Salt Lake City police department clears officer who shot dog (I fucking knew it)

[bluestateguy]

Courtesy Justice for Geist Facebook page Geist
Salt Lake City police department clears officer who shot dog
Investigation » Dog owner says the cop entered his fenced back yard illegally, vows to continue the fight.

By Harry Stevens

| The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published Aug 01 2014 09:38 am • Last Updated Aug 01 2014 10:40 pm

The Salt Lake City Police Department said Friday that a police officer "acted within policy" when he shot a dog in its own fenced backyard last month during a search for a missing 3-year-old boy.

Officer Brett Olsen reasonably believed deadly force was necessary to protect himself from being killed or seriously injured by the dog, a Weimaraner named Geist, according to the police department.

The results of the department’s Internal Affairs investigation are similar to those released Friday by the independent Civilian Review Board, which exonerated Olsen for the complaint of excessive force the dog’s owner lodged against him.

The dog’s owner, Sean Kendall, maintains that Olsen entered his fenced back yard illegally and has vowed to pursue legal action against the department.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/58250381-78/olsen-police-kendall-department.html.csp

A dog was murdered on his own property, that a cop bust into, didn't attack anyone and is gunned down. All because police say there is a "missing child" that did not exist.

[flvegan]

1. I'll say it...Officer Brett Olsen is a fucking idiot.

He doesn't know dogs, nor breeds. Nor apparently the law, regardless of how inbred yahoos uphold something akin to it. He's too stupid to have anything to do with a badge.

[hfojvt]

18. I'm thinking he is more of a coward

but I don't know the breed either. Puny little old me has faced down a number of dogs, from Rottweilers to german shepards (okay mostly from a distance) to pitbulls (admittedly that one was on MY property instead of vice versa, which no doubt makes a difference, but one I came across while doing GOTV was on a chain, which I discovered was NOT attached to anything!)

Never was armed, but never had to be either. If I was armed, shooting would be a very last resort. But I wouldn't be wetting myself in panic, like "omigod, it's a big dog running at me".

For one thing, I know that my own dogs will snap and snarl like killers at anybody who walks past my yard (or my car), but in actual practice they are all bark.

[JJChambers]

2. A CIVILIAN review board cleared the cop

I'm thinking the owner is money grubbing at this point and probably misconstruing the facts of the case.

[bluestateguy]

3. Civilian review boards are a joke

They are always people with close ties to the police, or real "law and order" fanatics. In some cities, nobody realistically gets appointed to that board with out the police signing off on the appointment first. It may be off the record or behind closed doors, but the police see to it that only pro-police people get on those boards.

In other words you always get very establishmentarian type of people on these boards.

[4b5f940728b232b034e4]

4. Grubbing?

Why shouldn't they be paid for their damaged property?

[newfie11]

5. You think so

These animals are family members:
I hope they sue the police dept:
Read below!
A couple whose dog was shot and killed by Des Moines police after they confronted the barking animal will be awarded at least $51,000 in a settlement reached late last month.
Charles and Dierdre Wright filed a federal lawsuit against Des Moines police, claiming their civil rights were violated when officers shot Rosie, a Newfoundland, in November 2010. The couple claimed the three officers were intent on shooting the 115-pound dog soon after encountering the animal, according to court papers.
The officers had responded to a report of a loose dog in the Wrights’ Des Moines neighborhood, phoned in by a neighbor who was concerned that Rosie might get hurt. The Wrights were out of town at the time, and the 4-year-old dog somehow got out of their yard.
Over the course of about an hour, the officers twice used a Taser on Rosie, chased her for blocks and ultimately shot the dog four times with an assault rifle in a stranger’s backyard.
In their lawsuit, the Wrights described Rosie as a companion that “aided in their enjoyment of life, well-being, personal development and daily activities.”
The Wrights’ attorney, Adam Karp, said the $51,000 reward is the largest settlement reached in Washington state for an animal-related litigation case.
“I think it’s an exceptional award,” said Karp, a Bellingham attorney who specializes in animal cases.
Neither Charles nor Dierdre Wright could be reached Wednesday for comment.
In addition to the settlement, Karp said the couple also are seeking at least $90,000 in investigative and attorney fees from the city.
Attorney Shannon Ragonesi, of the Keating Bucklin & McCormack law firm, which is representing the city, could not be reached Wednesday for comment on the settlement.
A colleague at her firm declined to comment, stating that he didn’t know the facts of the case as well as she did.
Des Moines police investigated the shooting and concluded the officers’ actions were justified, Ragonesi said in November, when the lawsuit was filed.
Two other reviews of animal-control policies — one by an outside agency and the other by an ad hoc committee appointed by the Des Moines City Council — reached similar findings, save for a finding that the city needed guidelines for the use of Tasers on animals, Ragonesi had said.
No animal-control officers were on duty when the officers — identified as Michael Graddon, Dominic Arico and Sgt. Steve Wieland — responded to the Wrights’ neighborhood on Nov. 7, 2010. Much of the officers’ conversations that Sunday were captured on dashboard-camera audio obtained by the Wrights’ attorney through the state Public Disclosure Act.
At one point, an officer produced a catchpole with a loop on one end, used to snare small animals from a safe distance. But because of Rosie’s size, they questioned whether it would work — even if they could figure out how to operate it.
One of the officers then asked, “Once we get him, what are we gonna do with him?”
An officer suggested using a Taser on the dog. Another thought he might be able to “choke her out.”
The audio recording indicates the officers were talking about shooting Rosie within 10 minutes of arriving at the scene.
The animal eventually ran into the backyard of a home about four blocks away.
After the dog was shot once, one of the officers is heard shouting “Nice!”
The officer with the rifle fired three more times, according to the lawsuit and dash-camera video.
The Wrights returned home later that day unaware of what had happened to Rosie. They called friends and the police, looking for Rosie.
According to the lawsuit, Des Moines police only acknowledged they killed the dog after Charles Wright found a Taser dart on his lawn the next day and took it to the police station, seeking an explanation.
Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or [e-mail]. On Twitter @SeattleSullivan.

Information from Seattle Times archives is included in this report.

[Trillo]

7. Yes, perhaps not all, but many, perhaps most, pets are family members,

and are raised with love, both given to them, and reciprocated by them. I was just looking at my indoor-only cats, how a feral colony's kittens were brought inside and tamed by bottle feeding, and taught to trust humans. If cops were to come inside and shoot them, I'd feel so bad, not only for me, but I'd feel bad about having taught them that humans were good and could be trusted to love them, only for their last moments to realize that humans could not be trusted to love them.

With dogs, it is similar. While not everyone does this, many dogs are put through socialization and later obedience classes or training. They are also taught to love humans and other dogs. When they're in their backyards, usually alone, they will be protective of their area, it is the nature of dogs to do so, even when they've been through socialization and obedience training. Yes, they will bark, some breeds more than others. Again, here are animals who were raised with love, and taught that humans were okay, and in their last moments betrayed, murdered by humans. Imagine the horror they must feel in their last moments, and their confusion, "I thought humans loved me."

[newfie11]

8. +1

[Logical]

9. Really, you are back? n-t

[Logical]

10. Pretty sure JJChambers is a cop. n-t

[LeftyMom]

12. Ugh, you again?

[Trillo]

6. There are only two groups of people on the planet

Those with power, and those without it. Those with power cannot commit crimes no matter what they may do, and those without power get punished even when they commit no crimes.

[TransitJohn]

11. Was there ever any doubt?

When cops investigate cops, cops win. It ain't fucking rocket surgery.

[JJChambers]

13. Did you miss that it was a CIVILIAN review board?

Last edited Sun Aug 3, 2014, 10:25 PM - Edit history (2)

The results of the department’s Internal Affairs investigation are similar to those released Friday by the independent Civilian Review Board, which exonerated Olsen for the complaint of excessive force the dog’s owner lodged against him.

Added in the article bolded so that I don't get attacked again.

[JJChambers]

15. That was rude.

The results of the department’s Internal Affairs investigation are similar to those released Friday by the independent Civilian Review Board, which exonerated Olsen for the complaint of excessive force the dog’s owner lodged against him.

[TransitJohn]

16. I reflected the attitude you gave me back at you. eom

n/t

[JJChambers]

17. Where in my most did I call you names?