What Dog Shootings Reveal About American Policing
Last Saturday night, two children accidentally triggered a burglar alarm when returning to their Minneapolis house. Minutes later, a security company deactivated the alarm. Roughly 20 minutes after that, two Minneapolis police officers showed up; one of them chose to go around back and scale a backyard fence to look around. The police officer’s report relates what happened next this way: “Two large size pitbulls charged at officer. Officer dispatched the two dogs, causing them to run back into the residence.”
This is what really happened:
The police officer shot a dog that was approaching him while wagging its tail in a friendly manner—a dog that does not, in fact, appear to have been “charging” him. Then he stood his ground and shot another dog. If a non-cop were caught on camera shooting two dogs who approached in a park in the same manner, there is little doubt that they would find themselves charged with a crime, reported. The animals survived after emergency care.
