Innocent Pit Bull Cheech Murdered by Florida Sheriff at Wrong Address
Shame on this incompetant sheriff for shooting a dog in his own yard! Deputy Masson should be penalized and shamed for this cowardly behavior! Shame on the Sheriffs Office for blowing off the event!
My deepest sympathies to Cheech’s family.
Thanks to this Tampa Tribune for this article.
Please be warned that this story is extremely upsetting.
Deputies Kill Dog That Family Describes As A Peaceful Pup
By KEITH MORELLI The Tampa TribunePublished: May 15, 2007
RIVERVIEW – Cheech was a big baby who played with children and other dogs, said Brandy Downer, who lived with the 55-pound pooch.
His only problem, she said, was that Cheech was born a pit bull.
Monday morning, Cheech’s path crossed with Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputies who were looking for a man wanted on a warrant.Cheech was shot to death. Deputies fired four rounds at the dog and three found their mark.
They said the dog had growled and lunged at them.
Downer said the dog was never aggressive – to children in the family or other dogs or anyone else.
“If you stomped your foot,” she said, “he would run the other way.”
The 2 1/2 -year-old red nose pit bull was in his yard and was about to be called into the house at 10617 Cone Grove Road by his owner, Mitch Davis, who is Downer’s boyfriend. Davis was too upset Monday to talk about the incident.
“He’s not talking to anyone right now,” said Downer, 25, a couple of hours after they dragged Cheech’s body from beneath a pickup truck – proof he was not attacking, she said -and buried it in the back yard.
Deputies said they were in the area shortly before 7 a.m. to serve a warrant on Robert Davis, Mitch’s brother, who they thought lived in Downer’s home. Robert Davis was wanted on a contempt of court warrant.
Deputy John Masson, 32, looked over a privacy fence in an effort to find Davis, according to sheriff’s spokeswoman Debbie Carter. He spotted the pit bull as it came out of the fenced-in area and went between sheds and a pickup, she said.
The dog came out into the open and growled at Masson, who pulled his handgun, fired as the dog lunged and killed him on the spot, Carter said,.
Downer said Robert Davis never lived at the address and wasn’t there Monday morning.
Cheech has been the family dog since he was 6 months old, she said.
“He’s the biggest wimp of a dog,” she said.
Although she didn’t see the incident, she said she knows the animal.
“I don’t have to have been there to know,” she said. “I feel like the dog was categorized because he happened to be an aggressive breed.”
A review board at the sheriff’s office will investigate the incident, Carter said.
“There appeared to be no problem with the shooting at this time,” she said.
Just awful! The sad thing is this family lost their beloved pet, and the officer will probably get a slap on the wrist. More education needs to be given, especially to people working in jobs such as police services on so-called agressive breeds, and how to properly handle a situation like this in the future.
So sad. Simba, you are so right. Education is key.
Dog lovers I thought you might be interested in my latest blog about properly disposing of pet waste. I don’t understand why people buy plastic bags that never breakdown and instead preserve the doggie doo-doo that will end up sitting in landfills forever (no exaggerating). There are a bunch of biodegradable bags made just for pet waste now and other options like just getting a poop scooper. You can read more about it at: http://thisgreenlife.wordpress.com/2007/05/16/the-green-way-to-pick-up-doggie-doo-doo/.
Thanks for all the great info!
What a surprise.. The more i read stories like this one, the more I think police should not be allowed to carry handguns anymore. What if there was a child in the back yard? My guess is the same as Simba’s on this.. the cop will get a slap on the wrist and be sent on his way to kill yet another innocent dog that is playing in HIS backyard when he is unfortunate enough to have the police come TRESPASSING though…
BTW.. what do biodegradable poop bags have to do with this at all? Nothing from what I can tell…
That product placement is in TERRIBLE taste!!
Freaking police who shoot first and ask questions afterwards. Although it looks like no questions will be asked at all. Another blunder by the polive that will be swept under the carpet because of their incompetence and lies.
This is so sad…but, not at all surprising! I actually had the county sheriff come to my house in the middle of the night once for a person I did not even know!! I was terrified that if I opened the door they would shoot one of my dogs.
They didn’t identify themselves but, I knew they would be considered in the “right” if there was an incident!
My heart goes out to poor Cheech and his family
When it comes to pitbull breeds, you have the good and the bad (poorly bred, poorly trained and poorly socialized), the same with any dog breed and also the same with people.
In this case it sounds like an innocent and defenseless dog of a breed that is routinely portrayed by the media to be ferocious and vicious was cruelly and thoughtlessly shot down with no consideration given whatsoever! The dog was in a secured are, behind a privacy fence and his space was being trespassed upon and even though he did nothing wrong aside from show his pitbull face, he was executed!
And sad but true, with the latitude the law gives itself and its officers, there will most likely be some quasi-reasonable excuse given and the officer will be back on the streets again. After all, most animal abusers get little more than a slap on the wrist too often and they don’t even have a badge to back them up!
My heart goes out to this family who forever lost their beloved canine companion and will always live with that grief!
It is about time that people take responsibility for their actions. The police NEED TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE. Charges need to be pressed, the media needs to make this a mountain of a story and the senseless killing of innocent pups needs to stop. SHAME ON THE POLICE. If this was a peaceful dog and the cops are saying he was growling, then the policeman is LYING. Wouldn’t be the first time. This makes me so mad. Maybe if I bark and growl at the cops, they’ll shoot me, too.
That is soo sad!!
[...] Thanks Joy and Tampa Tribune for getting the word out on this sad and sorry incident! [...]
I used to live in Tampa and I can tell you from personal experience that there is something lacking in that office. These people need to be held accountable especially considering that any use of violence by a police officer, without truly just cause and a thorough investigation, can show an itchy trigger finger and someone who should not be on the force and armed…We need accountability after each shooting not matter who – civilian or law enforcement.
You can bet that if one of the police dogs went into a rampage, even if it was a so-called aggressive breed (say, a doberman or a rottie) that the police would object to it being killed! This just steams my veggies! Poor Cheech and his poor owners. Again- this steams my vegies it does!
wow, that’s a really crummy story..i hope that the officer that did the shooting will be held accountable.
That is so sad to be shot just because your a pit bull. My Dozer is pittie and a Service Dog as well. And I tell you what if it had my dog that would have been shot I can guarantee that I would making so much out of this that they would not know what hit them. It just makes me sooooo mad….**sigh**
That is so horrific! The dog that was killed sounds just as docile as my female APBT and I would be devastated if someone came into my place and shot my dog. I don’t know shouldI blame more the officer who killed the dog, or the media frenzy/politicians/ignorant people who have condemned pit bull breeds with ‘breed specific leglislation’. The witch hunt has begun….but where will it end?
I am pissed. Hey, what is it with the ‘aggressive breed’ title given to certain dogs namely pits? Any dog can be aggressive and I swear me and Zoe have met them all on our walks. Aggressive? I will tell you who was aggressive – the aggressive boston who tried to attack Zoe (while she cowered), or the aggressive weirmaraner who chased us through a local park with the owner no where to be seen, or the 2 golden labs who tried to attack Zoe as whe passed them on the path. Any breed has the potential to be aggressive if not properly socialised – so why don’t I hear about these other breeds getting shot? Don’t get me wrong I don’t want anyones pets to get shot but I don’t understand why these people get away with shooting a pit who had was not harming anyone, did not show any signs of being aggressive – and was the owners private property!! Justice needs to be done.
Having worked in Florida law enforcement it is confusing to see these articles. All of the training I went through was designed on how to handle people, not animals. It’s sad, animals are treated as second rate. Believing any hype about any breed is ignorant. Lack of education on animal handling on the law enforcement part is ignorant. Some cops, deputies don’t feel that animals deserve decent treatment and would rather shoot them than understand that there are alternative ways to deal with animals. My heart goes out to Cheech and his family. I own a pit and get frustrated at people who say, “Oh my it’s one of those pit bulls” My response is, no he’s my pit bull and I love him.
This is horrible. Sadly if the dog were a beagle this would have been viewed as an outrage, but since the poor baby was a pit bull they will prbly not do anything to the idiot….Ummm Sheriff? The poor family and dog deserve better and the sheriff should be held accountable.
they SHOULD be held accountable for shooting the dog.the dog was being PrOTECTIVE, since it says that the officer was looking in their backyard. most dogs growl at strangers, yah know? so that officer was a wimp and had bad judment.
i live and boston and have a pit bull myself,( the sweetest dog you will ever come accross!) and they are trying to ban pit bulls in massachusetts right now!!! and its because of people who are completly uneducated of the breed and only know the stereo types these poor dogs are getting. if you ask me its RACIST!!!
but it is also the idiot owners who breed these dogs to be vicious. they take advantage of their strength and abilities and teach them to be aggressive!!! those are the people that should be shot not these innocent pit bulls!!!
I feel for this family so much. I have a pit bull Knuckles and he is the biggest baby. Pit bulls are wonderful dogs it is a shame that so many people believe all the sterotipical crap about them. Yes a pt bull will defend there owners and there homes that does not make them killers. I wish people would relize this so that so that they would quit getting a bad name.
Thats really sad! That sherriff should be sent on leave of absent with no pay! I bet it was a person at least that would happen. But since its a dog-a pit bull probably nothing will happen. He’s probably laughing about it at the sherriff’s department while munching on donuts! Ive met several sweet pit bulls…my beloved passed Maltese was more aggressive (he really was!) than any pit bull i’ve known!
Only God will get that sheriff what he deserves!
My prayers with Cheech’s family!