Police Kill Dog: Not For The First Time

The “Police shoot dog” video that went viral on the web yesterday showed the horrific killing, in cold blood, of a Rottweiler in Hawthorne, California by police.

The incident raises serious moral questions on Facebook and Twitter as people commented in their thousands on the way the police killed the poor dog. There is even a Facebook page called “dogs shot by police“ showing other incidents of police killing dogs.

The Hawthorne dog killing isn’t the first time police officers have used their weapons against canines and other animals. Surely a trained officer should know when his life is in danger and be able to deal with situation. As is clear from the graphic video footage, the dog simply jumps up – almost playfully it appears – at the officer before it receives four deadly gunshots and is killed.

The Inquisitr has found numerous other incidents where police have killed dogs in the line of duty, like the Chicago dog shooting incident reported by findlaw.com back in 2011. In that case, the owners sued the police, and, in a landmark decision, a jury awarded $333,000 in damages for false arrest, excessive force, and the slaying of the dog.

The LAPD reported that 15 dogs were shot by their police officers in 2010. Some breeds, such as Rottweilers and pit bulls, are almost always classified as “dangerous,” which may have given rise to a “shoot on sight” mentality.

In yet another case of police brutality against dogs, a 13-year-old Cocker Spaniel was shot in Concorde, California last month.

While some killings may be justified, others are not, and it is these cases that can form the basis for massive lawsuits. This is not mention the pain caused to the animal and the emotional trauma caused by a shooting.

What do you think of the recent dog kiling incident in Hawthorne? Did you see the graphic video and did it disturb you? And do you think the police are too trigger happy when it comes to dogs, as the incidents here suggest? Make yourself heard in the comments below.

Here is the graphic video of the police killing the dog in Hawthorne: