TN: Dog-shooting officer didn't like pit bulls anyway

[Miakoda]

Dog-shooting officer 'didn't like pit bulls anyway' -- and maybe not people so much either
June 25, 11:35 AM

In yet another town, yet another dog was shot and killed by a police officer under -- once again -- murky circumstances. After the incident in Kingsport, Tennessee, bystanders say that Officer Darrell Johnson admitted he "didn't like those **** pit bulls anyway" after shooting the animal in its owner's own fenced yard. And yet again, we have to wonder if a police officer's callous disregard of a living creature might be a hint to his attitute toward the people he supposedly protects.

Officer Johnson was, according to the police department, chasing two suspects -- black males -- when he stepped over Richie Hammonds's low, electrified fence and past his "beware of the dog" sign (clearly visible in photos published by the local paper), only to be charged by the three dogs living there. He opened fire and killed one of the animals, named Mace.

But Hammonds, backed by his neighbors, says Johnson wasn't chasing anybody. They also allege that the guy the cops ultimately arrested -- a white guy named Joe Shupe -- seemed to have been picked at random after the shooting incident.

"They weren’t chasing anybody," said Suit. "They were just looking around. They weren’t after anybody. But to read the paper (police) made it sound like there was a guy in their sights they were running after. That’s not true. I was here; I saw the whole thing."

If true, that means Johnson had no reason to be in the yard at all. That makes what comes next even worse.

"The officer stepped over the fence," said Amanda Bellamy, another of Hammonds’ neighbors. "Mace came out of his doghouse, was walking up to (Johnson) to smell him. The officer stepped back out of the fence, pulled his weapon and shot that dog. That dog would not have come out of that fence. It’s an electric fence. They’re scared to death of it. The dog walked up to him wagging his tail."

After the shooting Johnson supposedly commented that he "didn’t like those **** pit bulls anyway" or "I hate pit bulls."

As horrible as the incident must have been for the dog's owner, if his story and the stories of his neighbors is true, it's disturbing in a context much larget than mistreatment of a beloved pet.

In 2003, the Humane Society protested the rising tide of police shootings of dogs. Randall Lockwood, Vice President of Research and Educational Outreach, commented, "Most instances in which police shoot dogs are avoidable. These incidents often underscore other problems, whether in policies, procedures, communication or training." He went on to outline steps police could take to minimize unnecessary killings of animals, including better communication between police and animal control agencies, better training, improved procedures for escalating responses in animal encounters, and administrative review of incidents in which animals are killed by police officers.

But police don't seem to be taking the Humane Society's advice. Hardly a week goes by without a new headline about dogs shot by police officers under questionable circumstances. The Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester, New York, responded to outrage about such incidents with a report that two-thirds of police shootings in that city involve dogs -- including one incident in which officers fired through a glass door to get at the animal.

Are police really badly trained? Or are we getting a glimpse at something darker.

Research published just this year in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence suggests that violent criminals often start on their bloody path by mistreating animals. The report found that, of 261 surveyed inmates at medium- and maximum-security prisons, more than half reported they had shot animals, and almost half had either kicked or hit them.

Later on, of course, they went on to target humans. The animals were just practice.

When it comes stomach-churning incidents like the death of a dog named Mace, in Kingsport Tennessee, it's not enough to mourn for the animal. We need to marvel at the frequency of such killings -- and wonder if they stand as a warning.

Dog-shooting officer 'didn't like pit bulls anyway' -- and maybe not people so much either

[Renee750il]

Yup. That's an hour from me and the attitude is all too common. And people get upset with me when I say there are a lot of cops around here who are a helluva lot worse than the people they're supposed to be "protecting" us from. I know I don't want the majority of the city cops here anywhere close to me. The county deputies are an entirely different bunch.

He may, though, find he has to leave the area. The cop over toward Monroe County who shot the Pit Bull belonging to a family pulled over in a wrongful traffic stop had to leave -- without his family. His wife left him and kept the kids and he had so many death threats he thought it best to hightail it out of there.

STEP ONE: NEVER HAVE A FENCE SOMEONE CAN STEP OVER.

You need bolt cutters or a ladder to get inside mine. What an el stupido cop tho. Poor dog.

[AGonzalez]

I have to agree with the fence...unless you can cut through my padlocks or jump 6 feet of privacy fence, you aren't getting in mine...

BUT, the cop didn't belong in the yard anyway...this is sickening.

[Renee750il]

Are police really badly trained? Or are we getting a glimpse at something darker.

Research published just this year in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence suggests that violent criminals often start on their bloody path by mistreating animals. The report found that, of 261 surveyed inmates at medium- and maximum-security prisons, more than half reported they had shot animals, and almost half had either kicked or hit them.

Later on, of course, they went on to target humans. The animals were just practice.

When it comes stomach-churning incidents like the death of a dog named Mace, in Kingsport Tennessee, it's not enough to mourn for the animal. We need to marvel at the frequency of such killings -- and wonder if they stand as a warning.

This is the part that needs to not be ignored. Until we do far more and better psychological screening we are going to get more and more thugs and sociopaths in uniform.

[bubbatd]

I'm so sorry that they have a bad rap . Yesterday the guys working on the house next door rang my doorbell to tell me not to let Ollie out because there was a loose Pittie . Was this a pussy cat or a killer ?! In my area could be either . Sad .

[Blue_Dog]

:'( So sad.

[Amstaffer]

I think there are to many cops who think shooting Pit Bulls is just too easy....You get to discharge your weapon if you get scared and when you kill one most people go "Oh well it was just a Pit Bull, they are all killers anyway and they got it coming"

[Renee750il]

After the shooting Johnson supposedly commented that he "didn’t like those **** pit bulls anyway" or "I hate pit bulls."

You know, there are a bunch of cops out there I don't like . . . but somehow I don't think that means I can go shoot them with impunity.

[Pops2]

that's only because you don't know how to make head shots w/ iron sights out to 500 meters. imagine what can be done w/good optics.
god help the cop who shoots the wrong guy's dog. PTSD can get you out of a lot, especially when a vet is sitting peacefully in his house and hears shots in his yard and comes out to find his dog shot by a $#!+ talking POS hiding behind a badge.