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'Felony stop' leaves family traumatized
"The officer shot him, just blew his head off"
http://www.herald-citizen.com/NF/omf.wnm/herald/news_story.html?[rkey=0024251+[cr=gdn
Published January 02, 2003 11:54 AM CST
Mary Jo Denton Herald-Citizen Staff
It was the most traumatic experience the Smoak family of North Carolina has ever had, and it happened yesterday afternoon as they traveled through Cookeville on their way home from a vacation in Nashville.
Before their ordeal was over, three members of the family had been yanked out of their car and handcuffed on the side of Interstate 40 in downtown Cookeville, and their beloved dog, Patton, had been shot to death by a police officer as they watched.
What was their crime?
There was no crime.
But a passerby with a cell phone apparently assumed a crime had occurred when a wallet flew from a car on Interstate 40 near Nashville.
That citizen called police and inadvertently set in motion what would make it the most horrible vacation the James Smoak family of Saluda, North Carolina, has ever had.
Today, the Smoak children and their parents were still weeping over what happened to them in Cookeville.
By today, they had also filed complaints with two police agencies, prompting internal investigations, they had met with Tennessee Highway Patrol Capt. Randy Hoover, and they were on their way to talk to Cookeville Mayor Charles Womack.
Because official internal investigations are underway at the Tennessee Highway Patrol and at the Cookeville Police Dept., the Herald-Citizen was unable to get details of those two agencies' accounts of the incident.
But the Smoak family willingly told their story to anyone who would listen; they hope by doing so that something might be done to prevent it from happening to another family.
James Smoak, 38, who was traveling in the family station wagon with his wife, Pamela, their 17-year-old son, Brandon, and the family's two pet bulldogs, Patton and Cassie, had lost his wallet after stopping for gas as they left Davidson County on Wednesday afternoon.
But he didn't know he lost it. Apparently, he had placed it on top of the car while pumping gas, and it flew off somewhere on the highway a short time later.
Not knowing his wallet was lost, he and his family traveled on, heading east on their way home to North Carolina.
A few cars behind James and Pamela's station wagon, his parents and the two younger Smoak children were traveling in the elder Smoak's car.
Just a few miles east of Cookeville, James Smoak began to notice that a THP squad car was following him, though the officer was not pulling him over, just staying behind him, changing lanes any time Smoak did, moving in and out of traffic each time Smoak did.
"It was obvious he was looking at me, not at other vehicles, and I'm thinking I must have done something (in my driving), but I don't know what," Smoak said today.
When Smoak reached the 287 exit area in Cookeville, three other police cars suddenly appeared, and the trooper then turned on blue lights and pulled the Smoak car over.
"I immediately pulled to the side, and expecting him to come to the window, I started reaching for my wallet to get my license and it was not there," Smoak said.
About that time, he heard the officer broadcast orders over a bullhorn, telling him to toss the keys out the car window and get out with his hands up and walk backwards to the rear of the car.
Still not knowing what he was being stopped for, Smoak obeyed, and when he reached the back of the car, with a gun pointed at Smoak, the trooper ordered him to get on his knees, face the back of the car and put his head down.
When he did that, the officer handcuffed him and placed him in the patrol car. Then the same orders were blared over the bullhorn to "passenger" and Pamela Smoak got out with her hands up, was ordered to the ground, held at gunpoint, and handcuffed. Next, Brandon was ordered out and handcuffed in the same way.
Terrified at what was happening to them for no reason they knew, the family was also immediately concerned about their two pet dogs being left in the car there on the highway with the car doors open.
"We kept asking the officers -- there were several officers by now -- to close the car doors because of our dogs, but they didn't do it," said Pamela Smoak.
And as the officers worked in the late evening darkness, their weapons drawn as the Smoaks were being handcuffed, the dog Patton came out of the car and headed toward one of the Cookeville Police officers who was assisting the THP.
"That officer had a flashlight on his shotgun, and the dog was going toward that light and the officer shot him, just blew his head off," said Pamela Smoak.
"We had begged them to shut the car doors so our dogs wouldn't get out, and they didn't do that."
As the dog was heading out of the car toward the officer, "we had yelled, begging them to let us get him, but the officer shot him," she said.
Grieving for their dog and in shock over their apparent arrest for some unknown crime, the family could only wait. At one point, one state trooper did tell them they "matched the description" in a robbery that had occurred in Davidson County, Pamela Smoak said.
The ordeal went on for a time after that, the family terrified and in grief over the dog.
Finally, after a time, someone in authority figured out that the officers here had stopped and were holding the very family that someone in Davidson County had assumed had been robbed, though how that assumption grew to the authorization for a felony stop, James Smoak cannot understand, he said today.
"Finally, they asked me my name and I told them my name, date of birth, and other information, and they talked by radio to someone in Davidson County and finally realized that a mistake had been made," he said.
"A lady in Davidson County had seen that wallet fly off our car and had seen money coming out of it and going all over the road, and somehow that became a felony and they made a felony stop, but no robbery or felony had happened," Pamela Smoak said.
"Apparently, they had listened to some citizen with a cell phone and let her play detective down there," said James Smoak.
"Here we are just a family on vacation, and we had to suffer this."
When the officers did discover the mistake, "they said, 'Okay, we're releasing you and we're sorry,'" Smoak said.
As soon as Brandon was released from the handcuffs, he rushed over to the dead dog and began to cry, Smoak said.
And that's when one of the most infuriating parts of the ordeal happened, according to James Smoak.
"I saw one of the THP officers walk over to the city officer who had shot the dog and grin," he said.
He reported that to the supervising officer, THP Lt. Jerry Andrews, and Andrews "was very nice, very professional," Smoak said.
"He told me the officer was not laughing, but I know he was," said Smoak.
Smoak's parents had come along behind the other car and had seen all the commotion and stopped too, and now all three children were crying over their pet dog, as they were still doing today.
The Smoaks gathered the body of their pet and went to a motel here to spend the night. But they didn't get much rest, and at one point, James Smoak became so upset he had to go to the hospital for medical treatment.
They also worked throughout last night to contact all the authorities they could in order to lodge their complaints about what had happened.
Today, Beth Womack, a THP spokesperson in Nashville, told the H-C that an Internal Affairs investigation is underway and that every effort will be made to "find out exactly what happened and why."
"As I understand it, a report was made in Davidson County to our officers that this car had been seen leaving at a high rate of speed and that a significant amount of money had come out of the car and someone became suspicious," she said.
An internal investigation is also underway at the Cookeville Police Dept., Capt. Nathan Honeycutt told the H-C today.
James Smoak wonders about the logic of "a robber who would be tossing the money out of the car."
He also wonders about police procedure that would "take this insinuation from a citizen" and "turn it into what happened to us."
"Out there after they handcuffed us at gunpoint and put us in the police cars, they did not ask for ID, and later on, they actually released us just on my word about my identity, with only the confirmation by radio from an officer in Davidson County who was looking at my lost wallet and the ID in it down there," he said. "What if I actually had been a robber and not just a family man on vacation?"
His children hope they never come to Tennessee for another vacation.
"Poor Patton," said 13-year-old Jeb Smoak. "When he was killed out there, it was the first time I ever saw my brother, Brandon, cry. Brandon is the toughest person I've ever met, and he cried."
The other dog, a puppy named Cassie, was "trembling all over" after the ordeal, Jeb Smoak said.
"She's being real quiet today. She knows we're all grieving."
James Smoak, though still deeply upset today, said he understands that "the officer will say the dog was coming after him."
But it could all have been prevented, didn't have to happen, he is convinced.
In addition to telling his family's story to Capt. Randy Hoover, who "was very nice and very professional," and to a Cookeville Police official last night and to Mayor Womack today, Smoak also plans to tell his lawyer, he said.
"And I also want to tell it to the Tennessee Department of Tourism," he said.
Police Chief Bob Terry's statement
http://www.herald-citizen.com/NF/omf.wnm/herald/news_story.html?[rkey=0024266+[cr=gdn
Published January 02, 2003 11:54 AM CST
Mary Jo Denton Herald-Citizen Staff
It was the most traumatic experience the Smoak family of North Carolina has ever had, and it happened yesterday afternoon as they traveled through Cookeville on their way home from a vacation in Nashville.
Before their ordeal was over, three members of the family had been yanked out of their car and handcuffed on the side of Interstate 40 in downtown Cookeville, and their beloved dog, Patton, had been shot to death by a police officer as they watched.
What was their crime?
There was no crime.
But a passerby with a cell phone apparently assumed a crime had occurred when a wallet flew from a car on Interstate 40 near Nashville.
That citizen called police and inadvertently set in motion what would make it the most horrible vacation the James Smoak family of Saluda, North Carolina, has ever had.
Today, the Smoak children and their parents were still weeping over what happened to them in Cookeville.
By today, they had also filed complaints with two police agencies, prompting internal investigations, they had met with Tennessee Highway Patrol Capt. Randy Hoover, and they were on their way to talk to Cookeville Mayor Charles Womack.
Because official internal investigations are underway at the Tennessee Highway Patrol and at the Cookeville Police Dept., the Herald-Citizen was unable to get details of those two agencies' accounts of the incident.
But the Smoak family willingly told their story to anyone who would listen; they hope by doing so that something might be done to prevent it from happening to another family.
James Smoak, 38, who was traveling in the family station wagon with his wife, Pamela, their 17-year-old son, Brandon, and the family's two pet bulldogs, Patton and Cassie, had lost his wallet after stopping for gas as they left Davidson County on Wednesday afternoon.
But he didn't know he lost it. Apparently, he had placed it on top of the car while pumping gas, and it flew off somewhere on the highway a short time later.
Not knowing his wallet was lost, he and his family traveled on, heading east on their way home to North Carolina.
A few cars behind James and Pamela's station wagon, his parents and the two younger Smoak children were traveling in the elder Smoak's car.
Just a few miles east of Cookeville, James Smoak began to notice that a THP squad car was following him, though the officer was not pulling him over, just staying behind him, changing lanes any time Smoak did, moving in and out of traffic each time Smoak did.
"It was obvious he was looking at me, not at other vehicles, and I'm thinking I must have done something (in my driving), but I don't know what," Smoak said today.
When Smoak reached the 287 exit area in Cookeville, three other police cars suddenly appeared, and the trooper then turned on blue lights and pulled the Smoak car over.
"I immediately pulled to the side, and expecting him to come to the window, I started reaching for my wallet to get my license and it was not there," Smoak said.
About that time, he heard the officer broadcast orders over a bullhorn, telling him to toss the keys out the car window and get out with his hands up and walk backwards to the rear of the car.
Still not knowing what he was being stopped for, Smoak obeyed, and when he reached the back of the car, with a gun pointed at Smoak, the trooper ordered him to get on his knees, face the back of the car and put his head down.
When he did that, the officer handcuffed him and placed him in the patrol car. Then the same orders were blared over the bullhorn to "passenger" and Pamela Smoak got out with her hands up, was ordered to the ground, held at gunpoint, and handcuffed. Next, Brandon was ordered out and handcuffed in the same way.
Terrified at what was happening to them for no reason they knew, the family was also immediately concerned about their two pet dogs being left in the car there on the highway with the car doors open.
"We kept asking the officers -- there were several officers by now -- to close the car doors because of our dogs, but they didn't do it," said Pamela Smoak.
And as the officers worked in the late evening darkness, their weapons drawn as the Smoaks were being handcuffed, the dog Patton came out of the car and headed toward one of the Cookeville Police officers who was assisting the THP.
"That officer had a flashlight on his shotgun, and the dog was going toward that light and the officer shot him, just blew his head off," said Pamela Smoak.
"We had begged them to shut the car doors so our dogs wouldn't get out, and they didn't do that."
As the dog was heading out of the car toward the officer, "we had yelled, begging them to let us get him, but the officer shot him," she said.
Grieving for their dog and in shock over their apparent arrest for some unknown crime, the family could only wait. At one point, one state trooper did tell them they "matched the description" in a robbery that had occurred in Davidson County, Pamela Smoak said.
The ordeal went on for a time after that, the family terrified and in grief over the dog.
Finally, after a time, someone in authority figured out that the officers here had stopped and were holding the very family that someone in Davidson County had assumed had been robbed, though how that assumption grew to the authorization for a felony stop, James Smoak cannot understand, he said today.
"Finally, they asked me my name and I told them my name, date of birth, and other information, and they talked by radio to someone in Davidson County and finally realized that a mistake had been made," he said.
"A lady in Davidson County had seen that wallet fly off our car and had seen money coming out of it and going all over the road, and somehow that became a felony and they made a felony stop, but no robbery or felony had happened," Pamela Smoak said.
"Apparently, they had listened to some citizen with a cell phone and let her play detective down there," said James Smoak.
"Here we are just a family on vacation, and we had to suffer this."
When the officers did discover the mistake, "they said, 'Okay, we're releasing you and we're sorry,'" Smoak said.
As soon as Brandon was released from the handcuffs, he rushed over to the dead dog and began to cry, Smoak said.
And that's when one of the most infuriating parts of the ordeal happened, according to James Smoak.
"I saw one of the THP officers walk over to the city officer who had shot the dog and grin," he said.
He reported that to the supervising officer, THP Lt. Jerry Andrews, and Andrews "was very nice, very professional," Smoak said.
"He told me the officer was not laughing, but I know he was," said Smoak.
Smoak's parents had come along behind the other car and had seen all the commotion and stopped too, and now all three children were crying over their pet dog, as they were still doing today.
The Smoaks gathered the body of their pet and went to a motel here to spend the night. But they didn't get much rest, and at one point, James Smoak became so upset he had to go to the hospital for medical treatment.
They also worked throughout last night to contact all the authorities they could in order to lodge their complaints about what had happened.
Today, Beth Womack, a THP spokesperson in Nashville, told the H-C that an Internal Affairs investigation is underway and that every effort will be made to "find out exactly what happened and why."
"As I understand it, a report was made in Davidson County to our officers that this car had been seen leaving at a high rate of speed and that a significant amount of money had come out of the car and someone became suspicious," she said.
An internal investigation is also underway at the Cookeville Police Dept., Capt. Nathan Honeycutt told the H-C today.
James Smoak wonders about the logic of "a robber who would be tossing the money out of the car."
He also wonders about police procedure that would "take this insinuation from a citizen" and "turn it into what happened to us."
"Out there after they handcuffed us at gunpoint and put us in the police cars, they did not ask for ID, and later on, they actually released us just on my word about my identity, with only the confirmation by radio from an officer in Davidson County who was looking at my lost wallet and the ID in it down there," he said. "What if I actually had been a robber and not just a family man on vacation?"
His children hope they never come to Tennessee for another vacation.
"Poor Patton," said 13-year-old Jeb Smoak. "When he was killed out there, it was the first time I ever saw my brother, Brandon, cry. Brandon is the toughest person I've ever met, and he cried."
The other dog, a puppy named Cassie, was "trembling all over" after the ordeal, Jeb Smoak said.
"She's being real quiet today. She knows we're all grieving."
James Smoak, though still deeply upset today, said he understands that "the officer will say the dog was coming after him."
But it could all have been prevented, didn't have to happen, he is convinced.
In addition to telling his family's story to Capt. Randy Hoover, who "was very nice and very professional," and to a Cookeville Police official last night and to Mayor Womack today, Smoak also plans to tell his lawyer, he said.
"And I also want to tell it to the Tennessee Department of Tourism," he said.
Police Chief Bob Terry's statement
http://www.herald-citizen.com/NF/omf.wnm/herald/news_story.html?[rkey=0024266+[cr=gdn
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I most certainly will not be spending any of my dollars vacationing in the harrass-a-tourist state. Nashville be damned!
No, wait, now I remember. That was New York.
What was that guy's name, anyway? Rodney something or other?
No wait, now I remember. That was California.
It would also seem that between a 911 call and the actual stop that someone made the decision that these were dangerous people. Whether that was the result of an overly excited citizen reporting or another officer making the decision, somebody screwed up and must be held accountable. Several apologies won't be enough to make sure that some fool dosen't get others killed in a similar situation.
It is probably common knowledge for law enforcment officers to know how to respond properly to a felony stop, but our average citizen will be bewildered and probably get into much trouble for questioning the reasons for being stopped.
This is not an unusual experience as a Florida Police Department has financed projects such as new radios by confiscating large amounts of money from traveling folks. The Police have the right to do just that if the owners can not provide instant proof that the money is theirs. Even after they do obtain proof, they have a hard time getting it back if at all.
One story that occurred about six years ago was of an elderly couple that had sold their Northern residence for a good profit and were on their way to Florida to buy a retirement home. They were carrying the money with them (not smart, but their right?). They were pulled over by a local policeman and the money was confiscated. It took them about two years and legal fees to get it back. So, it can happen in places other than Tennessee.
If it had happened to me and mine, the officers involved would have to look over their shoulders for a very long time.
In response to others comments, they werent under arrest, just detained for the officers safety at that time(I remind you, this is all part of procedure), which does not warrant a reading of Miranda rights. As far as a dog being shot, I hate to sound cold, but it is an animal, granted a family pet, but when it comes down to it, the dog is at the same level of a hamster or cat or anything, it is an animal. Not to say that it wasnt extremely sad for the family, and i do think they should be compensated for more than the price of the dog, their emotional stress as well, but this isnt a person being shot here, it is a dog. People rank above animals. Should we start prosecuting those out there who hit dogs on the street with their cars? Should the dog have been read his rights too?
I think the thing that needs to be questioned here is the chain of events that analyzed the call from the woman on the cell and sent field officers to stop the family. Unfortunately, some things went sour in this situation, poop happens sometimes. I dont think the family shouldnt be traumatized about being detained and forced to come out of the car, who wouldnt? I dont think they shouldnt be shocked and grieving for their beloved dog killed in front of them, who wouldnt? But life isnt always fun and games, unfortunately some bad things happened, which is life. We dont get monetary compensation for every bad thing in life that makes us unhappy.
I just hope you dont talk to the cops the way some of you have been commenting when they help you out.
Considering the information they had, proper police proceadure was followed as far as the stop was concerned.
The thing fell apart because no one took charge of the scene. It sounds like every one was acting from his own script. It was the State Trooper's stop, he should have taken charge.
When you consider that two large dogs were in the car it didn''t make sense to not close the doors.
The police officials on the scene were responsible for the Smoak property. It appears to me that they get a NO GO at that station. Someone is going to pay for this one.
1) no reprimand whatsoever given to the officer by internal affairs, and
2) absolutely no further consequences for the officer.
Working on police brutality activism, you begin to learn that no matter how serious the corruption, how brutal the transgression, the phenomenon of the Blue Wall always kicks in. I mean, killing dogs is horrible, but I've worked on at least 10 cases of cops killing humans for about the same reason and jack shit happens.
U.S. police are an occupying army. And an occupying army does not answer to the occupied.
BY JIM SCHAEFER, Detriot Free Press Staff Writer
January 7, 2003
A Detroit police officer with a knife cut off the finger of a 45-year-old woman he was trying to handcuff in a parking lot on 8 Mile.
The police, who were in plainclothes, said she was resisting arrest. The woman, Joni Gullas of Detroit, said Monday that she thought she was being carjacked.
According to police reports obtained by the Free Press, Officer Anthony Johnson pulled out a knife Sunday morning to cut off the sleeve of Gullas' oversized coat so he could put her left hand in the handcuffs.
Johnson, of the 9th (Gratiot) Precinct, has been placed on desk duty, a typical move after officers use force during arrests. Gullas has not been charged with a crime.
Cmdr. Ralph Godbee Jr. said only that internal affairs was investigating the officer's behavior during the incident, which happened about 2:30 a.m. Sunday. Though the department does not issue knives, many officers carry them for, among other things, cutting seat belts to free accident victims.
Johnson and two other officers were riding in an unmarked car on a special burglary patrol when they noticed Gullas' van in a parking lot near the Huddle Lounge near 8 Mile and Gratiot.
Gullas said she had just left the bar and was waiting for others to come out so they could go together to breakfast when a car pulled up and someone shined a spotlight in her face.
A man approached, said he was the police and demanded her identification. Gullas said she could make out only a silhouette and asked the man for police identification.
"I just thought I was getting hijacked right then and there," she said. After some heated give-and-take between the two over IDs, Johnson approached the window and demanded Gullas' license.
He wrote in his report that Gullas smelled of alcohol but refused to produce her license, saying she wasn't doing anything wrong.
She shifted the car into reverse and began to back up, he wrote. Gullas denies that she moved the car.
Johnson wrote that he reached inside to open the door, and Gullas pinned his hand with her knee and began moving the car backward again. Johnson wrote that he hit her in the face, opened the door and pulled her outside onto the pavement. He said she was pulling and pushing away from him violently.
He cuffed her right hand, but couldn't get to her left hand, which she had tucked under her body. He pulled on her coat sleeve and she pulled her hand inside, he wrote. Gullas denied doing that and said the sleeves on the coat normally hang over her hands.
Concerned that she might be reaching for a weapon, Johnson pulled out a pocket knife and cut the sleeve off "to speed up cuffing process," he wrote.
He severed her left ring finger at the top knuckle and deeply cut her middle finger, she said. Police at the scene recovered the fingertip, but it could not be reattached.
At her east side home Monday, Gullas nursed her bandaged hand, which required surgery at Detroit Receiving Hospital.
"I wasn't fighting. I just didn't know what the heck was going on," she said. "Oh, my God, it hurts. I might as well have cut the whole hand off."
http://www.freep.com/news/locway/knife7_20030107.htm
There are stories in the News all too often about parents and children needlesly killed because a policeman is having what seems to be a 'rush' of power and can not stand the thought of someone getting away from him no matter how petty the offense. I was once in charge of a sercurity force at a large hospital in Cleveland. So, believe me when I say that I've personally seen what power can do to men. Remember the German Storm Troopers of WWII?
I agree with the other writers and offer an additional test be submitted to potential law enforecement officers. It would be called the 'Common Sense' test.
I pray Mr. Ross, that you or your family doesn't experience a similar episode as this family.
CONFERENCE: http://www.icsn.info
and JOIN: http://www.jail4judges.org
There is no excuse for this. Even once is too many.
I see. How about I come over and shoot your dog? It won't be fair, but such is life. After all, I don't know your dog, and I don't want to take any chances.
And be made to pay a heavy fine. NOTE not the departments, these should be personal fines.
The life of an innocent animal is more important than the life of a truly sick-minded individual...think about it.
Now, could the shooting of the dog have been done a little different. Of course. But don't blame every single officer involved, as some of you are, for the fault of a few.
Mr. Ross - it was only an animal, at the same level as cats and hamsters? Please! I work with animals on a daily basis and it is exactly beliefs like yours that lead to the frequent animal abuse cases that I see. People think they are expendable, think they dont have feelings, dont sense pain . . . . well newsflash, THEY DO!! I shouldn't even have to tell you that, it should be common sense! They are living creatures and they certainly deserve the same respect, care and love that humans do. Just because you think humans are superior, you think that gives us the right to torture, neglect or kill animals? It is exactly that mentality that confirms my belief the humans are often the lesser species when compared to most animals . . . . because only humans would be so arrogant and cruel. You obviously don't have any respect for life.
As for the police, even if the dog seemed aggressive, i see no reason why the officer felt he had to shoot it in the head! If he really felt he had to shoot it, he could have easily aimed elsewhere. . . something that might have stopped the animal without killing it. I think the fact that he aimed straight for the head on the first shot proves that he was acting irresponsibly and doing whatever he damn well pleased. He showed no compassion for this innocent animal and he most definitely deserves a harsh punishment, though unfortunately I doubt that will happen. And why didnt they just close the damn door?! That would've saved them all the trouble, they wouldnt have had to worry about any "aggressive" dogs coming after them cuz they would've been locked safely in the car. And, more importantly, a life would've be saved!
But if justice is served, your department will not be able to afford toilet paper for the next 20 years, let alone any type of training. Maybe you will be able to whipe your asses with the badge of the trigger happy officer who brought so much shame upon you...:)
Your comment to the effect that the Smoak pet was "just an animal" indicates the sort of retrograde thinking that one would hope might be overcome now that we're in the 21st century. Anyone who has ever had a pet knows that they can easily become part of the family. For the Smoaks, I'm sure the shooting of their dog was little less traumatic than the shooting of a child. The fact that a dog is a non-human in no way mitigates the pain and the loss suffered by this unfortunate family. I trust that legal restitution will be based on the actual pain and suffering inflicted on the Smoaks, and not on the "price of the dog".
1-931-526-2125
Cookeville Police Department
Public Safety Building
10 E. Broad Street
Cookeville, TN 38501
You obviously don't have someone close to you that has a strong emotional bond with a pet. With three officers in the area, it was in no way appropriate for the "trigger happy" officer to fire on the dog. It's simple, the officer didn't pay attention detail, he didn't watch the dog as it exited the car and when the animal approached he was surprised and shot him. Completely the officers FAULT.
In response to your particular emphasis on the "seriousness" of the situation dispatched over the radio, The officers looked less than threatened, as they sauntered over to the three "suspects" on the ground. If thats procedure for a highly dangerous situation, I think those officers were extremely lucky the family was as harmless as they were.........much "luckier" than the family and the pet, for having to deal with such reckless law enforcement individuals who don't deserve their position.
http://www.tennessean.com/
http://www.tennessean.com/video/dogshooting0103/dog2.rm (PC)
http://www.tennessean.com/video/dogshooting0103/dog2.ram (Mac)
And better yet contact the poilce dept's BOSS:
City Hall:
City of Cookeville
45 East Broad Street
Cookeville, TN 38501
(931) 526-9591
info [at] ci.cookeville.tn.us
Unbelievable!
I am writing in reponse to the actions of both the Highway Patrol and Cookeville Country police, specifically officer Eric Hall concerning their stop of the Smoak family. My opinion is that the incident should be reviewed to determine who was at fault for allowing the pet which was killed to be loose from the car. Furthermore, I feel quite strongly that officer Eric Hall should be fired or re-assigned to a position that does not allow him to use his negligent judgement to hurt anyone else.
According to the news, a review of the incident yeilded:
Likewise, the Cookeville Police Department's internal investigation determined that its officers, who were providing backup for the troopers, "performed their duties according to training and policy," said department spokesman Capt. Nathan Honeycutt.
If this is true your training and policy is dead wrong! I am going to follow this situation and if this is whitewashed, or those responsible for taking action in this practice the good 'ole boy mentality of protecting their own at the expense of the public I will do everything in my power to fight against the re-election of the Cookeville Country Police Chief and Mayor! I am furious that this occurred and further insensed that the initial reaction has been to close ranks among a group of offiers who showed dubious judgement and charecter.
I am sickened at the video I've seen. I'm even
more offended by the official reaction. I will never
travel through your state again even if I add many hours to my families vacation travels. If I can
figure out how to contribute to the poor family that
your department brutalized I'll do so. I hope they sue everyone there out of a job.
The world would be a safer place if that happened.
I did not see an aggressive dog on the video. I saw a playful dog that got excited by a lot of commotion and emotion surrounding its masters.
What I did see was an overreaction by a person who was running high on his own emotions.
It disgusts me to know that this officer who made a bad error in judgement is hiding behind his department and his badge. Responsible adults assume accountablility for thier actions and admit when they make mistakes. How can anyone trust a law enforcement body when they can't trust that the officers within will use reasonable judgement.
R.I.P. Patton Smoaks.
And yes, I feel compassion for the many poor individuals all over the world who are killed every day by ruthless dictators, however, there is a major difference here: Their deaths aren't broadcast in living color on TV .. . perhaps if they were, we would be more active.
That said, I hope the Smoak family bankrupts the Cookville police department (which is riddled with corruption . . .just do a "google" search). They never, ever get over this traumatic experience. Count me in as one person who will avoid the Volunteer State like the plague . . .. . ugh, I feel sick!
Please give ONE G O O D reason why a "animal's" life is more important than a human's. (other than "Because it's an animal.")
What makes you think humans are anything more than just animals?
To add insult to injury, the Good Old Boy mentality of Tennessee takes over and the police are making excuses and trying to cover their butts. Yes, this could and does happen in other states. That doesn’t make it right and it doesn't excuse the officers’ grin when he saw how upset the young man was to lose his beloved family pet. If an officer’s duty is "To Serve and Protect", these officers failed on both counts. All officers should be required to take animal control training to help them know how to handle situations like these so this kind of situation doesn't deteriorate into a senseless tragedy. Let’s hope this family follows through with a law suit against these officers. Tell me where I can send money to help with their legal fees.
"However, those of us that are not police officers or not law enforcement officers, do not have the experience of such situations" is hogwash.
Contrary to what you seem to know, many if not most of us have had the experience of being rushed by a dog whose intentions we are not absolutely certain of. Most of us, however, apply certain judgements regarding dogs which most people are familiar with: relative (to ourselves) size of dog, demeanor, protective clothing (e.g., "I'm wearing jeans"), proximity of children, etc. Because of the familiarity of this experience (being rushed by a dog), most people are able to correctly process the situation and make the appropriate judgement in a very short time -- generally, less than a second or two. Furthermore, it is fair ot assume a that law enforcement officer in a rural, hunting state such as Tennessee would have greater-than-average experience in making that judgement (the nature and threat posed by an approaching dog). However, it is obvious in this case that the officer in question had no consideration for the actual circumstances, but rather, is of a nature to simply fire his weapon rather than make a professional, or even humane, judgement. Aside from the brutal nature of the crime, for which he and his department should be punished, this flaw (a judgement obviously skewed strongly to intimidation and violence) absolutely disqualifies him from the position of a field law enforcement officer. In that position he is obviously a threat not just to the occasional dog, but to the very people he is supposed to serve and protect.
That, in case you missed it, is the real issue at hand, and you don't need to "have been there" to understand it.
That is a good example of true intellectual dishonesty.
This refers to the removed comment.
I would certainly wonder what are the requirements to be an officer of the law in Tennessee.
They should all be ashamed of themselves. The good thing about living in a small town is that everybody knows everybody . . . I hope those officers involved enjoy knowing that everyone knows who they are and what they've done.
I would certainly wonder what are the requirements to be an officer of the law in Tennessee.
They should all be ashamed of themselves. The good thing about living in a small town is that everybody knows everybody . . . I hope those officers involved enjoy knowing that everyone knows who they are and what they've done.
I would certainly wonder what are the requirements to be an officer of the law in Tennessee.
They should all be ashamed of themselves. The good thing about living in a small town is that everybody knows everybody . . . I hope those officers involved enjoy knowing that everyone knows who they are and what they've done.
hate to see what there pet control is like
But shouldn't part of "taking control", as you put it, include closing the doors to the vehicle to keep the dogs inside? Let's not loose sight of the fact that this stop occurred on a major interstate highway. I find it TREMENDOUSLY IRRESPONSABLE that the officers did not take into consideration the safety of the folks traveling on the highway just feet away from the stop. You seem like an intelligent person. Therefore, I am sure you can imagine the possibility of a serious accident that could have occurred had one of these dogs left the vehicle and ran out onto the highway.
I feel everyone of these officers used very poor judgment. Closing the doors to the vehicle would have helped gain control, not lessen it. I feel the officer that shot the dog should be fired, at the very least. I feel all the other officers should be demoted for using poor judgment. I fell the family should be compensated for this tragedy. And finally, I feel that officer training should be changed to include how to handle traffic stops that include animals.
The real tragedy is that this family will never forget what happened to them.
I and everyone I know called the Cookeville Police Department to voice our outrage over this morally reprehensible act.
The officer in question should be fired. He should pay a fine. He should spend time in jail.
So should every other person who commits a crime against an animal.
PEOPLE ARE NOT ABOVE ANIMALS! We are completely equal. This could have been avoided by closing the doors of the vehicle so the dogs could not get out. Obviously the problem here is that the officers in question aren't smart enough to patrol our highways.
Give it up, Bledge. You can’t win. There is only one of you. There is a bunch of us, and we sleep in shifts. We can outlast you. You’re outclassed. Show some sportsmanship and save yourself a sore wrist. Resign gracefully. You’re beaten.
Why did the person report it as a crime, instead of seeking to recover the wallet and contact the owner before jumping to conclusions?
Suspician is conviction when you're by the side of the road. Ever been asked if they can search your person or your car? Refuse? Certainly they have no legal ability to do it, but it happens. Too much power in wrong hands, by definition.
Procedures do not make the actions right. It's not acceptable to say they cops have to protect themselves at the expense of the citizens. They supposedly exist to protect citizens, but of course agents of the state always use their protection powers to protect themselves first, at every level. The power exists to keep itself in power, not to serve others. Standard bureaucratic mentality.
Holding these guys accountable would be nice, temper the actions of other officers, and unusual.
Best thing for a criminal to do is find a way into a uniform. Crimes by authorities legal by definition.
(What's with the guy with time & inclination to squirt repeated drivel-bombs onto the thread? Sheer genious)
So--you're riding along, minding your own business when the police pull you over, treat you like some kind of felon, and MURDER YOUR DOG, all without anything more than a phoned-in report to go on? If this is the way Tennessee protects its citizens, then perhaps it should secede from the union. The rest of us civilized taxpayers can't abide these tactics, and from what I'm seeing, it begins to appear that the Tennessee HP doesn't bother to investigate before they shoot to kill. This type of police work just creates the notion that our public safety officers are mindless robots; no conscious, no concern for the fellow man, and no forethought to what they're doing.
You can say people rank above animals, but this family's dog was not just some animal, rather he was a family member. Whether the officer perceives that or not, if THP, or ANY police force cannot respect that, then they have no business in public safety.
There was nothing professional about this situation...any sensible person would have taken whatever steps were necessary to prevent a tragedy, so why should the officer be exempt from doing the same? The officer could have simply shut the door as the family requested instead of allowing a situation to develop that would cause him to believe that executing their dog was necessary. If the officers were found to be following proper policy and training, as has been officially stated, then that policy is at fault and the department is still liable.
Renegade work like this should be made an example and punished where it hurts most. Only by doing the right thing will the smell of corruption be kept at bay. I sincerely hope a very publicized and very hefty award is made to this family for their suffering and the senseless destruction of their property. Then maybe this outrage won't be repeated on the next innocent family that decides to visit Tennessee.
I also called John Wade -Tennessee Director of Tourism (and I have never been so offended---He told me it was said it happened but it was just a missed call--"akin to the botched call in the SF 49ers - Giants playoff game this past weekend"---------go figure---comparing a trauma this family faced to that of a field full of spoiled millionaire athletes----GOD BLESS AMERICA !!!
of the yocals that entered the local police force were guys
that couldn't get jobs anywhere else. I remember
working all night at a store during college and seeing
them speed by on their way to pull over cute local college girls. God help you if you ever needed them
for something.
What happened to this family was criminal. If it were
me, I'd spare no expense or time in seeing to it that
my attorneys filed suit against the police dept, city, state and particularly the officer. Emotional damage would be a good starting point. See if the cop is still laughing when he has to fork over a couple of million bucks in damages on his $20K/yr salary.
Allow me to say that before I go to bed tonight, I will pray that a love one of yours is innocently gunned down by a police officer. How dare you, you are a son of a bitch, and lets hope we never meet face to face.
Place the cop that killed the dog, and all covering this up in a jail and let them be banged the whole time locked up. Oh no, they will like it.
... District 5 Bob Terry Cookeville Chief of Police PO Box 849 Cookeville, TN 37501 rterry [at] ci.cookeville.tn.us
voice 931-520-5266 fax 931-528-9368
Maybe the officer was shooting at a passing spider that was resisting arrest and the dog got in the way.
And then people ask why we all make fun of Tennessee! I hope the Smoaks sue the hell out of the state and put them back into an moneyless era which would fit these hillbillies well!!!
What a terrible shame. That officer is a heartless coward--the dog's tail was wagging when he came toward him ! I saw the video tape on TV. Now the Police are saying that "proper procedure was followed." Completely disgusting. Give some Neanderthal good-ol-boy a badge and a gun and THIS is what you get.
A TRADITIONAL SOUTHERN "WHITE" FAMILY BEING TREATED LIKE DIRT. I AM SORRY THIS WAS NOT STUPIDITY IT WAS A COLD-BLOODED MALICIOUS ACT. THEY WILL BURN IN HELL FOR THEIR ACTIONS. BUT LETS IMAGINE IF THAT WAS A CAR FULL OF BLACK MALES (MENACING , GIVES YOU THE WILLIES JUST THINK BOUT IT HUH). THOSE FOLKS RAN INTO THE TYPE OF IGNORANCE AND TREATMENT THAT BLACK FOLK LIVE THROUGH EVERYDAY. AND YES LETS SIT BY AND AND WATCH IT BE WHITEWASHED AWAY. ITS RIGHT THERE ON TAPE FOR ALL TO SEE BUT WATCH HOW IT ALL GETS EXPLAINED AWAY. THIS IS THE WORLD ME AND OTHER LAW ABIDING BLACK FOLK LIVE THROUGH EVERYDAY. IT HITS HOME BECAUSE THIS COULD HAVE BEEN ONE OF YOU FOLKS , SCARY ISNT. IF THIS HAD BEEN A CAR FULL OF BLACK FOLKS THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A MURDER OR AT LEAST AN ASSAULT AND BATTERY CASE THAT NONE OF YOU WOULD GIVE A F^&* ABOUT. DONT GET UPSET YOUR ODDS OF RUNNING INTO A SITUATION LIKE THIS ARE 1 IN A MILLION. SLEEP WELL IN YOUR BEDS AND HOUSES THAT WERE ILL GOTTEN THROUGH MURDER, RAPE, AND THIEVERY--- HOLLA ATYA .......SLEEP WELL
Email hem at ehall [at] cookeville-tn.org
This was an outrageous act and hopefully the officers involved will be punished.
I think we should all send flowers to the Mayor's office to signify that it is a black day for their town and they need to ride the dog killer out of town on a rail (proverbially, of course).
M. Duane Coyle
Yes -- I can see why. Ask why you are being stopped and you might be shot.
That said, I really have to wonder why the vehicle's doors weren't closed once the people were secured? The officers who secured the vehicle were responsible for "clearing" it (ie:making sure everyone was out). They had to have seen the dogs, so WHY didn't they close the doors when they were done?
This whole incident could have been prevented, and there simply is no acceptable excuse.
SusanT
I ask because that's exactly what it is. Just because it is done under color of law does not change what it is.
So why are cops not prosecuted? Why should they not be held to at least the same standards as we are?
Arty Heinz
If one officer, let alone multiple officers do not have sufficient autonomy to evaluate and deal with a situation such as this, I argue that these individuals and any like them should be removed from their authority positions. Each officer should be accountable for their own actions. Clearly, police officers are expected to have and indeed do have disproportionately more power than civilians when engaging in any investigatory interaction. The Smoak family complied with the officers and fulfilled their duty as good citizens. They had NO power over the situation. To suggest that the officers had no power over the situation either is ridiculous. The authoritative-power and fire-power rested solely in the hands of the officers.
When such power can be deligated to "public servants," it must be the highest priority that these individuals can "lead" themselves through situations such as this. Lack of leadership is a poor excuse for the outcome of this incident.
Furthermore, for sake of argument, let us all agree that the officer, in truth, did perceive that the dog was a real threat. Why did this officer have to destroy the animal? Was lethal force necessary? Would a warning shot discharged safely over-head not have been sufficient to deter this supposed threatening animal? I have heard of few animals that would continue an aggressive assault, save those that were rabid, on a human that discharged a massive firearm close to them.
With the power that poilce officers hold, there is no room for the errors that occurred in this situation.
Thanks,
Chris
And for those of you who like to bash the South, keep your misinformed opinion, stay where you are, don't come down here and ruin a good thing.
Thanks for your time.
Are we leaning towards a post 9-11 police state? YES
Are family pets desevering of more status than property? YES
Are police officers deserving of better pay so that we can get higher IQ's? YES
Is the level of our disgust of this act called into question when there are greater crimes to humanity? YES
Does the women who called 911 to report "money flying all over the interstate" face any liability? YES
Will the laughing police officer and the trigger pulling officer be punished? YES Imprisoned? NO Fined? NO
Will the family ever feel whole again? NO
Patton, you were a happy dog who wanted to play. In God's eyes, there will be the greatest punishment waiting for those that took you from us. You will not have died in vain.
He should also NEVER be allowed a personal fire arm permit.
Family pets are family members .. the police should have closed the car doors when asked.
This was a horrific event. I am sorry for the family's loss. I hope they are able to sue the police for a lot so the police will understand what a grave mistake they made.
Cookeville Police Department
10 E. Broad St.
Cookeville, TN 38501
1 page via facsimile: 931-528-9368
Dear Chief Terry:
As a former deputy sheriff who dealt with dogs and assisted other deputies in dealing with dogs in the line of duty, I am writing to you now as president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an international nonprofit organization with more than 750,000 members and supporters—many of whom live in your state—dedicated to animal protection. Our office is flooded with calls and e-mails from people all over the country outraged by your agency’s treatment of a North Carolina family and the needless shooting and killing of their beloved dog, Patton, on January 1, 2003.
We are writing to ask that for the sake of animals, the public, and your officers, you immediately implement animal-handling training and operating procedures to prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future. We have helped other police departments do so and now stand ready to assist yours.
We are worried that officers in your agency, like so many others, may prematurely resort to deadly force in cases involving animals, especially dogs, out of unfounded fear for their own safety. Footage aired on CNN shows a Cookeville police officer discharging his 12-gauge shotgun at Patton—who doesn’t appear to constitute a threat—as the dog’s guardians, James and Pamela Smoak, are held back by officers, screaming and crying for their dog. The Smoaks claim to have repeatedly begged officers to simply do the commonsensical thing, i.e., close the car door so that Patton wouldn’t hop into traffic. The officer shot Patton three seconds after the dog jumped out of the car!
It’s impossible for police officers to avoid contact with animals, so training in the proper and humane handling of animals is imperative for all law-enforcement agencies. We would be happy to work with you to establish such procedures and hope to hear from you very soon.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Very Truly Yours,
Ingrid E. Newkirk, President
How in the world things could have gotten so out of hand is beyond my understanding. Considering the only information they had was from a passer by.
I have pets and they many people don't understand, they are a part of the family and the thought of that happening to one of them made me cry.
I feel that a thorough investigation not only needs to be made, but that those involved in the unprofessional manner in which this was handled doesn't need to be a part of any law inforcement agency. Some hot shot person not only abusing a family and emotionally traumatizing them, but also making a very bad name for law enforcement personnel that aren't this way. I would like to think that one that shot the dog is one of few, but how many other law officers were at the sight and none of them chose to do anything about the matter.
My deepest sympathies go out to the Smoaks, as this won't be the end of it. Further legal action (which I hope they nail these bastards) will continue to traumatize the family. Smoaks are in my prayers.
I realise the job has it's hazards but don't they have pepper spray?????
http://story.herald-citizen.com/newsstory3.htm?%5brkey=0024266+%5bcr=gdn
What pit bull? Is the Chief looking at the same tape I am? Why would he lie when he knew the tape would be made public? Certainly he cannot be as stupid as his officers. How dumb are these guys?
Pointing a gun and shooting is not attempting to "call the dog down".
I have met very few dogs that I didn't like. I have met alot of humans that I did not like.
I have never met anyone who said "I am not a dog person" who was messed up in the head.
I could not imagine anything more traumatizing than watching the cold-blooded murder of your dog.
That is severe negligence displayed by the officer.
Obviously the family had given no indication they had actually committed a crime.
They obeyed every instruction given to them, and insisted time and time again only that their car door be closed to contain their canine companions.
The officer had no excuse to open fire on the dog when it approached him; if the dog indeed had actually attacked him, the officer was of such a size that it would have been easy to fend him off and then take the appropriate action to cease any additional attacks.
My sympathies go out to the family.
What does suprise me is that they took information from a complete stranger on a cellphone and ran with it. What made this person, with such an active imagination, any different from any one of us at that moment?
Our United States Constitution tells us that a person is innocent until PROVEN guilty. Apparently, the law enfforcement officers, whose salaries we pay with our tax dollars and who are hired "To Protect and To Serve" choose to ignore our individual rights, as is the case here.
I feel that the State of Tennessee, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the Cookeville Police Department and each of the officers who represented them on that day should, with all humility, stand responsible, both financially and morally, for their misconduct in handling this situation. Furthermore, the tax paying citizens of Tennessee should not be made to bare the financial resposibility through a tax hike. or hidden tax.. This debt should be satisfied straight from the budgets of these agencies and the officers themselves, as our individual debts are borne by ourselves without help from the State of Tennessee.
But, as is usually the case, the GOOD-OLE-BOY system that is deeply rooted in law enforcement will protect these officers and they will be allowed to keep their jobs and will patrol amongst us with a strengthened sense of untouchable arrogance.
"a dog" would act more responsibly than the cop involved - my recommendation is to stay out of tennesee - all that inbreeding seems to have affected the natives ability to reason
cops with guns are more dangerous than criminals - low self esteeem is a killer...
there is not enough money in that sorry state to compensate this family for this horrific incident -
however, i hope the state pays and pays and pays
Be assured, things like happened to the Smoats can and do happen everywhere, not only in TN.
The Cookeville Police Chief - states that his officers were in a "Backup" position to the THP - right - I'd use any excuse I could if I were him
Cookevillepolice.com
info [at] cookeville-tn.org
webmaster [at] cookeville-tn.org
Their mayor is Dr. Charles Womack
City Manager is Jim Shipley
Police Chief is Robert Terry
Our prayers are with this family and I hope this does not put a bad taste of all law inforcement officers into the mouth of the children that went through this ordeal because you see they will probably never trust them again. How sad that so many officers are making bad decisions lately. I have always thought if you can't handle the job and are too quick to the draw and judge you better find another occupation you can handle. True criminal have more rights then this family did. My heart pours out to the children and please remember there are good officers out there. To bad ones like this make them pay.
I think that this not only should animal abuse charges be filed against him, but he should lose his badge and the right to carry a gun! He is obviously TRIGGER HAPPY!
I am just so sickened by this story I can't even put it into words! I just hope that the poor baby died instantly and did not feel any pain!
No amount of money could make up for such actions but I will assure you that when I have to come pick my daughter up from Tenn. I will LEAVE my dog at home along with my family. There will be no visiting Tenn. any longer than it takes to cross the state line.
This incident does not suprise me, I had work in law enforcement for for about five years, but resigned when I began to see the corruption taking place within the department. I have seen officers who were unable to make their own decisions, but must have the help of a supervisor in order to make a decision. A well trained officer capable of make good (common sense) decisions on his own; he/she should be able to use good judgement if they have recieved the proper training in such matters as civil liablity. Another problem is the community not getting involved in the type of officers being hired by their local departments; I have seen officer with criminal backgrounds working in law enforcement agencies. These officers account for the majority of illegal arrest made and are usually the ones that help train rookies and this will result in bad police work. Remember, the people they put on the street have the power of life and death over individuals, part of this power comes in the form of a gun; and in the hands of the wrong person can have a disastrous outcome.
May God be with you.
animal life is not valued there like it is in other parts of the country - they are "just animals" therefore not valuable unless they have a monetary value
this sort of thing infuriates me for a number of reasons - least of which is "my southerness" big deal - rednecks are everywhere - I watched a group of your UT students spit on Auburn fans at a ballgame - did any of the other UT fans do anything about it? of course not
I was embarrased to be from the south that day, like I am today because of this incident - the acts of a few reflects on all of us - maybe we are all inbred rednecks, but we don't have to behave that way if we don't want to - thats what choice is all about
those officers had a choice - due to ignoranance, cowardice or something else (God complex maybe?) they did what they did
I would not have thought that my post would have offended you unless it applied to you personally (so I do apologize) but I can't imagine being proud to be a Tennessean when things like this occur in your state - I wouldn't be and am not
I hope the dg's family knows that they have a lot of support!!!!! Sue their butts off and put them in jail!!!!
NP
39-14-205 Intentional killing of animal.
(a)(1) A person who intentionally or knowingly unlawfully kills the animal of another, with the intent to deprive the owner of the right to the animal's life and without the owner's effective consent commits theft of that animal and shall be punished under § 39-14-105.
(2) In determining the value of a police dog under § 39-14-105, the court shall consider the value of the police dog as both the cost and any specialized training for such police dog.
(b) A person is justified in killing the animal of another if such person acted under a reasonable belief that the animal was creating an imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury to such person or another or an imminent danger of death to an animal owned by such person. A person is not justified in killing the animal of another if at the time of the killing such person is trespassing upon the property of the owner of such animal. The justification for killing the animal of another authorized by this subsection shall not apply to a person who, while engaging in or attempting to escape from criminal conduct, kills a police dog that is acting in its official capacity. In such case the provisions of subsection (a) shall apply to such person.
My interpretation of subsection 2b) is that if the Police commited a criminal act by engaging in a "flelony apprehension" without probable cause, they forfiet their right to kill an animal even if this animal posed a threat, which it did not.
I would suggest that the lawyers review whether or not this apprehension was legal, as well as the killing unjustified.
Wasn't blasting your breed in my last post, but when I read the article in the Cookeville paper, they stated that the dog was a "killer pit bull", thus the reference
I'm being blasted for condemning the south (which I don't have a problem with since I feel justified because I live here), don't want to be misunderstood on this one
The real reason the inbred hillbilly cop pulled the trigger is that he felt threatened by a mixed breed..... "We don't believe in inter-marrin' down in these parts"
If 911 dispatchers take a routine attitude toward calls that he or she may receive, you are asking that we just take our time with any emergency.
In most places 911 dispatchers do not make the decision on how an agency is to handle to call. The call is giving to the agency with all the information the dispatcher can get and the agency handles it by protocol.
I do feel for the family in the case. But a big part of the american population is quick to judge when something like this happens. And the information from the officers side has not been heard yet.
Officer who shot dog 'protecting self'
Mary Jo Denton
Herald-Citizen Staff
The police officer who shot and killed a dog during an incident on Interstate 40 here on New Year's Day says he felt he had no choice.
He was about to be attacked by the animal, he says.
And the whole episode originated with the Tennessee Highway Patrol, not the Cookeville Police Dept., city officials stress.
It was the THP officers who made the felony stop of a vehicle in which a North Carolina family was traveling, and the Cookeville Police Dept. was merely asked to come out and assist as backup officers.
State troopers involved were David Bush, David Roark, Jeff Phann, and Lt. Jerry Randolph.
Cookeville Police Officers Eric Hall and Mead McWhorter were dispatched to the I-40/S. Jefferson area at 5:14 p.m. that day to assist the THP.
That is, the THP asked the city force for help before initiating the stop, and the officers were sent there not knowing any details of the case.
As it turned out, the James and Pamela Smoak family of Saluda, North Carolina, say they were victims of a police mistake which began somewhere in Davidson County where they had stopped to get gas after visiting Nashville on a vacation.
James Smoak had lost his wallet as he drove off from the gas station in Davidson County, and someone who saw the wallet fly off the top of his car became suspicious and called the authorities.
From that point, someone in some law enforcement agency there apparently came to believe a robbery had occurred and began a search on the highway for the car to which the wallet's information led them.
In Cookeville, the car was stopped by the THP, and the family was ordered out of the vehicle at gunpoint and handcuffed.
And when their pet bulldog, Patton, came out of the car, one officer on the scene shot and killed the dog. The family was very upset and later filed complaints with both police agencies.
But the city officers who were sent to the scene to help another agency that day believe they performed their duties as they should have.
Here is Officer Hall's account of his part in the case:
"I was dispatched to assist THP with a felony stop that they were going to initiate at I-40 and S. Jefferson. While enroute to the call, I asked dispatch to find out what felony had been committed and to get a description of the suspect vehicle.
"Dispatch was not able to give me the information before I arrived on the scene. Once I was on the scene, I noticed that THP was already in the process of getting the suspects out of the vehicle.
"I retrieved my issue shotgun and took a position beside Officer McWhorter who was taking cover on the right side of the lead THP patrol car. Officer McWhorter and I covered the suspects with long guns while the state troopers did the hands-on.
"Suddenly, a dog, I believe to be a pit-bull, jumped from the suspect vehicle, singled me out from the other officers, and charged toward me growling in an aggressive manner.
"I yelled at the dog to 'get back' but it attempted to circle me to attack, so I felt that I had no other option but to protect myself.
"I fired once at the dog, instantly putting him down. VHS tape from in vehicle camera placed into evidence."
Here is Officer McWhorter's account of what happened:
"I responded to I-40 in order to assist THP on a felony stop. On arrival, I approached from the passenger side of Trooper Bush's unit. I took a position of cover at the passenger door of his unit. I provided cover from the location. The suspects were removed from the vehicle.
"As a trooper went forward to cuff the suspects, Officer Hall and I flanked to the right to maintain cover on the suspects and the uncleared vehicle. I passed a trooper my handcuffs. He cuffed the last subject.
"A dog exited the vehicle and focused on Officer Hall. The dog rapidly approached Officer Hall. Officer Hall stepped backwards and yelled get back. The dog continued toward the officer as he stepped back. Officer Hall shot the dog at the point that the dog would not retreat.
"When I saw that the threat had been stopped, I resumed cover on the vehicle. I assisted a trooper in clearing the vehicle. I assisted until I was released by the senior trooper."
The Smoak family, both in interviews with this newspaper and in formal complaints they later filed with the two police agencies, said they begged the officers at the scene to close their car doors so that their two pet dogs, both bulldogs, would not get out onto the highway.
The Smoaks' 17-year-old son, Brandon, said in his written account:
"All I could do is what they said. After I was handcuffed I realized that the front passenger door was open. My mom and I was begging to shut the door to the police officer next to me because we had two dogs in the car.
"One was a puppy, and the other was General Patton, a well trained dog that was scared and didn't know what was going on. Only if Officer Jeff Phann had shut the door or if they would have helped us by returning our wallet to us, instead pointing guns at us and taking a member of the family."
Here is Pamela Smoak's account of asking, after she was in handcuffs, for the car door to be closed:
"I asked the officer who was standing next to my son, about two feet from the open door to please shut the door so my dog wouldn't get out. I asked him several times, and he refused to shut the door.
"My dog then came out of the car and ran towards the officer with the shotgun and flashlight. We started yelling to please let us get him, don't shoot, he was only barking at the flashlight and jumping at the light. My son plays with him using a flashlight.
"This is when my dog was murdered. Anyway, this whole thing was a screw-up. A felony stop was made but no felony was committed."
Within an hour of the stop, the THP learned that no robbery had occurred and that James Smoak had merely lost his wallet. The family was released then.
Officials at the Tennessee Highway Patrol station here and at the Dept. of Safety in Nashville say the whole incident is being reviewed.
An internal investigation is also being made by the Cookeville Police Dept.
Published January 03, 2003 12:15 PM CST
I wonder how many of you would be laughing had the dog actually attacked and wounded the officer.
The disgrace is people NOT understanding why an officer, in a highly tense situation (all traffic stops have the potential of ending terribly), chose to shoot a dog that was obviously running towards the officer.
Can anyone seriously tell me that you can negotiate with an animal?
He should be fired.
Philip
http://www.OdorDestroyer.com
Dead dog vs. stiches? Well, come near my dog and you'll be happy to leave with only stitches.
There is room for question here, and the shooting may or may not be justified. But you atttude sucks. God help us and your fellow officers if you managed to sneak into a blue uniform.
Your support of the Police is baseless.
IF the apprehension and stop was legal and IF the officer was attacked then you are right, it would have been justified and the public support would have swung the other way. The early statements on the probale cause lacking, the cover-up by the Chief and the tape showing a happy dog being shot.
I wonder how many of you would be laughing had the dog actually attacked and wounded the officer.
I understand why the officer was in the position he was in: mis-communication, lack of training, poor on-site procedure, no command hierarchy at the scene.
What I do not understand, is, that unless you are severly retarded, how would you threatened by a dog wagging his tail?
"Can anyone seriously tell me that you can negotiate with an animal?" I can. Let's start with "stay" or "down" or "sit". Common commands for dog training. What does "'get back' " mean to a dog? Nothing. (see training above).
What would I say to a dog running up to me looking like Patton did? "here boy, good boy, sit" I then would have rubbed behind his ears and patted his head. I would not have removed his head with my shotgon and then laughed at the family as they cried.
Support the Police? I think not. Not on this one.
The same police stop happens to the same family- only this time, they don't own a dog. And let's say the seventeen year-old son is mentally disabled or retarded. All the lights and yelling rattle the boy and he runs, not listening to his parents' shouts. As he runs he turns around and sees a policeman. His mom and dad taught him,"policemen are your friend, if you ever need help, run to a policeman." the boy turns and runs toward the policeman. What does the policeman see? A healthy teen felony suspect running at him. Does he shoot? The family yelled to the troopers, "Don't shoot- he's mentally disabled!" The cop doesn't hear- all he does is see. "That's a healthy teen felony suspect charging towards me, what's procedure? DEFEND YOURSELF!" bang.
You can't blame a redneck cop, Tennessee, or the "Idiot South" for what happened. (Frankly, we in the South love dogs alot more than the rest of America). 99% of police across America would have shot the dog, just like Cookville. And, more disturbing, you and I know that 99% of law enforcement officers would have shot in the scenario I created with the mentally disabled boy. The only real question would be how good a shot the cop got; was the boy killed or just seriously injured?
We have allowed law enforcement procedures in America to turn our "safety officers" into a high-strung, paranoid, paramilitary. Law enforcement must step back and look at what it's doing IN society ,and TO society.
By the way -I'm proud to be a Tennessean, and the same thought processes that have been used to make petty little remarks about the "South" or "What do you expect- it's Tennessee" are the same type of thought processes used to establish these fundamentally flawed law enforcement procedures that make assumptions. Assumptions which are used today ACROSS America. If you are sitting in San Fransisco and thinking you are superior in ANYWAY, look in the mirror- perhaps YOU are the "redneck" that you believe US to be.
I agree. Those guys really blew that stop. Too many, in too close, to quick. No single point of control, and failure to secure the vehicle. You no doubt noticed that the vehicle was visually searched only AFTER the incident. Had that been an armed man instead of a dog, there could have been 4 dead cops that night.
I hope that you and your brothers in blue don't take a lot of crap for this. I've been very vocal about how bad this was botched. But I have always been a big supporter of law enforcement (and a big critic of legislators), so I hope the heat goes only where it belongs.
My God protect and guide you as you protect us.
Philip
P.S. Remember this everyone, a cop is the only person you can call in the middle of the night to come stand between you and that masked man with a gun.
Philip
http://www.OdorDestroyer.com
Get a grip - cops are slugs and oppressors!!!
I'm sure "sit boy" would have been an appropriate response.
Why don't you go back under the rock you crawled out from?
(speaking at the mental midget who wants to see the video...two thumbs up comment)
http://www.igorilla.com/gorilla/animal/2001/rottweiler_mauls_child.html
http://www.newsnet5.com/news/1701722/detail.html
http://www.igorilla.com/gorilla/animal/2000/chow_dog_kills_man.html
All I'm trying to point out here is that the family pet is STILL an animal. It reacts to its environment using instinct NOT reason. It is a pack animal whose sole purpose is to defend the pack (in this case, its adopted family of humans).
Maybe the officer overreacted, but that doesn't mean that he didn't have cause to be alarmed at a strange dog running towards him.
The felony stop was textbook and there is no problem with what they did. As an officer you take orders and respond to a call based on the information received from dispatch. I agree that had the doors been closed, the dog would not have gotten out. However, standard procedure on a felony stop dictates that you leave the doors open so approaching officers can clear the vehicle more easily.
What never ceases to amaze me is the instant anti-cop sentiment that starts to fly when an event like this occurs. Cops screw up, some of them really screw up. Thousands of arrests are made every day by officers in their attempt to protect the public. When a mistake is made we are hung out to dry, as if no one else in any other profession makes any mistakes.
We risk our lives to protect yours, yet for a few people this is not enough. They continually fall back on name calling and finger pointing when we make a mistake. Yet, these are the same people who will call us "pigs" and "lazy, donut eaters" in one breath, and in the next beg for help because someone is harassing them or has stolen their belongings.
I chose this profession, went to college, and enjoy what I do. I also take most of the criticism in stride. Nobody gets more upset when cops do stupid things, than other cops.
To the general public who understands what we face, and also understands that we work for you to the best of our abilities, thank you. To the rest of you simple minded folks who insist on bad mouthing us when we screw up, save your comments for the next time you are under arrest and voice it to us personally.
http://www.unknownnews.net/, and specifically http://www.unknownnews.net/cache44.html
Pookie's Dame
http://www.unknownnews.net/, and specifically http://www.unknownnews.net/cache44.html
Pookie's Dame
-The cops invovled should never be allowed to work in law enforcement again; they should be immediately fired without any compensation; and they should at the very least serve jail time. They should also be required to compensate the family, not that any money can take the place of a beloved family pet.
-I will never visit Tennessee again, and would like the Tourism Board to know they have lost several thousands' worth of my tourist dollars. I would not want to risk a run-in with cops such as these. Re John's comments--yes, I will express to any officer pulling me over my thoughts on his behavior, be it good or bad.
-Further thoughts on cops-Perhaps the reason people jump all over cops when they (all too often)screw up is because they are charged with such a huge responsibility. They are charged with protecting society, a responsibilty that should be taken with a gravity these Tennessee rednecks apparently lacked or felt was unimportant. When the average person in their average day job, charged with, say, filing and writing letters, or selling clothes, screws up, it's no big deal. When a cop, who is responsible for the lives he is hired to protect, and the community he works in, screws up, the repercussions are much greater. Clearly the cops invovled in this incident were immature or unintelligent and certainly incapable of handling the responsibility given them. The harshest punishments will not be enough. As far as I'm concerned, they're just wasting resources and would do everyone a favor if they just fell of the planet.
And by the way, I have the highest respect for cops who do their job properly. It can't be an easy job.
I have tried to get help from the men in blue.
I just don't seem to have much luck with them, except when I speed on an underused road (I'm usually the only one out there early in the morning) and I am pulled over...enough said. I'd better seatbelt my dog in the future.
And if someone breaks in my house, I'm depending on my "killer" dogs to protect me, not the police force.
This will become a longstanding example of how NOT to conduct a felony traffic stop and will be replayed in police academies across the country for years to come (and at least one court in the near future). It will no doubt also be used to demonstrate how to properly establish probable cause for this type of investigative stop. Based on the information available at numerous media sites, the officers apparently had a multitude of options prior to making this stop. Time was their ally. Had they exercised even one intelligent, investigative prerequisite the stop, as it was conducted, wouldn't have been necessary and or it would have simply resulted in letting Mr. Smoaks know that he had lost his wallet.
As a side note, I have two dogs about this size; both of them love to wag their tails and run in circles while playing. It's fairly typical canine behavior, particularly if they're excited. And hearing the anxiety of their master(s), they would become excited. Their mouths are barely able to contain a medium size milkbone. Had the Smoak's dog actually "attacked," the worst it could have done was to hang on to a piece of pant leg for a moment or two until it was shook off. Even a "bite" would have been a mere nuisance - certainly not life-threatening. Mace, pepper spray, or even a squirt gun filled with water is very effective in deterring a dog's advance. Oftentimes a verbal command works. Multiple shots from a shotgun borders on the obscene and speaks to an incredible lack of training and self-control by these officers.
I recently retired after a rewarding 30 year career in municipal law enforcement and find this type of demonstrated incompetence, from beginning to end, totally unjustifiable and indefensible. It's another black mark that the majority of our competent, trained and dedicated officers will have to live with, but not defend. There simply is no justification for what we see on that video, particularly when combined with the other information available to the officers.
Since when did it become the "right" for the police to protect themselves above and beyond the civil rights of the very people they are supposed to be protecting?
This is ludicris! What ever happened to defend and protect? have all police become cowards and control freaks!!!
My God this dog came running from the car wagging it's tail. I have seen the video many times and do not see the threat that the officer says he saw.
Although I love animals this is not just about killing a family pet in front of their own eyes. This is about the wrong doing of a Tennessee police officer and the trama this family has endured. This will be with them for the rest of their lives.
I for one hope this family files the biggest lawsuit Tennessee has ever seen and WIN!!
I express my sympathy for this family and apologize for the stupidity of this Tennessee police officer, who should no longer have that title.
Thank God the officer did not feel threatened by the mom, dad or the son. Thank God no humans were hurt THIS time by the trigger happy coward!
I do not care what the officer or THP says about this matter, it could have been dealt with in other ways. For example letting the family shut the car door like they asked to keep the dogs in the car. Using pepper spray. The Cookeville police dept. and THP need to have the guts to at least admit that this was wrong and apologize to this family. This dog looked just like what it was a little lap dog family pet.
If this officer is that afraid...that big of a coward the police force does not need him and he doesn't need to be there. My God I bet you could pretend to be a dog and bark at him and he would faint....or shoot you.
Get this idiot off the force before he kills some innocent human being that says boo to him.
There are more good officers than bad. Unfortunately, the bad ones make the press. Please don't allow the bad actions of a few taint us all.
The inability to resist the opportunity to let us know you have that "power" to arrest us, is the very thing that undermines your efforts to "protect" us
the cop needs to be fired, and sued...along with that department.
I love it when they try to sound intelligent, and the only thing that comes out of their mouths is stupidity.
the "corrupt ones" (cops) I know are all power hungry idiots.
When we allow fear and frustration to govern, those in power will assume acquiescence of our individual rights and over-react! Remember Kent State!
and the killing of their pet? Get TN politicians involved.
sen.micheal.williams [at] legislature.state.tn.us; lt.gov.john.wilder [at] legislature.state.tn.us; sen.larry.trail [at] legislature.state.tn.us; sen.robert.rochelle [at] legislature.state.tn.us; sen.ron.ramsey [at] legislature.state.tn.us; sen.curtis.person.jr [at] legislature.state.tn.us; sen.mark.norris [at] legislature.state.tn.us; sen.jeff.miller [at] legislature.state.tn.us; sen.randy.mcnally [at] legislature.state.tn.us; sen.jim.kyle [at] legislature.state.tn.us; sen.doug.jackson [at] legislature.state.tn.us; sen.roy.herron [at] legislature.state.tn.us; sen.douglas.henry [at] legislature.state.tn.us; sen.joe.haynes [at] legislature.state.tn.us; sen.tommy.haun [at] legislature.state.tn.us; sen.thelma.harper [at] legislature.state.tn.us; sen.joann.graves [at] legislature.state.tn.us; sen.david.fowler [at] legislature.state.tn.us; sen.john.ford [at] legislature.state.tn.us; sen.gene.elsea [at] legislature.state.tn.us; sen.roscoe.dixon [at] legislature.state.tn.us; sen.lincoln.davis [at] legislature.state.tn.us; 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January 10, 2003, 11:21 AM EST
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A traffic stop following erroneous reports of a robbery ended in heartbreak when the family dog bounded out of the car, his tail wagging, and was shot to death by police.
Now, the dog's owner wants the police officers punished, and the officer who pulled the trigger says he's been getting death threats.
"I don't ever want to see this happen to anybody else. That's why we can't let this go away," said James Smoak, who owned the 1 1/2-year-old pit bull-boxer mix named Patton.
Cookeville Police Officer Eric Hall, who shot the dog, said Thursday that people are misjudging him.
"It's been very difficult, but a lot of people who've made comments don't know me," Hall said on WTVF-TV in Nashville. "It's kind of taken a life of its own where people are judging without knowing all the facts."
Smoak, a seafood salesman from Saluda, N.C., said he has contacted attorneys about the New Year's Day shooting and plans legal action.
He describes the family's ordeal as "a nightmare we can't wake up from," and says he will never forget having to load the dead dog into the car for the ride home.
The incident began when Tennessee state troopers and Cookeville police stopped the Smoaks' green station wagon as they were returning from a vacation in Nashville.
Another motorist had reported seeing money flying from the vehicle as it sped down Interstate 40, and authorities feared there had been a robbery.
They later discovered that the money -- about $445 -- was fluttering from Smoak's wallet, which he had mistakenly left on the car roof after pumping gas.
The patrol car videotape of the stop, released Wednesday by the Tennessee Highway Patrol, shows troopers ordering James and Pamela Smoak and their teenage son, Brandon, out of the car, and the three emerging with their hands up, getting on their knees and being handcuffed.
Then Patton bounds out, his tail wagging, and races toward Hall.
The video shows Hall stepping back, then firing his shotgun. Hall said he thought the dog was a pit bull and that he was about to attack him.
"I noticed that it trained in right on me; the dog's coming right at me," he said. "I yelled at the dog as I was backing up. I screamed at it; it kept advancing and barking in an aggressive manner. It's unfortunate what happened after that."
Hall, who said he has received death threats, was assigned to administrative duties pending an independent review. An internal police investigation found he didn't use excessive force.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol also concluded its troopers had probable cause to conduct the stop, though officials were still trying to determine how the Smoaks were suspected in a robbery that never happened.
Officers recovered most of the lost money, Smoak said, and officials later apologized, but he said the apologies rang hollow.
"At the scene they told us they made a mistake and that we were free to go," Smoak said. "No one was moved to say they were sorry."
"The dog was wagging his tail," he said. "It was completely trained."
Hall said he felt terrible when he learned that the Smoaks were innocent but maintains he reacted appropriately.
"With the knowledge I had at that time, I was so limited that I felt I did what I had to do," Hall said.
"If you could have felt what I felt after the whole incident was over," he said, "I thought, 'Oh, my goodness, how unfortunate for that family.'"
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-dog-shot0110jan10,0,1670779.story
Write, Write and Write some more. We do have a voice. When we let politicians know what we want, occassionally we get what we ask for.
If anyone knows of a fund to help the Smoaks, please post. I will happily contribute to help with their legal fees.
And if it had been one of my dogs... the officer involved should watch his back for the rest of his life. I would do whatever it took to make it hell.
My dogs are "my kids" and I love them dearly.
I'm told that vengeance can be truly rewarding.
I wonder how each of you desk jockies would feel if everytime you go and sit behind your nice safe desk, there is a 35% chance that you could be killed.
It is so easy to sit back, in the safety of your homes, and judge the actions of a police officer, whose very job, puts his life in danger EVERY single minute he is on the job.
When was the last time any of you had to make a life and death decision in a fraction of a second while typing?
history of being scum.
http://www.putnampit.com/pithome.htm
Over the past ten years or so I have seen our police officers become more and more agressive in their tactics. Granted, they may be in fear of their lives in some situations but is becoming far to common to see them take the stances they take in situations where it is not necessary. What they have to understand is that they serve us, not the other way around.
If something is not done about this we will eventually become a "police state", with no rights or priveledges. These rights and priveledges are slowly being taken away from us. I'm not sure what should or needs to be done but it cannot continue the way it is. We have to come up with some way to protect our public servants from harm but in the same vein protect ourselves from undue harrassment.
Over exertion of police powers must cease. The badge does not give the man/woman the right to negate the rights of individuals. If they want us to support them they must do what they are mandated to do, protect and SERVE. "Nough said"........
Jim O'Neill, Chief
Suwannee County Fire Service
Live Oak, FL 32060
http://community.webtv.net/SCFD/SuwanneeCountyFire
Dear Sirs:
I am writing in regards to the killing of General Patton by Officer Eric Hall. I understand that your offices are flooded by letter condemning Mr. Hall’s actions. I hope that the abundance of these letters emphasizes the outrageousness of the incident rather than numbing you to it.
The apparent negligence pervasive throughout the entire incident alone is worthy of long consideration on your part – even discounting the tragic outcome. I am astonished that a single anonymous phone call with information as vague as it apparently was led to a full felony stop. The accounts of the call are widely varying but, worst case scenario, describe a car with money flying out of it. The wallet, apparently, was recovered. I would like to know why the plates of the car were never run and compared to the identification in the wallet. After the car was stopped and the family was removed from the vehicle and handcuffed, I would like to know why their identification was never requested.
Based on the information available at numerous media sites, the officers apparently had a multitude of options prior to making this stop. Time was their ally. Had they exercised even one intelligent, investigative action, the stop, as it was conducted, wouldn't have been necessary and/or it would have resulted in letting Mr. Smoaks know that he had lost his wallet.
It is readily apparent that dogs were in the car: the family repeatedly requested the officers to close the doors of the car to prevent the animals from running into traffic. Regardless of your standard procedure in such situation (I understand that standard procedure on a felony stop may dictate that the doors be left open so approaching officers can clear the vehicle more easily), the vehicle was cleared and there was a clear risk that the dogs would jump into the road, causing an accident. Common sense, not to mention the pleas of the family, dictates that the officers close the door. I would like you to tell me why they did not.
Not only did Mr. Hall’s actions bring about the death of a beloved family dog, he put his fellow officers, the family, and other cars on the highway at risk by firing the shotgun. Officer Eric Hall states, "Suddenly, a dog, I believe to be a pit-bull, jumped from the suspect vehicle, singled me out from the other officers, and charged toward me growling in an aggressive manner. I yelled at the dog to 'get back' but it attempted to circle me to attack, so I felt that I had no other option but to protect myself. I fired once at the dog, instantly putting him down." I note that the Mr. Hall was the only officer handling a shotgun at the stop. I have to question the “suddenness” of the dog jumping from the vehicle given not only the high likelihood that a dog would jump out of a vehicle but the family’s explicit warnings that such might occur. Mr. Hall’s suggestion that he was surprised and somehow that may lead to some justification of his killing General Patton is grossly transparent as an attempt at misdirection. Any cursory review of the videotape exposes Mr. Hall’s statements as self-interested mischaracterization at best. There is no way a reasonable person could characterize General Patton’s behavior as aggressive. That Mr. Hall felt he had “no option” but to fire on the dog is only testimony to his own shortcomings. Even if Mr. Hall truly felt threatened, his killing of the dog was grossly excessive force. The family of General Patton were at the officers’ ready disposal and any one of the officers could have asked the family to take charge of the dog. Mr. Hall could have used less than deadly force against the dog. Unless there is an imminent threat of great bodily harm to the officer, deadly force should not be an option. General Patton was a relatively small dog, wagging his tail and trying to play. Even if General Patton had “attacked” Mr. Hall, I have serious reservations that there was any threat of great bodily harm to Mr. Hall. Had General Patton actually "attacked," the worst he could have done was to hang on to a piece of pant leg for a moment or two before being shaken off. Even a "bite" would have been a mere nuisance; certainly not life-threatening. Mace, pepper spray, or even a squirt gun filled with water is very effective in deterring a dog's advance. Oftentimes a verbal command works. Use of a shotgun borders on the obscene and speaks to an incredible lack of training and self-control by Mr. Hall.
It is apparent from the video that this tragedy could easily have been much worse. In the video, after General Patton is killed, both officers appear to turn and train their guns in the direction of the handcuffed Mrs. Smoak who has stood up screaming in shock at the killing of her pet (17:20:44 on the timer). Also in their line of potential fire is her son and a trooper.
This was an act of gross negligence and Mr. Hall should not be allowed to carry a gun, especially if you see fit to allow him to carry a badge – shrouding his crimes with an aura of authority. Chief Robert Terry’s defense of Mr. Hall is almost as disturbing as the incident itself. Stressing that his department was called in as a back-up and that Mr. Hall’s killing of General Patton happened “during the THP’s process of gaining control of the situation” is a patent and sad attempt at shifting the blame to the THP. Labeling the killing as “the only action [Mr. Hall] could to protect himself and gain control of the situation” is either ignorant or deceptive.
I am outraged at Mr. Hall’s indifference to life. I am stunned at Chief Terry’s defense of Mr. Hall’s negligence. If there is any wonderment at why police officers so often are not respected and why stereotypes persist of their stupidity, arrogance, and eagerness to fire a gun, the Cookeville Police Department has eloquently explained it. I sincerely hope that you take every action possible to very publicly address and make amends for this incident. There is no way the Smoaks’ pain at losing General Patton can be taken away. Taking responsibility for the gross negligence of the Cookeville Police Department, however, would be a start.
What these insensitive, ignorant individuals did, is so incredibly unprofessional and senseless, it's hard to put into words....They do not deserve to be police officers and have not a right in the world to treat any other human beings they way they treated this family...
As far as most people are concerned, the officer that initiated this should have the same thing done to him that he did to that poor defenseless dog and family...
But what is making me even more angry is where the blame is falling. One dept. says it was the other dept.'s fault and the other says it was the other dept.'s fault. They all say it was just a case of miscommunication.
Well my opinion is yes maybe miscommunication is the cause of the family being pulled over in the first place. But the officer that actually shot the dog is the one that made that decision on his own!! He is the one that pulled the trigger...he is the one that decided this little tail wagging dog was going to attack him. He should be the one that takes most of the blame here. he made his decision and should have to deal with the results!
By the way it was just on the news that they have found out that this same officer has shot and killed 2 other dogs while on duty in the past. However in all fairness they did report that these dogs had been reported as dangerous. But sounds like officer Hall has no problem with being able to put a dog down. Know a bad dog call officer Hall...know a good dog don't call officer Hall.
Every time I see that tape I get angerier. This officer deserves all the negative attention he is getting. let's all make sure he keeps getting it.
But seriously.....they asked the officers to close the car door. It's obvious from the video that the dog was wagging his tail and wasn't threatening. Then the cop shot him.
If you want to take the assumtion that the police officer was threatened there were at least 6 other officers to assist him if in fact he was about to be attacked.
He panicked and shot the dog. Was anyone really surprised that the "investigation" found that his action was justified.
He may be a fine officer but he screwed up badly and should be disciplined accourdingly.
vice-mayor [at] cookeville-tn.org ; jdavis [at] cookeville-tn.org; mayor [at] cookeville-tn.org ; rshelton [at] cookeville-tn.org ; ssallee [at] cookeville-tn.org
Over the past ten years or so I have seen our police officers become more and more agressive in their tactics. Granted, they may be in fear of their lives in some situations but is becoming far to common to see them take the stances they take in situations where it is not necessary. What they have to understand is that they serve us, not the other way around.
If something is not done about this we will eventually become a "police state", with no rights or priveledges. These rights and priveledges are slowly being taken away from us. I'm not sure what should or needs to be done but it cannot continue the way it is. We have to come up with some way to protect our public servants from harm but in the same vein protect ourselves from undue harrassment.
Over exertion of police powers must cease. The badge does not give the man/woman the right to negate the rights of individuals. If they want us to support them they must do what they are mandated to do, protect and SERVE. "Nough said"........
Jim O'Neill, Chief
Suwannee County Fire Service
Live Oak, FL 32060
http://community.webtv.net/SCFD/SuwanneeCountyFire
Family Protection Unit
Sergeant Yvette Demming - Supervisor
931-520-5372
ydemming [at] cookeville-tn.org
Officer Eric Hall
931-520-5318
ehall [at] cookeville-tn.org
Here's the Mayor's office
Cookville City Mayor
45 E Broad St, Cookeville, TN 38501
Phone: (931) 520-5241
And the County Executive; DEMAND, not ask, that this menace to society be fired at once.
Putnam County Executive
300 E Spring St # 8, Cookeville, TN 38501
Phone: (931) 526-2161
Here's some other miscellaneous numbers;
Cookville City Manager
45 E Broad St, Cookeville, TN 38501
Phone: (931) 520-5240
Cookville Police Chief
10 E Broad St, Cookeville, TN 38501
Phone: (931) 520-5266
Humane Society Of Putnam Cnty
2105 W Jackson St, Cookeville, TN 38501
Phone: (931) 526-3647
Yes I own a dog and YES she rides in her carrier when taking car trips. Heaven forbid that I am ever in a car accident or any other incident but I like to believe that I am giving her every chance possible at survival.
thankfully, you are 100% WRONG there-( depending on state law definitions) a PET is( and has been upheld in state and federal courts) as PROPERTY and protected under the 4th ammendment.( it has been ruled that the killing of a pet is considered as "unlawful seizure")- and the "immunity" has been denied in many cases as well as liability has been awarded.
It all depends on Tenn. law and the full story of what happened- because as you pointed out- there appears to be an "error" here as to the definition of the call( thats another issue) and as you pointed out- in a "felony" stop- standard procedures were followed-BUT also, even when serving a warrant- an officer CANNOT be "causeal" to further an incident or create one- this is clearly indicated in the admonishments to "close the door"- at this point, NO REASONABLE OFFICER could say that the "situation" was NOT under control( with the alleged "perps' subdued at weapons drawn status and physically restrained) and that the act of NOT closing the door was an unreasonable request-( the officers had full control and could have 'escorted" any member of the family and allowed THEM to close the door- with ZERO potential for any "evidence tampering")- additionally, it is "unclear" from the vantage of the dashcam whether the dog gave legal presumption of attack- but its EVIDENTLY CLEAR that the officers DID HAVE FULL CONTROL and have a DUTY to use any/all necessary judgement to AVERT excessive/unnecessary damage to persons AND property- it CANNOT be argued( based on the tape) that the officers did NOT have time to assess the situation, provide for preservation of property and the effort to do so would have virtually no effect on the investigation process. Based on the video, the officers handling of the situation and the events leading up to the "shooting" are clearly unprofessional, incompetent and hopefully fully prosecutable under the TORTS of the state and under 4th ammendment liability.
you are acting like since its "just a dog" it doest matter! belive it or not a human is an animal just like a dog.
So think about it, would you like your best friend,mom,dad, or even your children shot to death in the head, not to metion while u were watching??
And by the way the dog waz exited to get out of the car b/c it had been in the car for over 1hour! it was CLEARLY wagging its tail!
I agree. Most police are not of that sort of mind. It's like my dad used to say" It only takes one 'Ahttp://www...fuck' to erase a 1000 "Atta Boys!"
Several of you have verbalised negative comments about the state of Tennessee - having never been there I can't agree nor disagree. Similar types of comments about the law enforcement members. I have worked with law officers for over 20+ years, both small town and large town (and yeah there is a difference). It's up to their respective agency wether they followed their own departments policy and procedure for this particular type of incident. To me, it's obvious that some policy was left to slip between the cracks. Patton the dog? I am an animal lover personally but I do know that this breed has a reputation, especially in public safety of being a vicious one. If I were standing on a dark hwy, with adrenalin running very high, holding onto a rifle, having just 'taken down' three potential robbery suspects, and I turn and see this animal walking toward me, I don't know what I'd do. I honestly don't. I don't think it's fair of anyone to say anything either way. I think the officer should be held accountable and the family be renumerated for it, both financially and emotionally.
Mr. Smoak stated his disbelief that the officers would go by information on the radio and just release the family - I agree. That was totally out of line. If the officers were taking it this far, they should have taken it all the way and taken the family to the station at least until officialy identification could be made.
My sympathies go out to this family and I wish you well in your fight on this.
Oh - and to the person who mentioned that it might possibly be a dispatchers fault - get a life buddy! Contact your local 911 Communications Center and find out what a dispatchers job is really like before you start throwing accusations. We go by information we are given, nothing more, nothing less.
HOWEVER, for those of you just out to bash Tennessee in general, you're ignorant yourselves to think this can't happen in your city or state. Dumb ass cops exist everywhere. There's a few stupid ones in even the best law enforcement departments in the country. Unfortunately, it's these morons here in Tennessee that made national news in this case.
I'm not defending them or their actions, but knowing that this type of police behavior can happen from Maine to Florida and Alaska to Rhode Island, and everywhere else in between, I'll take living in Tennessee over most other places. It's not the state's fault we have dumb ass cops like every other state in the union.
And as for blaming "The South" in general, get a life. We know how the Civil War ended. I'm 33 years old. You think I fought in the war and owned slaves? Give me a break. The family that fell victim in this case was from North Carolina, but I don't hear anyone casting blame on them for being "Southerners".
There is a phrase for this system of priorities; police state. This is what happens when the people that are supposed to serve the public make themselves more important than the public they are sworn to serve. They operate from the mindset that everyone is a criminal until they prove otherwise. These procedures and priorities are not unique to Tennessee, they are in place in every state.
People are shocked by this story because they do not realize that this type of police behavior is quite common. Most of these stories do not get publicized. America is not a free country. Years ago, the decision was made that security was more important than freedom. Freedom is now just a tag line that our government uses to justify its overseas actions. It no longer reflects what actually transpires within the U.S.
Sure, they are being cautious in a felony stop – that’s perfectly fine, but that is no excuse for their poor performance on the job. Yes, Police Officers must to perform at a certain level of professionalism. That professionalism includes common sense. Without that High Quality professionalism, they endanger themselves and others. Which is exactly what happened in this case. They were informed of unleashed dogs in the car, the Officers CHOSE not to close the car doors. In any situation involving Police Officers, law enforcement should be in control of the situation, that is for their safety and the safety of others, including the INNOCENT and even suspects. Those Officers invited a random element into the situation by choosing not to close the car doors.
Do you let a suspect go if he has a receipt for his cocaine? No, of course not. Do you use excessive deadly force as a justification to shoot a dog less than ¼ your size? Do you dare say that Officer’s life is in imminent life-threatening danger? No. He could have hit the dog or even kicked the dog. He had his shotgun, he could have used it in a non-lethal fashion, strike or fend off the animal. I’ve even seen officers spray mace at dogs, NON LETHAL force. If you have seen the video, look at how low he had to angle the weapon in order to shoot the dog, and notice how much time he had. Three seconds is plenty of time for an Officer to decide whether or not to use deadly force against a dog. It’s not like the dog had a gun and was pointing it at the officers. The Officer made a choice, a very BAD CHOICE. Can he honestly say that his life-flashed before his eyes? Was “I must choose between life or death!!” going through his head? Of course not. Was he afraid that the dog would somehow incapacitate him and the other officers to a point in which the kneeling and HANDCUFFED F A M I L Y members would get away?
To the person who says that dogs are below humans, that’s not entirely true. A Police Dog is considered to be and Officer of the Law, you kill a Police Dog, you get charged with murdering a Police Officer. The same charge you would get if you have killed a Human Officer. You might be thinking, well, that’s just for Police Dogs. Tell that to the Police Dog’s Handler. That’s his/her Partner, and friend. They may walk on four legs, but they walk beside us as our companions in life regardless of their status in society.
That is a total of THREE DEAD DOGS.
What is his problem? Can't the investigators see the connections? This can't be just random chance he's shooting all of these dogs.
He has already been found innocent of using excessive force. WTF????
Someone needs to carry out their threat against Mr. Hall, or at least maim him, spare some dogs lives for God's sake.
As for when they are "helping" me. Police officers never have a problem writing tickets for a burned out headlight, but ask them to respond to a woman calling for help because there is a man in her house with a gun threatening to kill her (true story - Chicago, approximately Aug-Sep 2002 time frame) and it takes them 13 minutes to respond because the "brave, dog-killing, protect the innnocent" police officers are afraid to go with less than 3 officers.
Sorry, I like cops, we need cops, but until we pay cops what they deserve to be paid we're gonna deal with scenes like this over and over.
As for the "smirking dog-killer"; there's something rotten in TN if they let him keep his badge. A P.O. is more of a "community service officer" than anything else.
She was gunned down by the assailant. At least the poor police officers were all safe and sound in their beds that night. Sorry- This whole thing infuriates me.
How does a dumb azz redneck with an IQ of a pile of shit become a police officer? Who gave this guy a license to carry and shoot anything that he wants too?
I bet he does not think that smirk after killing the dog is worth it now!
Yup, you shot that dog good bubba. Wow, you should go hunting for some more dogs because it is your favorite pastime.
Seriously, I can’t put into words what I felt like after seeing that video. This guy needs to pay for his actions and I mean PAY!
It just makes me so angry to see those police that were in total charge of this family blow a dog away because he could.
It looks as if the public and media are making this guy pay for his actions even if the Cookeville police dept. will not.
Now there is a independent investigation going on by a sheriff in Maryland. I am anxious to hear the result of that.
Even if this guy is not fired, I wonder if he will be able to work on the force again due to the public outrage. Look what his stupid decision has cost him and his family.
Meanwhile looks like we will be hearing more from the Smoak's family. If anyone ever deserved to win a lawsuit, it is this family. I wish them the very best in their upcoming legal battles.
I hope it helps the Smoak's family to know that so many people are so upset about this.
http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/03/01/27539135.shtml?Element_ID=27539135
"The American Humane Association has called for disciplinary action against officers involved in the shooting death of a North Carolina family's dog and also asks for changes in the training received by law enforcement officers in Tennessee."
http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/03/01/27547101.shtml?Element_ID=27547101
"Smoak Family on Good Morning America"
http://www.wkrn.com/Global/story.asp?S=1079726&nav=1ugFDJE1
"NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- Tennessee Gov. Don Sundquist said Friday he has apologized to the family whose dog was shot to death on New Year's Day by local law enforcement. "
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/South/01/10/dog.shot.ap/
please do us all a favor and put that gun to your head. you've given your fellow officers a bad name, your city a bad name and your state a bad name. another idiot like you leaving the gene pool won't upset anyone. you won't be missed.
I haven't seen the tape of this incident so I'll refrain from making a comment about that; but how about suspending the lynch-mob mentality and taking a deep breath? Some of the posts I've read calling for the blood of police officers (and based on some of what I've read, any officer will do) really sadden me.
Because emotions and sentiment in this particular case are running high, no one wants to read it; however, I'm going to post it anyway. The majority of police officers risk their lives to protect ours and nobody gets more upset than police officers when other police officers make errors.
All I'm saying is: Don't judge all police officers based on the actions of a few. There's a word for judging an entire group of people in this manner. It's called "profiling". Need I say more?
They had better start focusing on CRIME instead of trying so hard to make "criminals" out of people that have not committed a crime. In order for there to be a CRIME committed, there MUST be an injured party! There is NO CRIME for not wearing your seat belt (unenforceable & unconstitutional legislation) or having a tail light out! Check Black's Law Dictionary and look up the definition of crime. You will see just how far down we have gone as a Nation that proclaims to be "free". Yeah right, just make damn sure you have your papers in order. How does the Right to Travel on a puplic road become a "priviledge to drive" ? By the majority of the citizens of this country LETTING IT HAPPEN. If the people would stand up for the Law in this country, the DMVs of the states would have to go out and find GAINFUL employment!!!!! And the cops would have to once again become True Peace Officers that actually deal with CRIME and "Protect & Serve".
At least they're still alive.
But I think they should sue for ONE MILLION DOLLARS!!!
Just like the sas doesn't storm embassies every day, this crap isn't common place here. A few well published incidents are not an adequate sample.
Police in Australia take control of the suspect and then obtain their bone fides, subsequently making enquiries to prove/disprove those bone fides. In this case it appears that the police failed to do so.
Further, police in Australia are required to advised suspects, who have been arrested, the reason for arrest as soon as practicable.
An arrest is where a person's liberty has been taken away from them and they are not free to do as they wish.
In this case the 3 members of the family had been hand cuffed and place in the rear of a police vehicle. THEY WERE UNDER ARREST. They had not been advised of the reasons for arrest and they certainly could not do as they pleased.
The issue of the shooting of the family pet is a harder one to address, however if the scene has been preserved as a crime scene, as it should have been, the foot prints of the dog on the side of the road would have proved / disproved the allegations of the officer who shot the dog when he stated that it circled him before he shot it.
Only a arragant power hungry person would ignore common sense advice (like please close the car doors or the dogs will get out).
All police have a duty of care of suspects they have arrested, and to the suspects property, which includes the pet dog. IT DOES NOT MATTER WHO IS IN CHARGE --- ANY POLICE OFFICER WHO SUSPECTS THAT DUTY OF CARE IS FAILING MUST ACT TO PREVENT IT FROM DOING SO.
The back up patrols failed on all counts as did the primary patrol and therefore all attending police are as quilty of false arrest or perpetuating the false arrest and the unlawful destruction of property
They have increased the blot against the name of police, which affects all police - the world round.
WELL DONE GUYS -- THE NEXT STATE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYMENT FOR THERE POLICE SHOULD BE SWEEPING THE STREETS
The authorities in Tennessee need to set an example of these officers and not let them get away with what is essentially animal abuse. At the very least the officer in the shooting should be suspended for at least 2-3 weeks without pay and be sanctioned in some other way. Procedures for the involved depts. and officers need to be reviewed. If I were the Smoak family, I would certainly sue the THP and the local cops for emotional distress and false arrest and make them pay. If the Tennesse authorities want to avoid the inevitable public backlash, they would be smart to settle that lawsuit quickly and not protect the cops involved.
Dispatcher Shannon Pickard of the Nashville office told investigators the woman believed the out-of-state car had ''been up to something.'' His statement was provided to reporters yesterday.
According to Womack, Pickard issued a bulletin at 5 p.m. to all Middle Tennessee law enforcement agencies to inquire whether any robberies had occurred involving a green station wagon with out-of-state tags. No replies fitting the description were received.
In Cookeville, THP dispatcher Timothy Glenn McHood issued a BOLO notice, which means ''be on the lookout,'' to the troopers in his area. In an interview with THP investigators, McHood said he noted that the green station wagon ''could possibly'' have been involved in a robbery.
How can you issue a "be on the lookout" for this car that "could be involved in a robbery" when there WAS NO ROBBERY!!!! He should not have issued anything on this car because again there was NO robbery. Did he even THINK or RESEARCH the situation?? I think Mr. McHood should loose his job as well as the other officers who refused to close the car door of a very cooperative FAMILY and the maniac who fired his shotgun - what if he had hit a person?
My deepest sympathies go out to the Smoaks family and their pets. I am not one to say that people should sue, but I hope they sue the pants off of the Cookeville Police Dept. and the Tennessee Highway Patrol. I live in TN and I am very ashamed of the actions and miscommunications performed by this agency that is supposed to protect and help us. It even makes me afraid of what will happen if I ever get pulled over....
What has our society come to?
Well I say NO MORE. It is time that people actually complain to those that are in authority. Pick up the phone, pick up a pen, pick up the mouse on your compuer. I don't care how it is done, people need to adress the "law-enforcement" (and I use that term loosely) in their area. Call your local sherrif, your local State Highway Patrol (State Police) post as well as your local City Police. Call them and tell them what it is that they should do. After all, you pay them. You are essentially their boss. For a watchdog (sorry for the sick pun but it is not intentional) group and become the police police. Make sure that they are doing their jobs right.
I know that where I live you can call the cops for something that is going on, but don't expect them for atleast an hour or so. So if someone is planning on breaking in to murder you, make sure you call in advance to set up a reservation. And I know that in some other places around the country it is worse. Cops are no better than you or I. And while it is true that they do get a big head when they get their badge, I think it is issued at about the same time, it is also true that these PEOPLE (for lack of a better term) are selected right out of your community. They are your sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, cousins ... you get the picture. So make sure that we are teaching our children compassion and common sense. Something that these pitiful excuses for humans did not come equipped with. While they issue "head-up-rear"-itis with these badges, they do not issue, common decency, common courtesy, common sense, nor compassion. That is up to parents and other relatives, to see to it that they take these qualities to the job.
About this particular case, it is tragic. The officers involved should be punished to the fullest extent, but I agree with a post that I read that said, they probably won't be because of the "good ol boys" club. I think that the family should be compensated and then some, and that the supervisor should be punished as well. If they own any animals they should have to give them up. I know it sounds a little spartan, and I am not the most religious of folks, more spiritual than religious actually, but I do believe in a few of the basic rules, these rules seem to follow all faiths. And while it is not exactly "and eye for an eye" it is like that. This officer took a loved one from this family, and I don't care what Mr. Ross said, it isn't "JUST A DOG". It stopped being "JUST A DOG" when the family began to love it. It was as much a part of the family as grandma or grandpa. And the officer should have to pay dearly.
Well I have had my say, and I apreciate the chance.
I hope to God the officer that did this feels remorse as should the whole force there, you ripped a family member from them-right in front of them with them pleading for their life, somewhat like the Gestapo did years ago to the Jews.
Yes, animal handling skills would have helped but not if the Damm officer wasn't so happy to shoot something--you should truly be ashamed of yourself.
I hope that you aren't on vacation with your family and the same thing happen to you. Hmmmm, fate has a funny way?
http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/52457.htm
The idiot above is correct if you like living in a police state, and shows the police mentality.
The cops arbitrarily decide a stop is a "felony stop", and once they do that they can kill with abandon. Soon, every stop becomes a felony stop, because everyone is guilty until proven innocent.
Someone calls them with a speculative theory, which they adopt mindlessly. This is what cops always do. They always believe what they hear. If you want the cops on your side, make sure you call them first. They are mindless robots who always take the side/ viewpoint of the first person to call them. If you want to fool the cops, call them first. If you have committed a crime, call the cops and report yourself, giving a false description. They'll never figure it out.
Like "Patrick," they can only think in mechanical terms. The bottom line, that innocent people are hurt, doesn't seem to be important to him, just as it wasn't important to the officers, who laughed about the incident afterwards. Seigheil!!
My dog (a medium sized mutt) would have flipped the hell out if I was being treated like that (and poor Patton was NOT posing a threat). I would have been shot dead in my tracks because I would have tried to kick that bastard in the nuts for shooting off my dog's head. My dog is my daughter. She has shown me more love and loyalty than any human has EVER shown me. That being said, some people will criticize people like me about expressing my outrage about this situation and not expressing outrage about humans being billy-clubbed or shot by cops. I only have this to say about that mentality....I feel equally as terrible about any injustice...you just haven't read all of the message boards.
Lastly, I do understand that MOST officers would not have responded this way. I am in NO WAY assuming that every officer is a jackass. Let's put an end to the "Jack- Booted -Government Thug" mentality and email/call those in power in TN to voice our disdain for this incredibly moronic behavior.
If anyone knows how I can donate to the Smoak family legal fund, please post it on this site.
Bless Your Heart, Patton. My heart is with the Smoak family.
Much Regards,
Samantha (Tulsa, OK)
Patrick, have you ever fired a gun? Do you realize that once you pull that trigger, you can't stop the bullet? Do you understand what that means? It means you have chosen to take a life. You literrally have to decide to kill someone. This "Officer" decided to do just that, regardless of the pleading of the family to save their dog. Regardless of being told that the dog wouldn't hurt them.
Your comparison is idiotic at best. This isn't an example of tresspassing. It's not like the Smoakes went to the Police station with their dog and threatened Police. These "officers" wrongly detained citizens of these United States. These "Officers" recklessly endangered this family, resulting in killing one of them. I don't know about you Patrick, but this is not how "Officers" are trained to behave. They aren't trained to be IGNORANT. I have handled many firearms before; pistols, automatic rifles, and shotguns. I've been a dog owner, I've met nice dogs, and mean dogs. I've been greeted by many overly excited happy bouncy dogs before, and I've met a couple of hostile dogs before. If I had a shotgun, and was greeted by a hostile dog, I wouldn't shoot it. I have a weapon that can be used in a NON LETHAL fashion. Especially against such a SMALL DOG. We're not talking about a Dobberman, German Shepard, or a Retriever. That dog probably didn't weigh more than 30-40lbs. How much do you think that Officer weighed? 220lbs.? Do you know how much damage you can do by kicking or batting away with the butt of that shotgun? Do you seriously think that he had no choice but to use deadly force? No, he did not have to use deadly force.
It was their job to CONTROL the situation. They were told of the dogs in the car, they were repeatedly asked, begged to have the doors closed so they would not get out, and they were told they dogs were not hostile.
Did they control the situation? No they did not. Did they protect this family? No they did not. Since when do Police Officers sacrifice the safety and the lives of the people they have sworn to protect in order to keep themselves safe?
I don't know about you buddy, but I thought that cops were supposed to put themselves between us and harms way, not the other way around.
The offficer should be fired and jailed for 6 months.You can clearly see on the video that the dog is happy and looking for someone to pet him . A swift kick with a boot would have had the same result. I hope I haven't heard the end of this.
How would anyone explain this to their children? -- The police made a terrible mistake and compounded it by killing someones pet!
There is a reason its called Internal Affairs....this part of the police department is used bury or white wash the truth.....and hope the public doesnt find out just how many mistakes our officers do make on and off the job. AL GORE WOULD BE PROUD AT HOW WELL THE POLICE DEPARTMENTS WILL SPIN THIS TO MAKE A TYPICAL AMERICAN FAMILY ON VACATION APPEAR LIKE TERRORISTS....
IT'S ONLY A DOG...
IT'S ONLY A DOG...
IT'S ONLY A DOG...
Rinse, repeat...
The abusive (and near gestapo) like actions that are unfolding recently have left my childhood image of police as heroic individuals who uphold the rights of the weak, and protectors of the innocent, has just been tranished beyond recognition. WHY ARE PUBLIC OFFICIALS HIRING DIRTY SKINHEADS? There should definantly be some serious money deducted from all of the troopers, and the sorry @#$% who shot the dog should not only be out of public jobs, but also VERY POOR. I understand it was a misunderstanding, but for an individual to have a gun routinely in their job, they should have some sort of control, and human social skills. For a family to be held at gun point, threatened (When contouring to routine, and police dictations) and have them
traumatized
by the slaughter of the very fiber that makes them human tells me one thing, and one thing only: something needs to be done, and it needs to come down HARD, FAST, VICIOUS (just how the officers approached things).People go way overboard when they suggest dogs have the same rights as humans.
Eat any cows or chickens lately?
Don't try the argument that a dog is a domestic animal, it won't fly with me. A dog is ONLY an animal.
I'm sorry the dog was killed, but snap back to reality for a moment, will you?
Laws on lethal force state you can kill someone if your life is threatened or to prevent the comission of a felony. No you cant kill someone for killing your dog but it is a serious crime. Convict the man of a felony, he will never vote, work a real job, or own a gun again. Fuck Him..
It's only a police state.
It's only a police state.
I'm proud of those officers. It's not their fault the dog disobeyed direct orders.
I feel the pain of this family and I hope they are able to successfully sue the police department and that officer sould never be allowed to handle a gun again.
If the Smoaks were real Americans, they should have commended the officers for blowing their dog's head off, and thanked them profusely for it.
They then should have invited the officers to blow their own heads off. Even though they may have been innocent at one time, once the police considered them suspects, they became guilty. Did you hear that awful wailing after the dog was killed? Awful.
Amazing how you totally disregard the situation that led up to the dog being shot. Police go overboard with a felony stop based on cell-phone call by an over zealous passerby and you say nothing about it. (Incidently, where is this person hiding at, they should come forth and apologize for over-dramatizing what he/she saw).
If you don't like or own any animals, then you will never understand the bond that develops between pet and family and that's fine. Just don't show your total ignorance by simplifing it as "It's just a dog."
the dog looked like a Pitbull" I don't care if it was a Pitbull or Poodle, you just don't shoot it in the head! I am so MAD about this whole ordeal..... The situation was Never in control...Bob Terry, I saw the video. I hope you go through with suing the idiot, your family deserves so much more. Why didn't tey just shut the car door? It was just plain murder! I will NEVER go to or through Tennessee again, knowing that there are Hwy. patrol people like that. Again I am sorry and wish you all the best!
Bob Terry
Cookeville Chief of Police
P.O. Box 849
Cookeville, TN 37501
rterry [at] ci.cookeville.tn.us
voice 931-520-5266
fax 931-528-9368
counties: Cannon, Clay, DeKalb, Jackson, Macon, Overton, Putnam, Pickett, Smith
I bet you are all teary eyed over the 3 males who were also justifiably shot in NY shortly after New Years. I suppose the 17 year old who had a handgun pointed in the eye of an undercover officer while attempting to rob him shouldn't have been shot either. Or the man who was shooting rounds in the air and decided to shoot a few at officers as he fled didn't either. People like you make me sick. Just like the media who will print a graduation picture of these thugs instead of a mugshot....got to make them look like an innocent angel... a victim. Please... get your head out of a body cavity it doesn't belong in.
Based on my experience as an officer (approaching six years), I can somewhat understand the high level of caution used by the officers that evening. I'm not certain I would have gone out on a felony stop in that situation due to the lack of information provided by the dispatchers. The decision to make the felony stop (guns drawn and occupants ordered out) is the decision of the police officer initiating the traffic stop. I feel that even though I would not have initiated a felony stop on that vehicle, the action can easily be justified. Let's face it, when it comes down to me versus a suspect, I will be the one going home that night.
The poor decision making came once all the occupants were out on the ground and handcuffed. The officers were asked several times to close the doors on the vehicle to keep the dogs in and those requests were ignored.
Next, the horror really began. As I watched the video from the lead police cars dash camera, I watched two officers with shotguns take aim as a small dog exited the passenger side of the vehicle. The dog's tail was wagging side to side. Also the dog was running and hopping in what appeared to be a playful and friendly manner in my opinion. When the dog approached the officer closest to the dash cam, he fired the shotgun three to four times at the dog. I really hope it didn't take all of those double odd buck pellets to kill that poor dog!
I truly think those officers were pumped up on their own adrenaline thinking they had a major bust. Their decision making skills were thrown out the window that night. They could have easily realized that the family they stopped were not a threat by simply asking them a few questions. No, police officers are not perfect and we do make mistakes. We are human beings. In this case, I feel the officer that shot the dog should face the consequences of his poor decision making. That should include termination as well as a large sum of money awarded to the family for punitive damages.
Had a Smoaks family member acted out of shock and ran toward the slaughtered pet, that family member would now be dead. This idiot would have shot him!
I think he's seen too many police shows on TV. Officer Hall and the others, too, had no common sense. They
couldn't tell the difference between a nice family on vacation and a car full of gang members! I hope vigilante justice prevails. It's obvious that the Cookeville police department will stand behind their jelly-filled-Keystone cops! May the Smoak family sue the pants off of the city of Cookeville. I travel through there several times a year; I will never stop for so much as a restroom break in that southern hick town. This is a blight on the reputation of Tennessee. Jay Leno already has a field day with the typical opinion of the mentality of southerners.
It is so much more disturbing seeing the total lack of understanding of the officer's actions.
Everyone agrees that it was a horrible mistake. That is NOT the issue here. The issue here is the fact that many of you are taking a mob mentality when looking at the situation that the police officers were placed in.
Have most of you EVER had a gun pointed at you from a "bad" guy? I have. Have any of you seen a chiled mauled by a dog? I have.
First, EVERY single day police have to deal with scumbags AND normal citizens. Sometimes the scumbags are easily identifiable, sometimes they are not. Because sometimes they are not, police officers MUST approach each and every situation as potentially dangerous. EVERY SITUATION. Why? Because there are people out there who are willing to shoot a cop JUST for being pulled over (and, it appears from some of the more absurd posters out there, just for shooting a dog).
Second, what would appear to be a playful and happy dog does NOT in fact mean that is what its intentions could have been. See, the issue here is that you cannot negotiate with a dog, no matter how much you believe a dog is your child, it is not. Dogs DO NOT reason. They work purely on instinct. And, oh by the way, they are pack animals. Their adopted human family becomes their pack (if you are a dog owner and do not know this simple fact, give the dog back, you are too far gone to be responsible enough to "own" a dog). A dog will defend their pack at all costs and do not distinguish between a robber coming through a window of the house or a law enforcement officer LEGALLY detaining the family (pack). I witnessed a dog, a german sheperd, wagging its tail as it walked up to a 6 year old child (the dog was on a leash, walked by a relatively small woman), sniff the little girl, then, from out of no where (the girl was neither armed with a weapon nor did she hit the dog) the dog attacked the girl. First, it bit her shoulder, then it went after her neck. Luckily, myself, along with another man and the dog's owner, were able to pull the dog off of the girl. For the record, have any of you seen what a 80 pound dog can do to a 40 pound child? It isn't pretty.
I'm sure all of you are thinking, well the officer is not a 40 pound child. And you are right. But where does it say that an officer, already putting his/her life on the line each and every day, must suffer through a dog bite (or multiple dog bites)?
Just for a second, snap back to reality and place yourself in the officer's position (although, most of you will still have no idea how tense a situation a felony traffic stop is) instead of the dog's.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. I honestly hope the first time some of you need an officer to act aggressively towards a criminal that is attacking you, the officer pauses just long enough to allow the criminal to finish his business with you THEN acts. Perhaps then you'll have more of an appreciation of the split second decision making that must take place as a police officer.
I'm sure none of this got through to anyone who considers a dog a child and would hunt down and murder the cop that mistakenly shot and killed your dog.
Cathy McCoy
The other issue is the 'concerned' citizen who made the call to police in the first place. Being a woman, I resent the idea that 'we' are hysterical much of the time, but this woman is certainly gulity of something here. I wonder if she is a good enough citizen to come forward now and identify herself. Any bets on this? After all, her call is what caused the whole thing!!
FACT: When a beloved pet dies the family will mourn as if they had lost a sibling child etc...
FACT: Dogs feel love, sadness, pain and form emotional bond with their human family, therefore the dog was murdered just like a human family member was murdered! Someone needs to be held accountable for what has happened.
THIS WAS NOT JUST A DOG!!! The cop killed a family member and needs to be punished.
Can you imagine the truama not only of being unlawfully detained but watching helplessly a beloved family member be killed right in front of you and your children?!?!
They all have to get conselling and who's going to pay for that???
No, they are not. Take your head out of your ass.
The bond they form is INSTINCTUAL....get it yet?
There is a huge difference between the bond a child makes with a parent and a dog makes with its owner/master.
The fact that this even has to be explained to some of you pretty much undermines how rational you think you are being.
No, they are not. Take your head out of your ass.
The bond they form is INSTINCTUAL....get it yet?
There is a huge difference between the bond a child makes with a parent and a dog makes with its owner/master.
The fact that this even has to be explained to some of you pretty much undermines how rational you think you are being.
Been listening to the "experts" again!
The ones that made this cop paranoid of pitbulls in the first place! Instead they should be teaching officers how to read a dogs body language. You probably don't even have a dog. If you do your probably one of those people who throw it out in the back yard and ignore it and water occasionally like a tree! Gimmie a break! Go read some sites and learn before opening your mouth!
By all means, continue to delude yourself into thinking that a dog reasons like a human. I'm sure if and when two Presa Canario dogs look at you funny, you'll be able to determine what is going on in their head.
Kind of a takes one to know one, know what I mean?
And where in the world are you getting the other dog yelped as it watched the other dog get shot. Are you that far gone?
Whatever. Do the cops a favor and just don't call them if you need their help. I'm sure the armed robber in your home will appreciate it.
The bottom line is the dog was WAGGING his tail. This is NOT a sign of aggression but just the opposite.
Fire the cop!
And that, hero, is the bottom line. Your point of view regarding the situation, doesn't count. Nor does mine. The reason? We weren't there. End of story.
Dead dog. Nothing to see, move along.
Here are a few links for you all:
http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2003/01/13/ke011303s348094.htm
http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2000/0003/25/000325des.html
http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2002/02/07/ke020702s152040.htm
http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2002/12/07/ke120702s326532.htm
by not yet, he isn't, anyway • Tuesday January 14, 2003 at 12:55 AM
But who knows when some crazed terrorists from the ALF may set out to avenge Patton? And they only have to get lucky once. Hall has to get lucky every day."
This is great. And you morons actually support this type of thinking?
Hall killed a dog, it was a bad decision, that's all. It is only a dog.
I wonder how many REAL criminals Hall has arrested and kept them from injuring someone else? I wonder how many drug dealers he's put away? I wonder how many RIGHT decisions he has made that you people completely ignore?
Isn't funny how one mistake, one poor decision can wipe clean an entire career's worth of worthy activities?
Remember, I don't think it was a bad decision for him to shoot the dog, but some of you do. Give the MAN a break, he is a cop. Judging from the posts here, an obviously thankless job. Did I mention a dangerous job too? Ahh, the safety from behind each and every one of your desks.....just remember whose eyes you need to look through before judging.
That DOG was a member of that family! Did you even watch the clip of the family screaming for Pattons life!!!
My dogs are my babies and it would truely be as if I had lost a child if the same happened to one of them. Let these people vent their emotions here.
It's a tragedy all around. If the cops had closed the car doors instead of ignoring the familys pleas to close them it never would have happened. Then the cop who shot Patton smerks out of pride for killing the familys beloved pet!!
"My dogs are my babies and it would truely be as if I had lost a child if the same happened to one of them."
Wow. A dog is a dog, a human child is a HUMAN child. And yet again, having to help you understand the difference pretty much writes you off as an irrational person.
"If the cops had closed the car doors instead of ignoring the familys pleas to close them it never would have happened."
You don't understand why the doors were left open, do you?
The officers were under the impression that the people that they just pulled over may have been a car full of criminals. So, in order to ensure no one can hide within the vehicle, the doors are left open so that the officers can look into the car without having to get too close to the car.
Tell me, do you get just as upset over the starving children in the world as you did over the shooting of a dog? You should you know. There's just so much more upside potential to a human child than to a dog.
Tell me, did you torture animals when you were a child??
And there are several "breeds" of dogs that need to be wiped off the face of the earth. Any dog that is specifically designed (that's breeding folks) to do harm (attack/fighting dogs) should be destroyed.
The shooting of the dog is a hot topic nationwide. Some say the officer acted appropriately, but many others say he did not.
NewsChannel 5 spoke with animal control officers who put themselves at risk everyday when dealing with dogs.
"You've got to watch the eyes, the ears and the hackles is the tail tucks or wagging," said Scott Franklin, an animal control officer in Williamson County.
"You can tell a lot simply by giving it a look, a whistle to see how it reacts at first."
But even he can't guarantee that those impressions are always right, or that they necessarily make him feel any better when dealing with a dog he doesn’t know.
"Sometimes there is an uneasiness if you know the history or know the type of animal your dealing with, say if you've dealt with it in the past," Franklin said.
Franklin has the scars to prove it. "It was my mistake and my own carelessness that got me bit. It wasn't even on an aggressive dog call"
Judy Ladebauche, with Metro Animal Services, said "it certainly can be intimidating" dealing with an unknown dog.
She's been bitten once in 14 years, and like Franklin, Ladebauche said she caused it.
"It was my fault. I got careless and if I wouldn't have the dog wouldn't have been close enough to bite me," she said.
It’s a lesson all animal control officers learn quickly. "Anyone who works in animal services knows we see wonderful dogs and we see our fair share of aggressive dogs. That's true for the people who deals with the dogs in the shelter everyday."
"If you start to worry that's when you end up getting hurt," she said.
Both said when working with animals, it all comes down to training.
Ladebauche said in Davidson County, when officers arrest a motorist and there is a dog in the car, the doors are shut and an Animal Control Officer is called.
Ladebauche, a board member for The State Animal Control Association, said the board discussed Thursday what kind of animal training police officers should receive.
They'd like to see a statewide program set up offering training to police and other agencies.
Tuesday, 01/14/03
New details emerge in dog-shooting
By LEON ALLIGOOD
Staff Writer
Analysis suggests exaggeration of initial report misled officers
Tennessee Highway Patrol dispatchers appear to have exaggerated details of a cell-phone caller's report and, in doing so, played a key role in the Jan. 1 traffic stop during which a Cookeville police officer shot an innocent family's pet dog.
Discrepancies between what the caller said to a THP dispatcher in Nashville and what other THP dispatchers in Cookeville were later told have come to light in a Tennessean analysis of internal documents, an audiotape and a videotape released last week by the highway patrol and Cookeville Police Department.
The newspaper's review of the information, released in the wake of the widely publicized shooting of Patton, a dog belonging to the James Smoak family of Saluda, N.C., also has revealed other contradictions and questions:
• In statements to THP investigators, dispatchers contradict one another, particularly about who advised the trooper to use caution during the traffic stop.
• Further, these contradictions cannot be reconciled because the dispatchers, contrary to THP policy, talked on a Nextel wireless phone line. Unlike other modes of communication, the Nextel lines are not recorded.
• A Nashville highway patrol dispatcher, or ''operator'' as THP dispatchers are officially known, issued a teletype message about the Smoaks' car with a subject header of ''Recent Robbery.'' Cookeville dispatchers said the heading made them pay undue attention to the bulletin and more strongly caution the trooper they were dispatching to stop the Smoaks.
• Repeated references to ''large amounts'' of cash that had been thrown out the car window also lent undue attention to the Smoaks' green station wagon, dispatchers in Cookeville noted. In reality, a transcript of the cell-phone call that alerted law enforcement never mentioned that money was coming from inside the car.
• Dispatchers implied it would have made a difference to have known the amount of loose money was $445 and had fallen from a wallet.
The dispatchers said they were not informed of this until after the traffic stop.
The cell-phone call: Veronica Louwien of Wilson County is the citizen who placed the cell-phone call to the highway patrol.
According to the transcript of her call to the dispatcher, she was near the Mt. Juliet exit when a dark green station wagon passed her at what she said was ''about 110 miles an hour'' and ''money was flying all over the interstate.''
At no point in Louwien's transcribed phone conversation with THP Operator Shannon Pickard did she say money was coming from inside the vehicle.
But in a statement to Special Agent Gary Wix of the state patrol's Criminal Investigations Division, Pickard remembered Louwien reporting that ''she thought it (the money) might have come out of his (Smoak's) vehicle and, or he'd been up to something.''
Also in his statement regarding Louwien's cell-phone conversation, Pickard said the money ''came from the vehicle, she thought.''
Money out the window: Within minutes of Louwien's call, Pickard was reporting the incident to other dispatchers. Brian Brock of THP in Cookeville later told Special Agent William E. Farris that Pickard reported the speeding, dark green car to him. Brock said the Nashville dispatcher told him ''a large amount of money had been thrown out the window,'' according to Farris' report.
Timothy McHood, the third THP dispatcher involved, told Farris that Brock reported to him that a green station wagon was eastbound on I-40 ''with large amounts of money being thrown out the windows.''
There was no robbery. Smoak, whose family had been on a three-day vacation to Nashville, had left his wallet on top of his car when he filled up with fuel in Nashville. The wallet, containing $445, mostly in $20s and $10s, fell off as he drove on the interstate, spilling the cash onto the median.
Pickard told the investigator that troopers found ''what they said was a large amount of cash.'' Pickard said he passed on this information to McHood in Cookeville.
McHood told the investigator that Pickard ''kept on stressing, large amounts of money.'' The dispatcher also said he did not know it was money from a wallet until the incident was over.
The felony stop: Statements made to investigators by dispatcher Pickard conflict with statements made by Brock, McHood and Trooper David Bush about who told Bush to make a felony stop on the Smoaks' car.
Bush, in his written narrative of the event, said he asked if Nashville wanted the vehicle stopped. The reply, he wrote, was affirmative, ''that Nashville was investigating a possible robbery that involved this vehicle.
''THP dispatch advised to stop the vehicle and use caution.''
But McHood in Cookeville said after the stop was initiated that he called to ask if Nashville had determined if a crime had been committed.
McHood told Investigator Farris he was not certain if Bush inquired about this before approaching the vehicle.
The response from Nashville was that no agency had responded to Nashville's teletype message, which carried the subject header of ''Recent Robbery.''
Operator Brock of Cookeville said he relayed information on the car's license plate to Bush prior to the stop. At the same time, McHood was talking to Pickard on the Nextel line. According to Brock, McHood told him that the Nashville dispatcher had requested Bush to stop the Smoaks' car, ''but not without backup.''
Pickard, on the other hand, stated his request for a ''10-81,'' stopping a violator, was ''just to find out what the circumstances are with the money,'' the Nashville dispatcher told an investigator.
''I don't know of anywhere where I would have got the point across that there needed to be a felony takedown,'' Pickard stated.
In ''felony stops,'' or ''felony takedowns,'' people are pulled over with the presumption that they are armed and dangerous.
Usually, ''it's the trooper's discretion to make that stop based on the information that they get,'' Department of Safety spokeswoman Beth Tucker Womack said. ''The trooper generally has the right to make that decision.''
Nextel talk: Use of the Nextel line by the dispatchers was not according to agency standards, according to Womack.
''The dispatchers had been given a written order from their district captain in April of 2001, telling them that Nextels were to be used in the event of failure of other communication devices,'' Womack said.
The department's top brass are now looking at the use of the Nextel line and whether that use was a violation. No disciplinary action has been taken, nor have any changes been made in radio room procedures.
''Not yet. That's where we left it last week, as the colonel's office is reviewing all these recommendations,'' Womack said, speaking of Col. Mark V. Fagan, commander of the THP.
''Recent Robbery'' teletype: With regard to the teletype Pickard issued after receiving the call from Louwien, the dispatchers in Nashville and Cookeville are again at odds.
The teletype to all Middle Tennessee law enforcement agencies had a subject heading of ''Recent Robbery.'' Brock and McHood in Cookeville said the subject heading grabbed their attention.
According to Farris, Brock stated ''if he and Operator McHood had not gotten the teletype, they would not have considered or talked about the vehicle being in a robbery. Brock stated the only reason Cookeville THP Dispatch Office had relayed possible information was because of the teletype from Nashville.''
McHood's statement agreed with Brock. McHood told Farris that ''when he (McHood) receives a teletype with the subject heading 'Recent Robbery' or anything similar, he relays this information primarily for the concern of officer safety,'' the investigator's report stated.
Last week, the THP concluded Trooper Bush had probable cause to make a traffic felony stop, based on what he knew at the time of the incident.
Speed of the car: State troopers said last week they think the Smoaks' car was traveling in excess of 90 miles an hour, an estimate derived through calculations based on the elapsed time from when the fallen wallet was reported in Wilson County until when the vehicle was pulled over in Putnam County.
Yesterday, the THP fine-tuned their estimate, stating the Smoaks' car averaged 86 miles per hour. The speed limit is 70 on the interstate between Wilson County and Putnam County.
James Smoak, who was not cited for speeding, denied he was speeding last week when interviewed.
Yesterday, Pamela Smoak, his wife, said she was lying in the back seat on the drive from Nashville. She believes her husband was not speeding for one reason.
''I drive a 1994 Mercury Sable station wagon that's had to have a new motor and work on the transmission. The car's old, for goodness' sake,'' she said during a phone interview.
There is no indication in the report by the trooper who initiated the stop that the vehicle was speeding.
Related stories:
'I'm not sorry I made the phone call' to THP
Safety Department statement
Events leading up to dog shooting
Web exclusive:
Transcript of Louwien-dispatcher phone conversation
Dispatcher Brock's interview
Dispatcher Pickard's interview
Dispatcher Pickard's statement
Dispatcher McHood's interview
THP teletype to police agencies
Trooper Phann's report
Trooper Andrews' report
Trooper Bush's report
Trooper Roark's report
Officer's Hall's report
Officer McWorter's report
Smoaks speak about legal action, Patton Fund
Earlier stories:
Killing of family dog unfolds on videotape (1/9/03)
Humane Association calls for discipline of Cookeville officer in dog shooting (1/10/03)
Sundquist: Tennessee 'loves our pets' despite dog shooting (1/10/03)
Animal groups criticize officers (1/11/03)
Readers Forum
Voice your opinion at the Readers Forum
Leon Alligood covers Tennessee for The Tennessean. Contact him at (615) 259-8279 or by e-mail at lalligood [at] tennessean.com.
I think it is important to remember that not all people on this planet are cold calculated animal haters as you obviously are. I know that in the State of California a lawsuit for the kind of stupidity used by the officers would be held up and easily won. I personally would much rather have my dogs (whom by the way my husband and I consider our children) then to take the chance of having a child that would be as cold and inconsiderate as you seem to be. Those that believe in karma and what goes around comes around are truly smiling in their knowledge that a person who cares so little for living creatures will and is truly not cared for anymore than what they are willing to put forward. The officer in any other circumstance would be guilty of felony animal abuse and go to prison. This should not be ignored or forgotten. If someone was to harm an animal in my presence I would insure that they are prosecuted to the fulllest extent by the laws of that state and munipality with no regrets. It is is your best interest to try an learn compassion before you are in need of help from those same people you have obviously not cared about in the past, as at this point you likely will not receive so much as a small bad-aid for a serious life threatening wound from pretty much any one responding here.
I'm not going to get into the media hype virtually destroying the reputatuion of a breed of canine and attacting it to scum like yourself. But let's just say I know exactly where your coming from, and it's not a real place!!
1) The doors to the vehicle could `ve been closed to prevent such a tradgedy.
2) animal control or a canine unit could`ve been called in to take care of the dogs.
3)This poor dog from watching the video did not look threatening at all.
Lastly 4) How can you take such word on a cell phone caller about a green station wagon.
I really hope these people sue the pants off of this particular police dept,and the trigger happy cop gets what he deserves with proper dicsipline.This whole horrible tradgedy could`ve been avoided if these cops took a couple of extra steps.
New details emerge in dog-shooting
By LEON ALLIGOOD
Staff Writer
Analysis suggests exaggeration of initial report misled officers
Tennessee Highway Patrol dispatchers appear to have exaggerated details of a cell-phone caller's report and, in doing so, played a key role in the Jan. 1 traffic stop during which a Cookeville police officer shot an innocent family's pet dog.
Discrepancies between what the caller said to a THP dispatcher in Nashville and what other THP dispatchers in Cookeville were later told have come to light in a Tennessean analysis of internal documents, an audiotape and a videotape released last week by the highway patrol and Cookeville Police Department.
The newspaper's review of the information, released in the wake of the widely publicized shooting of Patton, a dog belonging to the James Smoak family of Saluda, N.C., also has revealed other contradictions and questions:
• In statements to THP investigators, dispatchers contradict one another, particularly about who advised the trooper to use caution during the traffic stop.
• Further, these contradictions cannot be reconciled because the dispatchers, contrary to THP policy, talked on a Nextel wireless phone line. Unlike other modes of communication, the Nextel lines are not recorded.
• A Nashville highway patrol dispatcher, or ''operator'' as THP dispatchers are officially known, issued a teletype message about the Smoaks' car with a subject header of ''Recent Robbery.'' Cookeville dispatchers said the heading made them pay undue attention to the bulletin and more strongly caution the trooper they were dispatching to stop the Smoaks.
• Repeated references to ''large amounts'' of cash that had been thrown out the car window also lent undue attention to the Smoaks' green station wagon, dispatchers in Cookeville noted. In reality, a transcript of the cell-phone call that alerted law enforcement never mentioned that money was coming from inside the car.
• Dispatchers implied it would have made a difference to have known the amount of loose money was $445 and had fallen from a wallet.
The dispatchers said they were not informed of this until after the traffic stop.
The cell-phone call: Veronica Louwien of Wilson County is the citizen who placed the cell-phone call to the highway patrol.
According to the transcript of her call to the dispatcher, she was near the Mt. Juliet exit when a dark green station wagon passed her at what she said was ''about 110 miles an hour'' and ''money was flying all over the interstate.''
At no point in Louwien's transcribed phone conversation with THP Operator Shannon Pickard did she say money was coming from inside the vehicle.
But in a statement to Special Agent Gary Wix of the state patrol's Criminal Investigations Division, Pickard remembered Louwien reporting that ''she thought it (the money) might have come out of his (Smoak's) vehicle and, or he'd been up to something.''
Also in his statement regarding Louwien's cell-phone conversation, Pickard said the money ''came from the vehicle, she thought.''
Money out the window: Within minutes of Louwien's call, Pickard was reporting the incident to other dispatchers. Brian Brock of THP in Cookeville later told Special Agent William E. Farris that Pickard reported the speeding, dark green car to him. Brock said the Nashville dispatcher told him ''a large amount of money had been thrown out the window,'' according to Farris' report.
Timothy McHood, the third THP dispatcher involved, told Farris that Brock reported to him that a green station wagon was eastbound on I-40 ''with large amounts of money being thrown out the windows.''
There was no robbery. Smoak, whose family had been on a three-day vacation to Nashville, had left his wallet on top of his car when he filled up with fuel in Nashville. The wallet, containing $445, mostly in $20s and $10s, fell off as he drove on the interstate, spilling the cash onto the median.
Pickard told the investigator that troopers found ''what they said was a large amount of cash.'' Pickard said he passed on this information to McHood in Cookeville.
McHood told the investigator that Pickard ''kept on stressing, large amounts of money.'' The dispatcher also said he did not know it was money from a wallet until the incident was over.
The felony stop: Statements made to investigators by dispatcher Pickard conflict with statements made by Brock, McHood and Trooper David Bush about who told Bush to make a felony stop on the Smoaks' car.
Bush, in his written narrative of the event, said he asked if Nashville wanted the vehicle stopped. The reply, he wrote, was affirmative, ''that Nashville was investigating a possible robbery that involved this vehicle.
''THP dispatch advised to stop the vehicle and use caution.''
But McHood in Cookeville said after the stop was initiated that he called to ask if Nashville had determined if a crime had been committed.
McHood told Investigator Farris he was not certain if Bush inquired about this before approaching the vehicle.
The response from Nashville was that no agency had responded to Nashville's teletype message, which carried the subject header of ''Recent Robbery.''
Operator Brock of Cookeville said he relayed information on the car's license plate to Bush prior to the stop. At the same time, McHood was talking to Pickard on the Nextel line. According to Brock, McHood told him that the Nashville dispatcher had requested Bush to stop the Smoaks' car, ''but not without backup.''
Pickard, on the other hand, stated his request for a ''10-81,'' stopping a violator, was ''just to find out what the circumstances are with the money,'' the Nashville dispatcher told an investigator.
''I don't know of anywhere where I would have got the point across that there needed to be a felony takedown,'' Pickard stated.
In ''felony stops,'' or ''felony takedowns,'' people are pulled over with the presumption that they are armed and dangerous.
Usually, ''it's the trooper's discretion to make that stop based on the information that they get,'' Department of Safety spokeswoman Beth Tucker Womack said. ''The trooper generally has the right to make that decision.''
Nextel talk: Use of the Nextel line by the dispatchers was not according to agency standards, according to Womack.
''The dispatchers had been given a written order from their district captain in April of 2001, telling them that Nextels were to be used in the event of failure of other communication devices,'' Womack said.
The department's top brass are now looking at the use of the Nextel line and whether that use was a violation. No disciplinary action has been taken, nor have any changes been made in radio room procedures.
''Not yet. That's where we left it last week, as the colonel's office is reviewing all these recommendations,'' Womack said, speaking of Col. Mark V. Fagan, commander of the THP.
''Recent Robbery'' teletype: With regard to the teletype Pickard issued after receiving the call from Louwien, the dispatchers in Nashville and Cookeville are again at odds.
The teletype to all Middle Tennessee law enforcement agencies had a subject heading of ''Recent Robbery.'' Brock and McHood in Cookeville said the subject heading grabbed their attention.
According to Farris, Brock stated ''if he and Operator McHood had not gotten the teletype, they would not have considered or talked about the vehicle being in a robbery. Brock stated the only reason Cookeville THP Dispatch Office had relayed possible information was because of the teletype from Nashville.''
McHood's statement agreed with Brock. McHood told Farris that ''when he (McHood) receives a teletype with the subject heading 'Recent Robbery' or anything similar, he relays this information primarily for the concern of officer safety,'' the investigator's report stated.
Last week, the THP concluded Trooper Bush had probable cause to make a traffic felony stop, based on what he knew at the time of the incident.
Speed of the car: State troopers said last week they think the Smoaks' car was traveling in excess of 90 miles an hour, an estimate derived through calculations based on the elapsed time from when the fallen wallet was reported in Wilson County until when the vehicle was pulled over in Putnam County.
Yesterday, the THP fine-tuned their estimate, stating the Smoaks' car averaged 86 miles per hour. The speed limit is 70 on the interstate between Wilson County and Putnam County.
James Smoak, who was not cited for speeding, denied he was speeding last week when interviewed.
Yesterday, Pamela Smoak, his wife, said she was lying in the back seat on the drive from Nashville. She believes her husband was not speeding for one reason.
''I drive a 1994 Mercury Sable station wagon that's had to have a new motor and work on the transmission. The car's old, for goodness' sake,'' she said during a phone interview.
There is no indication in the report by the trooper who initiated the stop that the vehicle was speeding.
And so then we would have two innocent dogs killed, all in the name of vengeance. Do I need to point out how idiotic that is? I hope not.
If he was trained in all that you claimed he would have handled things differently. Hall shouldn't be doing that type of work. I wonder if his family owns a dog. Does his children cherish it and love it as the Smoaks loved and cherished Patton? Do you think if their beloved pet was murdered in front of his children it would leave lifelong emotional scars?? Do you think his family would have the distrust for officials trying to cover their mistakes with public apologies etc for the rest of their lives?? Think about what this inncent family went through. Poor Mr. Smoak had to go to the ER soon afterward. Hall should be fired!!
My heart goes out to the family and their beloved pet...
BiggDogg
http://www.petitiononline.com/cc011003/petition.html
1. Officer Hall followed the correct procedure and thus was right to shoot the dog.
2. Officer Hall did not act hastily but acted with precision and confidence learned by knowing what to do and when.
3. Other Officer’s on the scene said that they would have shot the dog before Officer Hall except Officer Hall was in their line of fire.
4. Since when is a 6ft 17 year old man a child?
If you pay attention, you will eventually learn more about distrust, innocence, and poor Mr. Smoak……..
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Midwest/01/14/dog.maulings.ap/index.html
So much for the kind, domesticated ANIMAL you love so much. Tell me, what would you tell the parents or children of this woman?
A dog is an animal. It has been domesticated but that does NOT mean that it is a human or that it can be reasoned with.
Citizen_x, I live in Virginia.
It's the American way true or not! Sometimes I'm ashamed to be a part of this country.
Animals spread disease and should be eliminated from our society.
I have a pet cat who thinks just like me. All dogs are evil.
My heart goes out to the family. There is no way to compensate them for this cruel stupidity; you can't replace unconditional love with money. But at the least the officer ought to spend the rest of his career behind a desk. Sans a firearm.
Spy on your neighbors, report anything you think is
suspicious.
Turning our citizens against each other. Geez you would think the caller would have reported a missing wallet which is really what happened. No crime even appearing to be committed.
Everyone is guilty now until proven innocent.
To the people this happened to, I grieve for their dog, a member of their family was murdered. This officer and the person who reported the "crime" should both be treated the same way the dog was.
I wouldn't be too critical of the Tennessee Highway Patrol or the Cookeville Police Dept. for this incident.
Honestly, ever since the tragedy of 9-11 police agencies all across this great country of ours have tried to be on the cutting edge of professionalism. They are driven by daily reports from Washington, the FBI and other government agencies about the constant threat of terrorist attacks.
These professionals, whether they are on local, county, state or federal level, stay in a state of readiness like no other time in American history. When these professionals react to any incident, they must expect the worst and be prepared to react instantly.
After listening to some of the talk show hosts from around the nation carry on about this incident you would think the Keystone Cops were in charge in Cookeville, Tenn. It's so easy for the "golden-boys" hiding behind their microphones to be critical of those who put their lives on the line day after day for all of us.
I'm sorry for the loss of the Smoak family pet "General Patton," but Officer Hall had to make an instant decision within the perimeters of a felony stop. This animal was breaching the perimeters and left Officer Hall with no other decision.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol also acted within their perimeters when they made the felony stop, and thank God the Smoak family did as they were ordered. Several years ago this writer also experienced a felony stop because I was driving the same type vehicle used in robbery near Orlando, Fal. Like the Smoak family, I did as I was ordered and was cleared within 15 minutes.
Citizen x, you are a moron. You must also be a dumbass inbred good 'ol boy redneck cop wanna be. You would blindly defend these a-holes now matter what they did. You make me sick. Go back home to the communist/gestapo country/rock from which you emerged.
Comment: 372(?) on this subject:
Instant decision, my butt. Their was ample time to secure the environment and it did not occur. 30 seconds was all that was needed to secure the environment. The cop that shot was milling around.
If law enforcement agents feel unduly stressed by 911 terrorism and it is effecting their performance, then they need to get some distance. Cutting someone slack because of the terrorist events is goofy. That is, unless, you are making a defense for someone's actions that are less than satisfactory.
Well well, who dictated that article in that link?
Another cop? Perhaps his cheif? A lowly reporter? The fox is guarding the chicken coop indeed. You gotta do better than that. Tsk tsk.
I'm the one living in the real world. And please...don't call me a liberal.....
http://www.activedayton.com/ddn/local/daily/0108dogwalk.html
If you really want to help "fix" and issue, help a starving child.
See:
http://www.intrepidsoftware.com/fallacy/attack.htm
Linda Gleisser
And again, for you nitwits out there.....IT WAS ONLY A DOG.
Um, my point regarding the starving children is this...are you just as concerned for the children that starve to death as you are for an animal? It seems to me that a lot of you want a better world, but you're more interested in what has happened to a dog than actual problems that exist.
Funny how the humanity of some of you only extends to a dog.
Like I said before, the cop that shot the dog could have save a thousand people in his career, but that wouldn't matter to any of you because it wasn't a thousand dogs.
I'm starting to get the feeling some of you are lovin' your dogs a little too much. But I guess you're free to do whatever you like in your house. ;)
If you can get going without pep pills,
If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,
If you can eat the same food every and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,
If you can overlook it when those who love you take it out on you when something goes wrong through no fault of yours,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can ignore a friend's limited education and never correct him,
If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend,
If you can face the world without lies and deceit,
If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can relax without liquor
If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,
If you can say honestly that deep in your heart you have no prejudice against creed, color, religion or politics,
Then, my friend, you are almost as good as your dog.
As for Eric Hall....do you honestly think he is sitting around at a computer all day talking to you guys? Ah, no.
Anytime a police officer has to use his weapon his life is turned upside down. Certainly in this case that seems to be true. In the past week Eric has done both t.v. and radio shows. Today he interviewing with the "Today Show". Besides all this he has a full time job and a family (3 little girls and a wife). Needless to say Eric is like the rest of you....very upset by how things unfolded the night of Jan. 1.
Why is he not showing signs of remorse besides these patent "uh oh I got caught so I have to say something to make myself look good" excuses?
Reminds me of another time when a person in authority in this country got caught with his pants down and nothing happened to him either so I guess I shouldn't expect much. "I did not have sexual relations with that woman!" Uh huh.
I love my country but I fear my government.
As for a laugh with a colleague, I know nothing about that but from personal experience…sometimes a shot at humour is what is needed. Ex: I heard the other day that Cookeville is going to put up a billboard. It will read-
Cookeville- The best dog-gone town in Tennessee!
I’m a huge dog lover myself and also a former Cookeville resident but I had to laugh.
I do know what you’re saying about the Clinton thing and yes our government too. And we all know about some of the stories we’ve heard over the past few years about police officers doing stuff that causes all of us extreme heart burn but in this particular case it was just one bad chain of events that culminated in the shooting of a dog in front of the people who loved it. The whole thing should not have happened and I know the THP is having to do some explaining to TN lawmakers today. (The law enforcement agency that labelled the call a felony and then called Cookeville City Police for back up.) If you all really want to make a difference (and you are well on your way), ask your law makers to make sure that police policies and procedures are changed to reflect the fact that you don’t want dogs killed under any circumstances. Also call a true dog expert and ask them if all tail wags mean “nice doggy”. Again, Eric didn’t make “police procedure” he only followed it.
And to top it off their innocent dog is killed right in front of them. I hope the Smoaks sue the sh*t outta them!
would have had the chance to live? Why did he have to shoot it in the the head? WHy did he have to shoot it at all? It really hurts me to hear of these things and my condolences go out to the family .
Question: Don’t you have to a militant type of person (living on the edge of violence) to be a cop? What ever happen to peace officers?
1. They did not know what the situation was so the handcuffing was for safety of both themselves and the family.
2. As far as the dog. IT WAS A DOG!!!! I have a dog that is a nice loving family pet and I have had her for 9 years, since she was born. If I was to get pulled over and she jumped out and ran towards an officer ( as this dog clearly did on the video) I would be sad of course but would not blame the officer one bit if he was to shoot her.
3.I saw the son on the news saying that the officer could have used pepper spray. Dogs do not have tear ducts, Pepper spray, O.C. or mace do not work on dogs.
It is all a matter of safety. The officers, all of them did their jobs and did them well. My hat goes off to them and I support them.
Thank you.
Perhaps you'll only lose a daughter to a rapist/thief/murderer. At least it wasn't your dog, right?
Last year my wife and I happened to visit Cookeville while surveying the area as a possible locale for a summer home. I remember thinking then what a bleak and ugly, redneck-looking little place Cookeville appeared to be. Now the Smoak incident has confirmed my worst suspicions. We've had our fill of the Cumberland Plateau. Nature was kind to it, but I would hate to trust my wellbeing to its public servants -- most especially its police force.
I hope this incident will be thoroughly investigated and the Smoak family amply compensated through legal action against the grand and glorious state of Tennessee.
* Officer Hall said he told the dog to back away before he shot.
** The sound expert said that officer Hall told the dog to back away at the EXACT SAME TIME that he shot the dog.
*Officer Hall said the dog was growling in an aggresive manner.
** The sound expert said that he heard abosoultely NO dog growling sounds at all on the audio tape.
Mmmmm could it be that officer Hall has told a lie or two to try and dig himself out of this hole he put himself in??? If he followed procedure and did nothing wrong, then why lie????
The microphone that recorded the audio portion of the video was on trooper David Bush's lapel, said THP spokeswoman Beth Tucker Womack. Bush was standing by James Smoak, about 10 feet away from where Patton escaped from the car.
''The things that were up close to (Bush) got captured where things on the perimeter might not have,'' she said. ''If something happened several feet or several yards from him, you might not hear it.''
Just before the sound of the shotgun, there was another sound, fractions of a second long, that could be the sound of the dog growling.
Mitchell said the sound was not clear enough to make a decision about it one way or the other.
Mitchell said he could not hear any barking. He said it was ''not impossible'' that the dog barked but that the bark was not captured by the microphone.
Hall wrote in his police report that he felt the dog had been advancing toward him to attack, and that he felt he had ''no other option'' but to shoot it.
A message asking for comment left late yesterday afternoon for Cookeville Police Chief Robert Terry was not returned.
Troopers Jeff Phann and Bush reported that the dog growled, barked and advanced upon Hall aggressively. Neither of the other two officers mentioned growling or barking in their reports.
About 3½ seconds passed from the time Patton ran out into camera view until it was shot — about as long as it would take a professional baseball player to run from home plate to first base. Hall had only those seconds to respond to whatever threat he perceived Patton to pose.
Isn't it funny how people think? In this situation (in the article) people who oppose this idea state that if you commit a crime with a dog, then you blame the owner. Which is fine. But I suspect these are the same people who think that if that same person uses a handgun to commit a crime, you blame the gun manufacturer. Know what I mean?
Personally, I agree with what they are trying to do in that article. There are certain breeds of dogs (remember folks, dog breeds have been designed by man) that have been specifically bred for certain attributes (strength, aggressiveness, mean....) that are ideal for guarding or attacking. Dobermans, Rottweilers, Pitt Bulls, German Sheperds, etc are the type of dog used to guard and attack. And for good reason. When was the last time anyone, anywhere used a Maltese to guard or attack anyone?
When dog "lovers" understand why the dog breeds exist, then they will get a clue.
A bit of history: According to history books on the breed three people were in the pit with the 2 dogs. A referee, and the dogs 2 handlers. Long ago when this sick sport was legal people made thousands and thousands of dollars on bets. This is how they made their living! If any dog were to turn around and ATTACK humans in the pit is was destroyed and not used in the gene pool of fighting dogs! In other words, human aggresssiveness was NOT tolerated in their fighting dogs!! I own pitbulls and occasionally a scuffle will break out. This morning it was over a bowl of food I put on the floor. The dogs didn't try to get to me they want the other dog. At our local animal shelter they have a list of dog attacks and #1. On their list is German shepard dogs and their mixes, #2. is Chows, and #3. is Cocker spaniels. The dogs name was Patton, so what?!?! That makes about as much sense as the dogs that attacked Diane Whipple. Someone mentioned their names and said that should have been an indication what they were capable of. THAT IS THE STUPIDEST THING I HAVE EVER HEARD!! My uncle owned a chihuahua named "Killer"!! My pitbulls names are" Baby" "Calli" " "Mouse" and "Blue." And I have a foster boy named "Termite." I'm seroiusly thinking about keeping because he is about the smartest, sweetest best behaved dog!! He is EXCELLENT with my 4 year old son. You guys seem to know about the media and their crap they like to print to make money. Take it from soemone who knows, pit bulls are NOT bad dogs. There has been disussion in groups I am in on the internet and they specualte that when dog fighting changed from a misdermener (?) to a felony in the 1980's is when the breed first got media attention when illegal dog fighting was enforced. They said the media coverage attracted the scum of our society who think that sort of thing is "cool". They wanted one of these fighting dogs the media kept mentioning. I do a lot of research and it makes sense to me. Thats when I believe it all started anyhow. I don't know if Patton WAS a pitbull. I do read a lot of accounts of so called attacks and 9 of of 10 times the dog turns out to not be a pitbull. I think it's a shame that it's come to this. Hall thought Patton was a pitbull and he feared him because of what the media started. It's a shame all the way around. A big misunderstanding and dead pet. I'm trying hard to understand it but I am getting mixed meessages from both sides. Unfortunately I cannot go to TN. I would love for Officer Hall to meet my dogs and learn the truth about the breed. Sure there are poorly bred pitbulls out there. But there also are poorly bred dogs of other breeds. Like I said in another message, other breeds attack but the media doesn't find them newsworthy. Okay, this is long enough. I just want you guys to know when the media calles in their so-alled "experts" on dog behavior these peopel are idiots and don't know or understand the breed at all. The best person to ask would be Diane Jessup for any and all information because anmal control officers DO NOT know about this breed!! All they do is pass on crap they hear from the media!
Prove it.
And I agree its the owners and not the dogs. Any dog any breed used for a crime its owner should be held liable.
There are cases where the dogs owners were put in prison because they KNEW their dog was vivious and they put the dog in position where its accessable to all. Thats like laying a booby trap in your yard. The owner knows and he/she should be punished. Just think if it wasn't for the media most of these people would never have heard of these breeds. After the Diane Wipple case sales of Presa Canaro pups rose. What does that tell you??
http://www.wral.com/news/1934087/detail.html
Hall is a despised man. National telivision and his stupidity saw to that.
He wasn't prepared (or trained) very well to handle the scenario.
It doesn't mean he is dumb. (Going on tv to plead on his case seems to negate my last statement.) Nevermind.
Too bad for him. Get over it.
http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/localupdates/MGBVJW3KCBD.html
As a semi-retired Peace Officer well schooled in LAW,
LEGISLATION and the profound differences between them, I'm willing to bet that Paddy's Pig knows more about what constitutes a CRIME than you do. The point here is that there was NO CRIME being committed here and all it would have taken for this to be established is some fundemental police work. Unfortunately, most law enforcement officers have lost touch with what they are supposed to be doing out there. They have almost totally (other than rare cases of which I would like to be considered included) abandoned their sworn duties as Peace Officers and have decided to engage in criminal behaviour themselves. Instead of dealing with CRIME, they have resorted to a host of unlawful activities such as unlawful restrictions on the public's Right to travel... The so-called "routine stop" is many times nothing more than outright unjustified harassment without any PC (Propable Cause) whatsoever. Here's a quiz for you "Citizen X": If you're traveling down the road in your car without a seatbelt on, is a CRIME being committed?! If you are going 86 (the speed some have stated this family was traveling) is a CRIME being committed? FACT: In order for there to be a crime committed there MUST BE AN INJURED PARTY. Tell us X, just what was the CRIME supposed to be to warrant this "felony" stop without any CORRECT PROCEDURAL COMMUNICATION?! And here's another one for you: Can the STATE be considered an "injured party"? Are you sure... better consult with Black's Law Dictionary on the subject among other easily checked resources. Another one for ya: Do you or do you not have the RIGHT TO TRAVEL ON A PUBLIC ROAD as an American Citizens in this country . . . IN EVERY STATE?! You should know that one as your very NAME suggests you are a "citizen"... Before you answer, check out some Tennessee LAW... and i'm NOT speaking of whatever bogus legislation that is passed in complete indifference to Constitutional Law. Explain how the Right to travel becomes somehow the "priviledge to drive"?! Research THAT and you will begin to see where I am coming from and how far down we have gone as a Truly free country. Yes, I'm a rare breed... I am looked at as a kind of "rebel", but those who know me - my military career and the job I do, realise - if sometimes deep down - that there IS a real problem in this country today with the present trend of "law enforcement". Most are now "Peace Officer Wannabes" and have decided that they will now chase down and KILL someone for a roach in their car or not wearing a seatbelt. This is nothing but outright INSANITY. Yeah, you can bad mouth me all you want becuase of what I'm writing here... but if you needed help and were a VICTIM of CRIME, I'd be there for you NO MATTER WHAT. Let me ask you one last thing... just who in the h_ll do you think twisted this officer's arm and FORCED HIM TO TAKE THIS JOB?!! I'm really sick and tired of hearing about the terrible job we peace officers have and how so many project this "feeling sorry for the cop" whinning because of the nature of the job etc... blah blah ...add nauseum. Nobody forced us to swear an OATH to serve and protect the people of their juristiction. Nobody forced them to swear an OATH to protect and carry out the LAWS of this country.... And whatever the case - IT DOESN'T GIVE ANY COP THE RIGHT TO ATTEMPT TO SUBVERT THE VERY LAWS THEY HAVE TAKEN A SOLEMN OATH TO UPHOLD AND OBEY THEMSELVES. I know better than many that a lot of the so-called "police brutality" is instead warranted reaction to a lousy dangerous situation. But so many times Citizen X, they have put themselves into this situation because instead of seeking out and going after CRIME, they are messing with people WHO ARE NOT COMMITTING any crimes whatsoever. You see this time and time again on the show "Cops". The majority of cases on that show have to deal with peace officer wannabes getting in the face of someone who he or she should not even be bothering. The other day I saw one that really pushed me over the edge. We have thefts, burglarys, assaults, rapes, murders, and so who does this rookie arrest? A women in front of her OWN PLACE OF RESIDENCE having a few beers. He totally handled the situation incorrectly and deserved to be severely disciplined for his CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR. Its jerk-offs like him that are making more and more people in this country hate the police in their own communities... Once in a while on that show you DO see some excellent police work and some REAL STAND UP PEACE OFFICERS... but that is getting as scarce as hen's teeth. Once in awhile you see a situation where the cop needs help from a (gasp!) regular everyday citizen.... I say that if more law enforcement don't get their heads out of their collective asses, they will have to PRAY for people to help them. It just ain't going to happen. Hardly any of our colleagues
even bother to learn anything about the very Law they are supposed to be enforcing. THIS is reflected in this tragedy. When I see American citizens who have NOT COMMITTED A CRIME on thier knees - handcuffed and watching in horror as thier family pet was NEEDLESSLY SHOT, and then the weapon TURNED ON THEM... this reflects totally what I am trying to say here. You can now bad mouth and attack me but I could care less... I will not be coming back here to read your "response".... Whats more I believe (since you said you weren't a "liberal" - whatever THAT means...) that you may even (oh the horror!) AGREE with some of what I've written here... perhaps you even share some of the frustration? Whatever the case, I realise that you know this officer... I can pretty much get behind that.... but I cannot condone this event or his participation in it. The VICTIMS of this CRIME (yes, they were definitly DAMAGED by those who have sworn oaths to "serve and protect"....) have every Right to go after these officers very seed corn. They should take thier bank accounts, even ther children's education and whatever else they are entitled to for Remedy.... this is what its going to take to get the message out for law enforcement officers to start doing the right thing... Just because the job's more dangerous and there are more bad guys out there doesn't give them leave to become "above the Law bad guys" themselves... for someday, those guys are going to get a very rude awakening....
We plan to do whatever we can to help this family get Remedy and educate the departments in that community as to what warrants proper PROCEDURE according to LAW. Because some of us in law enforcement give a damn about the PEOPLE and the Laws in this country.
Yours Truly and without any personal animosity
They fought back.
See:
http://www.indybay.org/news/2003/01/1567680.php
I was NOT writing about what was in the Nashville Tennessean! I was writing what I HEARD on my local news channel, which was channel 2 WKRN.
So please do not say I am not telling the whole truth. I have not read the article in the Nashville Tennessean so I can not say one way or the other on that subject. I was just relaying what I heard with my own 2 little ears on the news.
Some public service, I feel so protected. You call the cops, they either shoot you, your pet, their partner; or they take your dogs, arrest you, steal your money, etc
What recourse does the citizen have? What happened to posse comimitatus? The police officer(s) that shot these dogs are criminals. If you don't have the intelligence or decency to accept the consequences of your actions, don't be a cop. I could rant about this forever though. We should all sign up here http://www.freestateproject.com/
Do you even prioritize them? Is an insects life worth every effort on your part to save?
Do you walk every where or do you have a car? Do you use paper? Do you waste fresh water?
IF you are so concerned about life in general, be careful how you answer those questions. Wouldn't want you walking around thinking you were a hypocrite.
And yes, it was STILL ONLY a dog. Get over it already.
http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/straw-man.html
(snip)
The Straw Man fallacy is committed when a person simply ignores a person's actual
position and substitutes a distorted, exaggerated or misrepresented version of that
position. This sort of "reasoning" has the following pattern:
1. Person A has position X.
2. Person B presents position Y (which is a distorted version of X).
3. Person B attacks position Y.
4. Therefore X is false/incorrect/flawed.
This sort of "reasoning" is fallacious because attacking a distorted version of a
position simply does not constitute an attack on the position itself. One might as well
expect an attack on a poor drawing of a person to hurt the person.
(snip)
NOW, what I really wanted to say: I have no sympathy whatsoever for the policeman who committed this horrible "murder"! To me, there is no punishment harsh enough! It's one thing he shot this innocent dog, but the fact that he did so in front of the family and children was totally uncalled for! I do not believe he deserves to be called an officer of the law. "To Protect and Serve"......who was he protecting? The dog posed no threat wagging his tail and ever so curious about what was going on! Serve? That's a loaded subject! The only thing that comes to mind when I hear that word is he should "Serve" time for his actions!!!! Having had pets, i.e. dogs all my life, there is no way I could have handled what this poor family has had to face. They are in my prayers and I know they can never replaced their beloved family member, but, I pray in time their hearts will heal and the will go on to love yet another dog.....in a different way of course, and again they remain in my thoughts and prayer.
God Bless America........
You are only a cold-hearted A-hole
You are only a cold-hearted A-hole
You are only a cold-hearted A-hole
Who by the way has no business even voicing your "so called" opinion!!!!
First Point
The Officers on the scene knew there was a dog in the car.
If they wanted to claim they were protecting themselves in the roll of “Officer Safety”, they should have contained the animal by closing the doors. Period!
By failing to do so, they created the “hazard” and helped to escalate the incident.
Officers can only claim self-defense if they did not create the situation for example, throwing themselves in front of a moving car and shooting the driver to warrant self-defense would not be sufficient justification for self-defense.
Knowing about a threat, having the manpower to address said threat and failing to do so ending up in a use of force escalation is 100 % the officers fault. Not only should the involved parties be sued, the officer or deputy should be fired and charged with illegal discharge of a firearm.
Second Point
If this had been me, I would have either killed the officer who shot my dog or kill one of his pets or someone close to him.
I do not condone this action but having the knowledge I do about use of force continuum and how officers are to control scenes they assume, I would feel very very wronged in this situation and someone would pay a VERY HEAVY price for this.
It is easy to criticize Police after an incident and second-guess split second decisions when you have not been out there on the road making stops but on the other hand that does not absolve the Police from making reasonable and prudent decisions.
I think a reasonable and prudent decision would have been to close the damn doors of the car and removed any further risk which might have emerged from the car.
With all occupants out of the car, the car should have been secured and if there was a pet, the doors should have been closed.
Period.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....
Author unknown...
Resent all you want, but it is a very known fact that the police officers in this and surrounding counties exaggerate many situations causing undue harm to innocent people - and animals. The leash law comment is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of considering these people did not warrant being pulled over in the first place and that their warnings and pleadings with the officers to shut the door went ignored was another show of the mentality of many police officers; "I have the power, I can make or break a law, I am not here to serve I am here to be served" attitude. Not all, mind you, as I still hold out belief that there are still some that are in their profession to protect and serve, but I have yet to meet one in the surrounding counties, though they must exist, I pray. A leash law DOES NOT mean you must leash your animal in a vehicle, only when this animal is released from the vehicle - which is was not released by it's owners but the IGNORANCE of the police officers who had been duly warned and IGNORED the family's request. For gosh sakes, this was a family on VACATION with their pets and their dog was blown away in front of them because of power thirsty police that WANTED to get credit for stopping a crime that never happened!
The comment on the cell phone call-in is pathetic, this means I could I call you in right now and tell them to pull you over for being drunk driving and robbing a bank as I had seen you running from the bank and swerving all over the road? That is obsurd! A simple pull over would of been sufficient, would it not, if an officer was truly concerned, a simple walk to the car window as other NORMAL police officers do during a stop would of been sufficient, would it not? These people did NOTHING - NOTHING to warrant the police reacting the way they did, period, there is absolutely no way on God's green earth did they deserve this inappropriate action by these officers and if you or anyone else can condone or say you would do the same thing, I then can only hope the shoes shall turn on you some day and you will feel the wrath of over-zealous police at your side and you should watch your children tremble and cry at the bones and blood of their beloved pet lying on the ground at laughing officer's feet for the mere crime of driving through this state.
And by the way...the south can never, ever rise again with the people that are sworn to serve and protect pulling innocent people over and shooting their dogs over a phone call from a stranger. My God, didn't it ever, EVER occur to them that the man left his wallet on top of his car as many humans have done instead of automatically assuming the worst? The majority of police stops are non-threatening, not to minimize those that are not and the risks police officers take, but there is more danger to everyone if a situation becomes overinflated and the thought process of the police involved here was obviously taken over by their macho attitudes. This was uncalled for and unnecessary by all stretches of the imagination but those that enjoy bringing terror and victimizing those they are sworn to protect.
Yes, Tennessee is a beautiful place, but no one wants to come to this area if they cannot simply drive innocently from point A to point B without having to worry about being strip searched for running a yellow light.
As for police not getting enough respect, those that deserve it get it, they get medals, they get their communities adoration, they are known because of their true duty to serve unselfishly, but there are those that do not fit into that category, there are those that get into the profession for the pure love of control and power. I have known individuals from both and there is nothing, nothing more sadistic than a police officer that is in it for the pure joy of being able to make people miserable day in and day out...
....and there is NOTHING more admirable than a police officer that is in the profession to protect his fellow man - the sheer unshelfish quality of those that would put their own life on the line every day that they kiss their families goodbye is undeniably remarkable and they will never, ever receive all the respect and honor they deserve except within their own hearts and those that know of their intentions, to them we owe everything that is peaceful and safe for us and our families...it is very, very unfortunate that there are some, as those mentioned in the previous paragraph, that stand out and take from the deserving, tarnishing the badge and spreading the fear and doubt so that when we see a police car behind us, we aren't sure if we are being protected or about to be victimized.
Quit making excuses for bad behavior, that is what gives Tennessee and others a bad name.