California Officer Hit by Bullet Aimed at Dog Defending His Home
So who’s dog did these police shoot at and what happened to the dog? Whatever happened to not using deadly force at the first of a confrontation? I guess it was lucky for the neighbors they weren’t out in their yards.
This article came from Officer.com.
California Deputy Hurt when Bullet Meant for Dog Ricochets
WILL BIGHAM
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, CA)MIRA LOMA, Calif.– A Riverside County sheriff’s deputy suffered superficial wounds to his face Saturday night when another deputy shot at an aggressive dog and missed.
Sheriff’s investigators were unsure whether the wounds, which not considered life-threatening, were caused by the ricocheting bullet or other debris, sheriff’s Investigator Jerry Franchville said.Deputies responded to a tip about 6 p.m. that a parolee was staying at a house on the 5800 block of Troth Street.
As the deputies approached the house with guns drawn, they were confronted by an aggressive dog, Franchville said.
After the deputy shot – misfiring and injuring his colleague – the fallen-officer report attracted dozens of police cars from several area agencies, including the California Highway Patrol and Corona Police Department.
Police blocked off neighborhood streets near the incident for hours afterward, disrupting residents’ routines.
“I came home, and I couldn’t even get in my yard,” said Laura Gonzales, who lives next door to the home where the deputy was injured.
The tip that a parolee was staying at the house was unfounded, and no one was taken into custody, Franchville said.
A woman who arrived about two hours after the incident told investigators she lived at the house, but was unwilling to comment to reporters on the shooting.
the dog is just protectin his home! the officers have no right to shoot @ the dog
OH get over it. It’s just a dog!. So you’re telling me that this officer should get bit and injured to save a dog?
Where are your priorities? The deputies were going after a parolee at large and as dangerous as that is, they were confronted at the residence by an agressive dog. Sorry, bye bye Rover!
And you call yourself a “dog lover”? PLEASE! You’re far from it… So the officers were confronted by an aggressive dog.. Show me where in that article that it says that the dog came at them in an agressive manner. All it says is they were CONFRONTED… Not charged at, nor lunged at, nor attacked. There are other ways to deal with a such a situation…Besides what is mace made for?
What is that stench? Oh wait, I see it now in the second post. It’s a drive by troll dropping. Dog lover? Whatever.
Mace doesn’t work well against dogs. It is designed for people. I’ve OC’d plenty of dogs and the majority of the time it doesn’t work. It’s unfortunate that the situation happened but the Officer was well within his legal rights. He just needs to learn to shoot more accurately and this partner would not have been injured. Law Enforcement safety comes first.
So tell me what are the exact rules of engagement when confronted with an aggressive dog who is protecting his property? It’s obvious that the deputy who fired the shot needs more time at the shooting range.
And actually there is mace that is made for dogs and if law enforcement is so concerned about being confronted by aggressive dogs then maybe they should carry that brand of canine mace.
Dog lover, Thanks for barking in and I appreciate your point of view. We are all concerned about protecting good police men and women.
The problem is, these police officewrs were not even at the right place to get the parolee. Its one thing if they were actually in real danger. From the article, which ran in a very pro-officer publication btw, seems to make it clear that the officers had bad information.
How easy it is to say “I felt threatened so I shot before thinking!” What if instead of a dog the creature they saw was a small child. In the dark, it is easy to simply be afraid and shoot. Would you so blithely let the situation go if it was someone’s child?
The point is, officers should be defended when they make understandable mistakes but this does not seem to be one of those. This seems to be a bunch of trigger-happy, scared officers shotting at anything that moved.
The last time we ventured into these waters, I got flamed. But, wth, here we go again…
Speaking as a former law enforcement type (past life and SO glad it’s “past”), the officers are unquestionably at fault here.
1) They acted on bad information. Got the wrong house. No parolee to be found.
2) No where in the article does it mention any justification for taking excessive, urgent action, i.e., the suspected parolee was not holed up inside with guns; no hostage situation; no evidence of the parolee attempting to escape. Thus the officers SHOULD HAVE surrounded the house, covering all points of entry/exit, and called in animal control to deal with the dog in a HUMANE fashion. Once the dog was impounded, the officers could freely–and safely–approach the house and attempt the arrest.
3) Shooting at dog TOWARD the house. How many times do we read in the news about an innocent home dweller being shot and killed by someone–usually a drive by shooter–shooting at a house. The officer who pointed his gun at the house, with the intent to shoot the dog, put the house in his line of fire and therefore every single occupant INSIDE THE HOUSE as well. The officer had no way of knowing who all was in the house–it could have been a houseful of kids for all that officer knew.
So once again, another impulsive, unthinking, trigger-happy officer is on the streets “protecting” us from the bad guys. But who, pray tell, will protect us from this gung-ho trigger-happy cop?
I agree with Maggie…. I totally believe in backing all the law enforcement officers when they have done ALL they can to protect ALL innocent parties. The officers were at the wrong home, with no parolee on the premises, never even checked to see if that person was there. To many trigger happy people ( law enforcement and regular people ) and innocent people and animals suffer for it. For those of you who are so cold hearted ( wait… you have to have one to even be cold hearted ) I hope a loved one ( human or animal ) never has to go through something like this.. Believe me… if this was ever to happen to me… charges would be laid against that officer or whoever did it and I would win. You come on my property with guns drawn you better have a good reason and make sure you have the right home. It is not my dogs that would be the problem…. It would be me. In this day in age with all the laws, nowhere are the police above the law. They have to follow the same laws we do. If I am to be held to it… they are too.I work with dogs and special needs kids…. I protect both and will continue to do so even with my life. For those of you who think it’s ” just a dog”…. what would you lay your life down for? Let me guess… NOTHING because if you care less about a creature that did nothing wrong and get shot at….. you don’t care about anything. Boy I am glad I am not like you because my life sure would be empty.
Ok everyone, im the guy they were looking for that night! I was just released from chino state prison where i was taken after all this, And it was my dog they were shooting at! Nobody mentioned that my dog was secure behind a LOCKED security door, and those officers were in no danger until they determined they were going to enter my home without a search warrant (There is none on record i assure you), When they could have simply asked to come in and my dog would have been restrained bless, here protective sweet little heart. Now what?
Is your girl okay? There was no mention of what happened with your dog.
She was fine, thank you so much for asking:)
As it turns out, when i got home i noticed that the bullet had struck the security screen door(because it was closed and locked) and bounced off. One other bit of information, it had struck appr. about chest level on the door. My dog standing on her hind legs comes only to my lower waste at best. Go figure.