Michigan Couple Upset After Police Kill Dog In Their Own Yard
Police in Redford Township, Michigan, have come under fire after an officer shot and killed a dog while pursuing a suspect this weekend.
Bianca Alakson and Ryan Showalter said their 10-month-old Labrador/pit bull puppy, Rock, was fatally shot by an officer in the early hours of Sunday morning.\
Redford police confirmed that an officer was chasing a suspect on foot and ran through the backyard of the couple's home.
Alakson’s boyfriend was taken into custody for interfering with the investigation.
“You guys just shoot my dog?” the boyfriend recalled asking police. “They said, ‘No, you need to go in the house.’ Try to tell me I was resisting arrest. I was breaking down hysterically in the back seat of the cop car crying. I didn’t know what to do.”
The woman and her boyfriend told WDIV that their puppy, Rock, was not an aggressive animal
Several officers have lost their jobs over recent dog shootings.
Earlier this month, a Louisiana police officer who allegedly "fought back a smile" after shooting an affectionate dog in April, announced his resignation.
In April, a Texas sheriff's deputy was fired after he shot a dog that leapt off the back of its owner's truck.
"Shoot first, ask questions later is a dangerous way to conduct yourself as a police officer," the dog's owner, farmer Cole Middleton, told the New York Daily News. "A deadly weapon is your only way out? That thought alone is terrifying."
In March, an Oklahoma police officer, who shot a dog in the neck and killed it, faced intense criticism after he reportedly bragged about the incident. He allegedly said it was "awesome" how the dog's collar flew off its neck as the bullet struck.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/14/police-kill-dog-michigan_n_5323427.html
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