doesn't deserve it, I'll be the first one to drag it out back and put a bullet in it.

 

[JohnBT]

"Og had lunged at her while she and her son were taking Og ... outside. "

Likely decided he'd rather die than spend one more day chained in the yard.

JT

 

[HABU]

I was flamed (OK, not really flamed hard) a while back on another POS dog thread for scoffing at Cousin Goober for shooting the ground near the dog. Officer Stadanko has shown that you can shoot a POS that is attached to someone and not hit the person.

 

[Blackhawk]

An 8 mo pit bull you've had for 2 months is NOT the family dog.

Good shoot. Dumb owners.

 

[4v50 Gary]

The lady wanted them to use the baton and the son cries don't shoot.

No win. The police arrive and see a life threatening situation. All agencies that are armed with firearms permit the use of deadly force to protect human life. Human life is threatened. Billy clubs really don't work and if they did and the dog turns on the officer, he'll have to shoot the dog anyway. Heck, should have called Scotty to beam them up and beam down the Fire Department with a water cannon instead.

 

[Keyser Soze]

I think they mean the name is O. G. which is common slang for Original Gangster. Bangers use it to mean the old guys that have been in a gang forever. I doubt they called it Awwg. I couldn't blame the dog for bitting the kid if they did.
Maybe I should read the full article before I post.

She said her son got the dog from a friend who lives on Sixth Street. The friend had named it Og. Police believe the name stands for "original gangster."

KS

 

[10-Ring]

Good to see that no one was seriously hurt (esp the LEO), one bad animal is gone & the kid is basically in one piece to still give the local PD headaches (like you know he does! )

 

[Orthonym]

Well, doh!

If it's a REAL pit bull, it would rather die than bare a tooth to a human!

Doesn't anyone understand? It's not what you look like, but what goes on between your ears that's important!

I do believe this applies to dogs, humans, and all other creatures.

P.S., kinda O.T. Anybody heard from Brownie lately? We grumpy old uh, guys, need to look out for each other.

 

[azthistletoe]

From my experience, breeding has a LOT to do with a dog's personality. Poorly bred animals often have poor personalities as well.

 

[c_yeager]

My wife says "why not just beat it with a club first?" It's a valid question. Answer? I dunno; I wasn't there. But it is true that this is one of the main reasons I carry an ASP baton on me.

You might want to rethink your plan with the ASP. Dogs especially some of the larger "fighting breeds" are nearly immune to blunt trauma. The way a dogs skull is built you can pretty much hit it in the head all day long with a baton and it may not even look at you funny afterwards this of course depends on breed and a variety of variables. But, the fact is that hitting a dog upside the head doesnt typically do much help if its being a problem.

 

[Orthonym]

Yes, but

People who breed dogs have lately been breeding for good looks over behavior. Now we have things like mean, nasty, St.Bernards, previously unheard of. We humans can be just as bad when breeding ourselves: I knew a woman who said " I knew I wanted children, so I married a good-lookin guy."

Well, I know her children. (shudder!) One and a half out of four turned out
reasonably normal. They are all right handsome and good-lookin.

Romeo and Juliet didn't get half the grief they deserved; idiot bonehead teenaged ignorant lovers that they were, provoking fights to the death among their betters and seniors before their silly theatrical suicide.

I really do think we all got along better when marriages were arranged by grownups, and dog breeders were allowed to drown the weird, bad pups.

 

[BluesBear]

She said her son got the dog from a friend who lives on Sixth Street. The friend had named it Og. Police believe the name stands for "original gangster."

THey should have just named it RIP.

First it did and now it is.

 

[Valkman]

My wife says "why not just beat it with a club first?" It's a valid question.

I don't know how much you've been around pit bulls - I had one next door to me for a long time and I'd play with it sometimes. The heads on those dogs are enormous and seem to be very thick. That dog would beat me up just playing with it! If one of them turned on me and I had to use a club it would have to be at least a baseball bat, but I'd definitely shoot it if I could. People who say use a club would change their minds real quick if they had the dog come after them, I'd think.

 

[Orthonym]

Well, yeah.

They're bred to be tough as nails. They're also (supposedly) bred to be harmless to humans. I suspect there might be some bad humans involved in that thing we're writing about. As I say to my cat every night when I eject him from the house, "Be careful out there, there's an endless supply of bad humans!"

 

[gunsmith]

O.G

Originaly from "Original Guidelines"
the first text/statement from Oakland CA, Black Panthers.

Most gang bangers don't know that only old guys with
a mind for useless trivia would know this little known
fact.

I heard once you can stop a pitbull attack by pulling it's hind legs into the air,keeping it's face away from you...
but in the same situation as the cop I would have done the same even though I love dogs and generally have little fear of even big bad looking ones.
as far as I can glean from the media which we all know is allways so accurate

it seems like a good shoot to me

 

[c_yeager]

Well, in order to grab the hind legs of pit bull that is attacking you your gonna have to bend over the thing. And personally that puts the dangerous part of the dog a LITTLE too close to things i would very much not like to get chomped on.

 

[SB1]

I remember years ago

My father is a retired NYC firefighter. We were at the house picking up his paycheck when he was on vacation. His house was in a particulary bad neighborhood but the local residents watched out for the firemen cause as they put it "they are the only one's who show up every time." Anyway there was a playground across the street and somebody brought two pitbulls that began fighting. They then turned on others watching the "fight" and began attacking the people around them. A couple of the firemen went out to try and distract the dogs so some of the people could get away. These dogs just went crazier. They pulled out a hose to try and hose the dogs off the people but no good. Now the dogs are really working these two girls over and the girls are beginning to bleed. The watchman has a broken axe handle and runs out there to start beating the dogs. I remember hearing the cracks as he hit these dogs and they never flinched. The police showed up with the nightsticks and all four cops plus the watchmen are beating on these dogs when they let go and start to turn towards the cops and fireman. The one policemen pulls out his gun and fired 6 shots before the dogs stayed down. Two of the rounds were through the dogs head and the dog was still walking around. The other dog took four shots and died. He did hit 6 out of 6 if I recall correctly.

It shows that once these dogs get worked up it's in their nature to keep attacking a until they are dead.