All they had to do was grab him and it would have been over.
DemoDick wrote:What I saw:
Multiple officers groundcuffing a suspect in the middle of the street with lots of people around. The suspect appeared to be resisting. Dog is running around, comes up behind more than one officer. Dog gets Tasered. I did not see a "happy" Pit Bull. I saw a dog. Dogs are very unpredictable animals, extremely so under stress. When you're fighting someone to get them into custody, you don't take chances with a loose dog (of ANY breed) running around int he thick of things.
The dog is lucky to be alive.
I've fought suspects hell bent on beating me to a pulp and getting away. I've also shot a dog (yes, sadly, a Pit Bull) that bit me in the pants on an aggressive, loose dog call. The only reaon I didn't end up in the hospital was my experience as a decoy and my ability to read the dog. I waited FAR longer than I would have to shoot the dog had I no experience catching dogs in protection work. My partners on the other hand would have shot it the second it charged, and they would have been correct to do so.
Deadly physical force was not a good option in the video scenario, considering the number of people around. The Taser offered them a way to avoid someone getting bit.All they had to do was grab him and it would have been over.
Or the person grabbing the dog could have been seriously injured.
If I were in that situation I probably would have done the exact same thing. I have my own dog to come home to at the end of my shift. Not to mention my girlfriend, who would be pretty upset if I got bit for real.
It's easy to Monday morning quarterback when you've never been a Police Officer, never dealt with a potentially violent crowd, never fought a suspect who is bigger and stronger than you and never had a dog go from tail wagging happy to aggressive and dangerous before you realize it. My guess is that the Taser operator did exactly what he was trained to do.
Demo Dick
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