We have another dog shooting by an officer who went to the wrong house on a call. Albert Morales and his brother Hector Serna were awoken by a San Antonio officer banging on a window of their home before dawn. The officer was at the wrong house in responding to a call about a deceased person. As almost an afterthought, according to Morales, the officer said that he might want to check out his dog.
The actual call was from a house blocks away on another street with a different house number. Morales said that after 20 minutes when the officer was leaving, the officer mentioned that he might want to check his dog. According to Morales the officer explained “he trotted up to me after I turned the corner, came to my feet and I shot him.” The officer allegedly said that when the pit bull failed to get back when ordered to do so, he shot the animal. Morales says that the officer admitted that the dog did not growl at him.
The pit bull was shot down through the mouth but survived — though it will have to be on a liquid diet and wear a cone and muzzle for weeks of recovery.
The family wants the police to pay the hundreds of dollars in vet bills, but the police have not indicated whether they will pay. There is also no indication of an investigation into the allegation that the officer admitted that he shot a dog that was neither growling nor attacking.
Source: KSAT
A thought come quickly to mind:
On a different thread removing a man from law school for killing a guinea hen is appropriate because it speaks to a possible personality disorder that will reflect on the school and profession badly.
There was a fence in the video at the posted link- the dog not only didn’t attack the cop, the story says it didn’t even growl; the cop was trying to execute a dog that didn’t obey but was non-threatening except for non-compliance. I’m thinking the cop should be held to similar standards as the student, the cop has a gun after all and is sure to run into people that won’t comply to his orders to his satisfaction. Fire him.
wow really….
so was the communications equipment at San Antonia Police dept. not working properly ?? sent to the wrong address ??? did anyone in dispatch think about calling that number back of whom ever called in the report ??? or the deceased person ?? and the dog was not even growling at him or barking… hmmmm I guess the cop didn’t have pepper spray ??? wow…. ya I would say the cop needs some more training… shoot first and than ask questions… wow…. and the dog wouldn’t obey him… lol
was this at dark ?? daylight ?? what time ?? could he not see a number for the house ?? very strange… ya the police dept. should pay for the Vet bills…
the officer couldn’t call dispatch back to verify the address ?? was in on his computer ??? hmmmmm there is a spot light on that police car to shine on the house to look for numbers on the house lol wow
just saying ………………………….
Two comments.
1. Where is ItchinBayDog when we need him/her?
2. How come those Mexicans didn’t have a Neighborhood Watch Captain to protect them and to help them stand their ground? Oh, no, wait a minute. Oh, yeah, I mean: How come those cops only stood their ground against the dog and not the “suspects” as well? Or something. Yeah, and how come Al Sharpton isn’t getting all upset about THIS one, tell me that! HUH?
😛
Eric,
1984 is here. Big Brother is your cell phone and programs that intercept your calls and report your location and scrape the Web for personal information about you and read your e-mails and private companies that spy on you because they don’t have the same restrictions on their actions as the government does by law and drones that patrol the skies domestically and an ever expanding unitary executive and a government that is almost totally controlled by corporations instead of putting the power in the hands of the people as mandated by the Constitution and . . . need I say more?
Oh yeah.
Sleep tight.
My father used teach me that policemen are my friends. I teach my son to stay far away from them. The will beat the crap out of you if they are having a bad day and no one will care.
Why is it okay for cops to behave like Nazis these days? We are hearing story after story like this. It seems like anything cops do nowadays is accepted. I feel like 1984 is coming.
This is so incredibly common. Cops need better training and the bad ones need to go into some other line of work. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mr-Policeman-Dont-Shoot-My-Dog/131560703558002
My sister’s pit bulls greet me before I get out of the car. I have to acknowledge them before I can move – a 2-3 minute ritual every time. They run freely in the yard but are contained by the invisible fence. A lot of people would be heart broken if some trigger happy cop shot them b/c s/he can’t read wagging bodies.
Vet bills should be paid. Cops should get some training in how to read dogs and throw in some training in how to find the right house.
So the residents put the call in and then went back to sleep before the officer responded ? I think I would have used my spotlight to check the house #.
My experience with dogs during 34 years of delivering mail is widely non judgmental when little information is given.
Some of my most sudden and dangerous confrontations were with dogs that remained silent. I felt on those occasions that I was their prey and and they were stalking me. Every situation has so many variables.
I have learned how to strategically retreat at times, I am capable of being intimidating to dogs at times, I have used a cheerful greeting to possible dangerous dogs at first (when there is time) to evaluate my actions.
I have experienced so many situations with dogs, each one has about 10 differing ways to be handled. Shooting one dead was never one of my options. …..
About 10 years ago a woman carrier was suddenly and violently attacked by 3 dogs. Fortunately a Police officer happened by as the attack was occurring. He actually shot one of the dogs off the back of the carrier.
This carrier recovered from her injuries, but was hesitant to resume carrier duties. She did do a valuable service for the carriers after. She came to some stations and told of her experience. This is how I am capable of relating this story. I heard her speak. Her quote, “the cop shot the dog off my back” gripped me ….still does…
Whenever I am delivering new territory and enter a gated yard it is a good idea to rattle the gate first to see what shows up.
Dogs are different, People are different. Some dogs are A-bombs, some people are A-bombs.
BTW, she was the regular carrier on this route and familiar with the house. The dogs broke through a crap fence and got her. The residents were renters. I put them in the A-bomb category.
department should pay the vet bills at a minimum.
shooting a mans dog just aint right. unless it is attacking you.
“the pit bull failed to get back when ordered to do so”
now that is just funny.
This officer needs a new profession and the city should be prepared to dig deep into its pockets on this one.
Sara,
You are kidding…right?
Not enough detail. Was the dog in a fenced area? Was it leashed? If not, does the locality have a leash law?
It is heartwarming to see Sara here defending the rights of the prosecuted police state!
Looks like the mean kids from junior high are out today.
Sara is a medical miracle. She has no heart.
the “officer” should be shot through the mouth.
it is quite obvious that he is an unpredictable, vicious, and dangerous animal.
I am not sure about the point of this blog here. Any house should expect a postal worker, police officer, utility worker to walk in and around the entrance area at any time, and if they have a dog that intimidates, should he/she wait until getting bitten, before reacting? Millions of people a year get bitten by dogs.
And if it is your job to go to many unknown addresses, sometimes mistakes happen. The GPS does not always work properly, or the signs or number are not legible. Officer walked in, dog threatened him, and dog gets shot. So what.
Maybe the dog only understood orders in Spanish.
“San Antonio Officer Goes To Wrong House On Call And Shoots Family’s Pet Dog”
Res ipsa loquitur.
Paying the vet bills is the least they should do.