"Don't shoot my dog" bill passes CO senate

[VoluntaryAmerican]

An Erie woman whose German shepherd was shot in the back by a police officer tearfully urged state senators to approve a bill requiring law enforcement officers to receive training on how to deal with dogs.

Brittany Moore told her story twice Wednesday, first on the west steps of the Capitol at a rally attended by dog lovers and then before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which unanimously approved the bipartisan measure.

She broke down several times, including when she recounted telling her 7-, 6- and 5-year-old-daughters that their dog Ava was dead.


Read more: Senate panel OKs "Don't Shoot My Dog" bill after emotional testimony - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_22938136/coloradans-cheer-bill-aimed-at-preventing-dog-deaths#ixzz2QhFsdcfr

[WhistlinDave]

We need this everywhere. This is one added government cost I don't mind paying a little extra in taxes for. Too many dogs killed for no good reason!!

[jmdrake]

+rep! For the life of me I don't know why the cops just don't use their pepper spray on a dog they deem hostile, especially in may of the cases where it's been a toy dog thats been shot.

[tangent4ronpaul]

SWAT teams and PD's across the country must be in morning right now over the loss of one of their primary "officer safety" measures... :rolleyes:

It's just amazing that there are not a rash of USPS mail carrier dog murders... OH, WAIT!

-t

[Anti Federalist]

I can only hope that we all helped in a small way to make this happen, by bringing awareness of the problem.

And that the cops actually follow the law.

[VoluntaryAmerican]

I can only hope that we all helped in a small way to make this happen, by bringing awareness of the problem.

And that the cops actually follow the law.

Every little bit helps that's for sure.

But the majority of the credit should go to Brittany who has made this issue her life since her dog died. I've had the pleasure to chat with her on facebook and she really is a sweetheart. But we should remember this still isn't justice for Ava, the officer is still prowling the streets.

[Cleaner44]

This should really bring some light on how quickly cops are willing to shoot dogs for the most minor reason. A legislator would look like a real dick for voting against such a bill.

[Anti Federalist]

Every little bit helps that's for sure.

But the majority of the credit should go to Brittany who has made this issue her life since her dog died. I've had the pleasure to chat with her on facebook and she really is a sweetheart. But we should remember this still isn't justice for Ava, the officer is still prowling the streets.

Tell her AF says thank you.

[AGRP]

An Erie woman whose German shepherd was shot in the back by a police officer tearfully urged state senators to approve a bill requiring law enforcement officers to receive training on how to deal with dogs.

Brittany Moore told her story twice Wednesday, first on the west steps of the Capitol at a rally attended by dog lovers and then before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which unanimously approved the bipartisan measure.

She broke down several times, including when she recounted telling her 7-, 6- and 5-year-old-daughters that their dog Ava was dead.


Read more: Senate panel OKs "Don't Shoot My Dog" bill after emotional testimony - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_22938136/coloradans-cheer-bill-aimed-at-preventing-dog-deaths#ixzz2QhFsdcfr

Is this necessary for common sense? Package deliverers can accomplish the same task with a dog biscuit and the realization they are not in an war zone. Thugs will be thugs. Dog killings are a symptom of an attitude.

[SeanTX]

Does anybody really think this will make a difference? It's not doing anything to punish unnecessary dog shootings -- the bill just calls for more "training." The dog shootings will continue, with no consequences.

[tangent4ronpaul]

Does anybody really think this will make a difference? It's not doing anything to punish unnecessary dog shootings -- the bill just calls for more "training." The dog shootings will continue, with no consequences.

The "No More Hesitation" line of targets will be coming out with a canine collection... :rolleyes:

-t

[SeanTX]

SWAT teams and PD's across the country must be in morning right now over the loss of one of their primary "officer safety" measures... :rolleyes:



No, I'll guarantee you that they are rolling their eyes and laughing amongst themselves about the mundane's feeble attempts to try and get them under control.

[Origanalist]

No, I'll guarantee you that they are rolling their eyes and laughing amongst themselves about the mundane's feeble attempts to try and get them under control.

Now that Colorado taxpayers have to pay for them getting the proper "training" on when to shoot your dog, I'm sure all dog shootings will cease as soon as they get it.

[Krzysztof Lesiak]

Wow. How about passing a bill opposing police brutality against humans instead?

[SeanTX]

Wow. How about passing a bill opposing police brutality against humans instead?

I knew somebody would come in with this argument -- next it'll be something about abortion, "humans are more important than animals", blah blah blah.

You don't think that reckless gunplay and violence against family pets isn't linked to the same thing happening to humans? When you encourage cops to pull out the Glock and start shooting every time they get frightened by a dog, well, don't be surprised when more humans start getting shot unnecessarily also.

The problem isn't so much dogs getting shot (although those of us who aren't sociopaths care about that also) -- it's that cops are becoming more and more casual with using deadly force as the first resort. And that's bad news for humans too.

And this bill isn't about stopping anything, it's just calling for more training, which a small step in the right direction.

[WhistlinDave]

Tell her AF says thank you.

Me three.

[WhistlinDave]

Does anybody really think this will make a difference? It's not doing anything to punish unnecessary dog shootings -- the bill just calls for more "training." The dog shootings will continue, with no consequences.

Harsher criminal penalties for abuse of power would be nice, but in terms of civil liability, now it will make it a lot easier to win a civil case and ruin the life of any officer who has received this training and then still shoots a dog dead when it wasn't warranted.

[VoluntaryAmerican]

For anyone who wants to read the 'Dog Protection Act':

http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2013a/csl.nsf/billcontainers/F6A67EF8FEE8F10787257AFD005A97C8/$FILE/226_01.pdf

[PaulConventionWV]

Is this necessary for common sense? Package deliverers can accomplish the same task with a dog biscuit and the realization they are not in an war zone. Thugs will be thugs. Dog killings are a symptom of an attitude.

That's true, but they are not immune to human cognition. Having received the training, they will no doubt, at least at higher rates than before, employ that training to the best of their knowledge in order to appease their sense of duty. Receiving training simply brings awareness to the officers that it is no longer okay to simply shoot a dog.

Now, if only we could get them to stop shooting people...

[EBounding]

When I watched "Animal Cops" (not really cops), they never pulled a pistol on stray dogs.

[thoughtomator]

We need this everywhere. This is one added government cost I don't mind paying a little extra in taxes for. Too many dogs killed for no good reason!!

The core problem is that you are paying too much in taxes, and that there are too many cops for no good reason.

[LibertyEagle]

When I was a kid, Animal Control was always called when there was an issue with an animal. What the hell happened such that the cops handle such calls now??

[Anti Federalist]

When I was a kid, Animal Control was always called when there was an issue with an animal. What the hell happened such that the cops handle such calls now??

The vast majority of the reports I see is not that cops were called specifically because of a dog issue, no, the cop was there on some pretense unrelated to the dog.

They showed up to raid somebody, showed up for domestic disturbance, to answer a burglar alarm or in the worst cases, showed up to the wrong house or property, uninvited and unwanted, and then the dog "threatened" them.

Circular Force Continuum comes into play, officer safety is in danger and Rover gets lit up.

[WhistlinDave]

When I was a kid, Animal Control was always called when there was an issue with an animal. What the hell happened such that the cops handle such calls now??


The vast majority of the reports I see is not that cops were called specifically because of a dog issue, no, the cop was there on some pretense unrelated to the dog.

They showed up to raid somebody, showed up for domestic disturbance, to answer a burglar alarm or in the worst cases, showed up to the wrong house or property, uninvited and unwanted, and then the dog "threatened" them.

Circular Force Continuum comes into play, officer safety is in danger and Rover gets lit up.

I think the vast majority of cases where this happens are drug raids, courtesy of the good old super successful war on drugs. I don't have any data to back that up except that half of our criminal justice system and law enforcement costs in this country are directly related to enforcement of drug laws, so knowing that, I imagine that far more than half of the raids carried out in homes are drug related. And that's where these dog shootings usually occur, right in people's homes.