23 years in prison for shooting a police dog?

[packman]

A true loser who deserves punishment-really unbelievable how inept,dumb, and just downright unlucky he is - shoots a police dog and is sentenced to 23 years in prison. The idiot truly needs prison time; but 23 years?

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/07/12/unlucky-teen-shoots-retired-police-dog-sentenced-to-23-years-in-prison-video/?utm_source=crowdignite.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=crowdignite.com

Note the apparent double standard - when police kill private citizens dogs "in the line of duty" little or noting happens to the officers, but kill a police dog and the entire justice system falls on you.

By the way, anyone who kills any animal is a piece of shit whomever they may be.

[hlthe2b]

1. He shot a police officer, canine or no, in the eyes of the law. If only cops shooting innocent pets

were treated as harshly.

I truly support this sentence.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

3. If you take the link

it does point out that this was a 'retired' police dog, that was serving as a family pet, not a dog 'working' as a 'police officer'.

So I think this penalty points more to your second sentence. If he'd been a police officer himself and done this, it wouldn't have led to jail time at all.

[Comrade Grumpy]

7. A dog is not a human being. I don't care if it's a "police officer."

What a laughable fiction.

Dogs as "police officers" is just more cop PR bullshit.

[hlthe2b]

8. It is the law. This one ( retired) is more questionable, but regardless of your dog disdain...

that's the law.

[Comrade Grumpy]

18. I don't disdain dogs. But they're not humans, no matter what stupid laws cops get passed.

[geek tragedy]

28. Police dogs are used as sacrifices in armed standoffs in some places.

Police often aren't allowed to shot a suspect unless he threatens or harms either a civilian or a law enforcement officer.

So, they send Rover out to get shot, so they can shoot the perp.

[LuvNewcastle]

22. Absolutely right.

Some people spend less time in prison for killing actual people. It is fucking perverse to give someone 23 years for shooting any animal.

[phil89]

32. You said it. They even give police funerals to the dogs.

Utterly childish and nonsensical. They shouldn't be allowed to be using animals in law enforcement to begin with. So much for facing your accuser...Officer Nibbles. Not to mention the outright abuse they put the dogs through in their training.

[flvegan]

45. That's quite the egotistical stance to take.

"I don't care."

How common.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

2. If cops got 23 years in prison for shooting family pets

I might think this penalty made more sense.

As it stands, this just goes to show that even (Edit: retired) police dogs are far more 'important' than civilian dogs.

[TBF]

4. I support the sentence for all dog killing. nt

[Downwinder]

25. When is the last time an officer was locked up for shooting a dog?

If a K9 is an officer then a family pet is a civilian.

[TBF]

34. Whatever - you can define things however

you want but my point is that all animal abuse should be severely punished. My opinion.

[JaneyVee]

5. WTF!

[Savannahmann]

6. Two police dogs died from heat exhaustion last year

That means that their partner, the human, the responsible one, failed to care for them. Were those officers charged with animal cruelty? or were they charged with killing a doggie cop? Nope. Not a one.

http://www.odmp.org/search/year?year=2013

The cop accidentally left the dog in the car after finishing the shift. So the officer never went, come here boy, and then noticed that the dog wasn't there? http://www.odmp.org/k9/1511-k9-spartacus

Eight police dogs died from heat exhaustion in 2012, why were there no charges against the cops who killed their own dogs? http://www.odmp.org/search/year?year=2012

Each of them should get some time, perhaps even 23 years right?

[deathrind]

31. /\ This

An incident like this happened where I live... it was the cop the dog was partnered with that left him in a car...but it was just a tragic accident...

23yrs is nowhere near proportional to the crime in fact it is cruel and unusual.

[hack89]

35. He got 23 years for committing a home break while armed with a gun

Not for killing a dog. Florida hammers anyone committing a felony while armed -which is good.

[Shrike47]

9. Ridiculously excessive sentence, especially for a juvenile.

He's a bad kid and committed bad crimes, but 23 years? No.

[get the red out]

10. Glad he got that much

After he serves his time, he is welcome to burn in hell so far as I'm concerned.

[grasswire]

11. cost of that incarceration: approximately $920,000

Taxpayers will be paying that. Money spent on incarceration is money removed from other public uses: schools, health programs, parks and recreation, road improvement and public works, etc.

Is this worth $920,000?

[hack89]

36. If you want to eliminate gun crime

Then you have to hammer people that commit felonies while armed. He broke into a home to steal stuff while carrying a gun - that is why he got 23 years.

[grasswire]

37. it would be cheaper to regulate guns

....doncha think?

Pretty hard to commit all those crimes with a knife or a baseball bat.

[hack89]

40. We should regulate drugs while we are at it

Think what that step alone would do for gang violence in Chicago. I wonder why we haven't tried that.

[WatermelonRat]

12. From what I heard, it wasn't so much for killing the dog, as for firing a weapon during a felony.

Discharging a firearm while committing a felony is a mandatory 20 year sentence in Florida.

[Takket]

15. Thanks for this info. The important facts like this often disappear in the emotion.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

19. Yup

It's like when FOX breathlessly announces "Student suspended for wearing American flag bandana!!!!!" and then you find out he was suspended for punching a teacher when asked to remove the bandana.

[freshwest]

24. It works, though, doesn't it. Still 20+ is stiff for a juvenile. Likely less with 'good time.'

[freshwest]

23. That's what I figured as well. 20 mandatory and 3 for the other charges.

[DRoseDARs]

42. Yes. Lazy headlines like this are idiotic. nt

[840high]

47. ty

[conservaphobe]

13. Some cops literally get away with murder,

but that doesn't mean I don't think this guy got what he deserved.

[hack89]

14. ".....burglary of a dwelling with a firearm " is a first degree felony in Florida

(2) Burglary is a felony of the first degree, punishable by imprisonment for a term of years not exceeding life imprisonment or as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, if, in the course of committing the offense, the offender:
(a) Makes an assault or battery upon any person; or
(b) Is or becomes armed within the dwelling, structure, or conveyance, with explosives or a dangerous weapon; or

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0800-0899/0810/Sections/0810.02.html

If you want to reduce gun crime, you have to hammer criminals that use guns. Not complicated.

[packman]

16. OK- now I agree

He got what he deserved. The dog is an emotional issue- it's the felony that did it.

[whistler162]

21. and the fact that he was already on

probation/release for another burglary and was wearing a GPS bracelet that showed his location at the time of the crime.

[hughee99]

26. Really? Wow. He should get an extra 2 years for just being that stupid. n/t

[whistler162]

38. Yup... at least according to this article...

"Prosecutors noted to the jury that Rosier confessed to breaking into the residence while wearing a GPS bracelet because of a previous burglary arrest. "

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/07/11/florida-teen-gets-23-years-in-prison-for-fatal-shooting-of-a-former-police-dog/

Some times you have to wonder why the charge of criminal stupidity is not on the books.

[whistler162]

20. Of course he wasn't sentenced for just

shooting the retired police dog. But, heck it made people look!

[Nye Bevan]

29. I guess "for committing multiple armed home invasions"

would not have attracted quite so much outrage.

[madinmaryland]

27. Michael Vick was involved in the killing of many dogs, and yet he served only two years.

[Nye Bevan]

30. How many armed home invasions did Vick perpetrate? (nt)

[TorchTheWitch]

33. not one minute of which was for animal cruelty

though what he did to those poor dogs was atrocious.

[dsc]

39. extremely misleading headline

He didn't get sentenced solely for shooting the dog, he got sentenced for the home invasion and for shooting the dog.

[DRoseDARs]

41. THANK you. nt

[davidpdx]

44. Yes, and misleading facts of the case as well

See #43. The newspaper article link was posted within the article given by the OP.

[davidpdx]

43. The source posted seems to twist the facts a bit

If you look at the original source posted within it, the news story gives the details of what happened

The charges were:

The end result: A guilty verdict on the felony counts of cruelty to animals with a firearm, burglary of a dwelling with a firearm and shooting into a building.

The charges were NOT based on the fact that it was a police dog, they were animal cruelty:

The animal cruelty charge against Rosier was not based on Drake's status as a retired police dog or Boody's work as a trooper, prosecutors said.

Also the judge was taking into account this, which wasn't mentioned above:

Arco asked Rosier's jury to consider his unforced confession and the GPS data linking Rosier to Boody's three-bedroom house on the 700 block of Quartz Terrace. Rosier was wearing the bracelet at the time as a condition of his arrest on another burglary charge.

While I agree 23 years is too steep, the way this is posted is a case of selective bias on both the source and posting of facts.

[Unmenacing Dennis]

46. I totally agree with your comments at the end!

DURec