Oakland police shoot, kill arthritic family dog

[Kadie]

Oakland police shoot, kill arthritic family dog
Carolyn Jones, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, September 30, 2010

(09-30) 18:25 PDT OAKLAND -- Mary Kate Hallock arrived at her Oakland hills home after running errands Tuesday and found a blue note fluttering on her front door.

"Oakland police responded to your residence to investigate a burglar alarm," the handwritten note read. "While circling the rear perimeter, lab advanced on officers in a threatening manner before being shot and killed."

"Lab" was Gloria, an 11-year-old, arthritic yellow labrador Hallock's family had owned since she was a puppy. Oakland police shot Gloria three times with a 40-caliber Glock handgun in the family's backyard while responding to a false burglar alarm at the property. The dog, police said, growled and barked at them.

"I probably read that note 10 times," said Hallock, an Oakland preschool teacher, on Thursday. "I was incredulous. Gloria's never bit anyone. She's just a gentle old dog, a classic lab, always wagging her tail."

Oakland police defended the shooting as a necessary action

more...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/30/BA341FMDDO.DTL&tsp=1



Gloria, an 11-year-old Labrador Retriever, is seen in an photo at the Hallock family home in Oakland. Gloria was shot and killed on Tuesday by Oakland police who were responding to a burglar alarm at the house.
Photo: Courtesy of Mary Kate Hallock / Courtesy to The Chronicle


A note left by police describing how Gloria, an 11-year-old Labrador Retriever, was shot and killed is seen at the Hallack family home in Oakland on Thursday, September 30, 2010. The note is how the family discovered Gloria had been killed.
Photo: Laura Morton / Special to The Chronicle


:(

[undeterred]

1. No better than common thugs.

[Bluebear]

6. +

[SwampG8r]

59. i take umbrage

i work with those you might call "thugs"
as unsophisticated as they are or may seem their "code of honor" would not let one of them who participated in such an act of cowardice show his face in public.

[undeterred]

64. And how exactly is it you know who I might call thugs?!

:shrug:

[SwampG8r]

75. not you yourself

but most of america
i work in restaurants so we have a large number of societies outsiders in our trade
i was using the word you in the larger sense

[ooglymoogly]

69. Ha! I laugh at this funny joke. nt

[ooglymoogly]

70. Oakland is a fascist city.

What do these "America's finest" do when they are not shooting 84 year old dogs and innocent, unarmed black folks?

The disgust and sadness is overwhelming.

When the constabulary stops protecting us and begins oppressing us; that becomes fascism.

I hope, at least, the SPCA makes a stink. A lawsuit against the Police in Oakland courts is useless.

[jhrobbins]

111. well, I'm glad you understand it because I'm completely lost-seems like a misplaced post

from another page.

[joeybee12]

65. +1000...labs are the most gentle dogs...these cops are thugs...n/t

[CBR]

2. ...

:cry:

[madmax]

3. This is one hell of a miserable day.

Too much death, too much insanity, meaness, cruelty. :cry:

[Bluebear]

4. Well, the dog BARKED! And GROWLED! In her own fucking FENCED YARD!!!!

Barbarians.

[REP]

41. Don't you know she was a METH Lab?

Brave cops.
:sarcasm:

[Aaria]

67. That was her job wasn't it?

[hatrack]

5. Gloria was doubtless reaching for a Milk-Bone, or something similarly menacing

After all, we weren't there, so how can we possibly judge the horror and menace radiating from an arthritic gray-muzzled Labrador as it (shockingly) growled and barked at police!

This is just beyond puke-inducing.

[democrank]

7. I want to cry

[jillan]

22. Me too!

assholes!

[bullwinkle428]

8. Disgraceful.

[harvey007]

9. A sick abuse of power

Fire the person responsible for this crime.

[Bonobo]

10. Fucking liars. Labs do not act that way.

We had a black lab for 15 years. Looked just like that one. They don't act that way. Liars.

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[virgogal]

18. Aw,come on.

[mitchum]

27. What? They are terrible sounding instruments. Pure torture.

[qanda]

12. That note is about the coldest thing I've seen in a while

Obviously, the author knows nothing of owning and loving a family pet. Just sick!

[jhrobbins]

112. Our pets are mine and my partner's children-don't know exactly what I would do.

[rurallib]

13. death seems to be a regular outcome when dealing with the Oakland police.

[pscot]

23. Seattle cops are just as trigger happy

It's sickening.

[Canuckistanian]

29. Is there any agency you could apply to

To protect yourself from the police? A restraining order, maybe?

[Terra Alta]

14. This is horrible.

It's just so heartbreaking.. I hope the owners sue the hell out of the Oakland PD. The dog was only doing what she was supposed to do -- barking at strangers coming on the property. And why the hell was she shot THREE times??? This is outrageous.

[stray cat]

15. If it were a pit bull some would still think the police had no right to defend themselves

It's not like police are human....

[northernlights]

20. Gloria was not attacking them

there was nothing to defend against.

Even the fucking shit note they left says she "barked" and "growled."

Fucktard murderous bastards. Better to live without a fucking burglar alarm. Burglars would have bought her off with some food and left her alone.

[a la izquierda]

30. Burglars probably would have passed the house by.

Instead the dog is dead because of fucking trigger happy cops (disclaimer: my brother-in-law and cousin are cops, but I'm tired as shit of this abuse of power).

[Name removed]

28. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[smokey nj]

31. This is perhaps one of the dumbest things I've ever read here on DU.

[Name removed]

106. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[SammyWinstonJack]

110. +1

:thumbsup:

[Omar4Dems]

109. Agreed...it's a classic strawman.

[tblue37]

119. +1,000,000 nt

[Name removed]

36. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[G_j]

37. of course you know that has nothing to do with this story

but don't let that stop you from making callous, stupid statements

[Dappleganger]

45. Welcome

to the iggy list. Animal haters. :spank:

[LiberalAndProud]

48. The dog was not running the neighborhood unattended.

The family pet was in the family's fenced yard. If the police had cause to be on the property, fine. Even so, they have no right to kill an animal on private property even if it displayed agressive behavior. At best, they destroyed personal property. At worst they killed a member of the family.

No. This is simply not alright.

[Bluebear]

60. Oh shut up. That's the best way I can say it.

[Bluebear]

61. Oh shut up. That's the best way I can say it.

Dupe but mean it the second time too.

[Robeson]

62. O.K., I'll just ask: Are you a progressive? A democrat?...

...do you have empathy towards others or anything? Do you have sympathy towards others or anything? If so, I've never seen it in any of your posts.

[truebrit71]

86. "defend themselves" from an arthritic Labrador? Please take your apologist shit elsewhere...

..because the trigger-happy fucking cowards that killed this family member should be terminated..

Even if the pigs' story about growling and barking are to be believed, that means the dog was doing it's job...

[w4rma]

95. The pit bull would have been inside the fenced yard just as this lab was. (nt)

[pecwae]

98. Idiotic statement,

but thanks for posting it so I know who to put on Ignore.

[frylock]

105. it wasn't a pitbull..

try and keep up.

[Skip Intro]

123. Agreed. This is a sad story. I hope they had a good reason to shoot the poor dog.

But you are correct. And dogs do pose a threat to police. Not that there aren't bad cops, of course there are, as there is corruption within any establishment. But I don't for a second believe what seems to be assumed by many here, that cops by and large are armed thugs out to kill something. The cops in question here were responding to a burglary/alarm situation. I'm thankful that we have people who willingly walk into dangerous situations to uphold the law.

[Luciferous]

16. Poor dog. I hope the person responsible for killing her is fired.

[northernlights]

17. disgusting.

rip Gloria. I'm hugging my boys for you right now.

:cry: :cry: :cry:

[Dead_Parrot]

19. Fuckers. nt

[hendo]

21. Maybe someone should post Sgt Brandwood's phone number on 4chan. ;) NT

[j420norcal]

24. Thanks for leaving SGT. Brandwood's number in the pic

I seriously mean that.

I think I'll give him a call later, at least just to inform this "Shoot first, ask questions later" public pay-rolled, yahoo that it's spelled MANNER and not MANOR.

Look, I delivered flowers for 2.5 years when I was in school in which time I encountered dozens of pooches who were angry and did not want me in their territory. I survived unharmed and so did the dogs, and I always made the delivery.

Surely a lowly (unarmed) flower delivery guy isn't more capable of handling a situation like this than a highly trained Police officer, are they? Seems to me someone really wanted to shoot something and was not in the mood to go home disappointed.

[Withywindle]

46. Seriously.

Anyone who's ever done delivery work, any kind of neighborhood canvassing, census taking, mail or package services, hell, even religious proselytizers, trick or treaters, and those guys who leave the restaurant menus on doorsteps have encountered dogs. And the dogs might be doing what dogs are supposed to do--defending their territory and their people.

Miraculously, perhaps, all these unarmed, untrained people manage to survive the encounter and so do the dogs.

But oh, those big, tough, well-trained, well-armed cops just HAVE to shoot harmless pets to defend themselves. :puke:

These kinds of stories just enrage me, and it's the callousness involved that just makes my skin crawl right off my body.

[tblue37]

120. They do it because they LIKE to. nt

[OverBurn]

25. And they wonder why we sometimes call them pigs............

[Mimosa]

26. Sad. Brutal. Vicious. Stupid.

And Officer Brandwood cannot spell.

[ScreamingMeemie]

33. You beat me to it. I was just wondering how a dog advances like

a threatening large house.

[Pavulon]

32. This does not happen in the country..

just saying where I live killing a man's dog is a felony.

[madrchsod]

34. 3 40cal in to an eleven yr old dog? fucking murderers

[a la izquierda]

35. if i had a burglar alarm...

these dumb-ass cops probably would have shot my 4 fucking pound chihuahua and my 15 pound rat terrier. why? because they bark like little maniacs. they're not going to bite, but like all small dogs, they get weirded out by strange people.
fucking AACKKKKK! god dammit, i can't deal with this shit anymore. i feel so sorry for this poor family and their beloved pooch. a pox on those stupid, cowardly cops.

[Mike Marble]

38. This happens every day somewhere in this country.

I run a Google news alert for Officer-shoots OR officer-kills OR deputy-shoots OR deputy-kills for my job, and I'm telling you, cops are shooting dogs every day. Sometimes with reason, sometimes, not so much.

[TBF]

39. They could take a lesson from our dry cleaner -

she delivers the shirts twice a week, and every time with a milkbone attached to the bag. She came by to introduce herself when I started using the service and as a dog lover (and smart lady) she always wants to meet the pet of the house and make friends when someone is added to her route. My lab goes wagging to the door whenever he sees her van.

What a completely heartbreaking story. I'm so sad for that family, so senseless.

[KurtNYC]

73. I socialize my dogs to cops in uniform

I want every cop in this city to meet my dogs. And I want them calm in the presence of police so there will be no excuse if god forbid...

[AtomicKitten]

40. goddamn it -- that can never be made right

:cry:

[lonestarnot]

42. Fucking pigs. Scared rat bastards.

[mulsh]

43. It usually takes OPD 2 1/2 -3 housr to respond to an alarm.

At least in the Glenview neighborhood where I live. This only happens if they respond to an alarm. I was lucky the one time the cops showed up 2 1'2 hours after my house was broken in to. According to my neighbors who were home at the time 5 cop cars showed up. I got a form letter about a month later. NO other follow up.
Other people in my neighborhood never even got one cop after a break in.

The only time I have ever seen OPD move quickly in the past 10 years is someone reported a person with a gun. otherwise in most neighborhoods you're very lucky to ever see a cop.

These officer must really be trigger happy. That street is in a nice part of the hills. Not much crime up there. My condolences to the family.

[Dappleganger]

44. Bastards! My lab always barks when a stranger comes.

That's her fucking job. Then if you speak sweetly to her and hold out your hand, she'll bring you her ball to play.

[EFerrari]

47. motherfuckers

[Withywindle]

49. The fact that it was a false alarm is just the cherry on top of the sundae of cruelty.

It'd be one thing if the dog had been killed in a scuffle with burglars, or cops and burglars. Still tragic, but there'd be a little consolation to it.

False alarm? That means it was totally random and could happen to anyone at any time. "We killed your dog for no good reason. Just thought you should know. Didn't think it was important enough to call you, so we just left a note, like we would if we'd just dented your car in a parking lot."

:cry:

[KamaAina]

89. Ironically, Gloria herself may have tripped the alarm when the left the house

:P

[The Backlash Cometh]

50. I don't trust police.

I use to walk my dog to a nearby convenience store, tied her to a post before going in for a quick soda. She usually whined the second I was out of sight (I think she was previously abandoned) so I would wait until there was no customers at the cashier counter before running in for a quick purchase. My dog is an extremely friendly dog. She's a barker in the house, but outside she loves everyone. So when a cop asked if he could watch her while I was inside I said, sure. When I came out he said that he had growled at him. My dog would never growl. Especially not in that situation, leaving her with someone to distract her while I was gone. It's a small town and I have no doubt the police knew who I was. It was being harassed, plain and simple. I simply said, no, she may have whined, but she doesn't growl and I took the leash and left.

A few weeks later I tried to take her for another walk to the convenience store and I walked past the same two cops on motorcycles waiting along a side street, obviously there to catch speeders. I saw the cop look at me, then he looked at his partner, nudged his head and they left up the street in the direction of the convenience store. I just turned around and came home. I guess the terrorist won because I never walked my dog to the convenience store again.

[ScreamingMeemie]

51. The deputy sheriffs and the constables in my neighborhood never travel

without a box of milkbones on them. Turns those "vicious animals" into tale wagging happy boys and girls whenever they see them.

[proteus_lives]

56. That should be standard procedure across the nation.

[Iggo]

52. Yay, Cops!

They're the best!

[TwilightGardener]

53. Oh heavens, a dog growling and barking at strangers in her yard!!

I hope the family sues.

[Lugnut]

54. Sons-of-bitches!

They're nothing more than legalized gangs. WTF?

[Dr Morbius]

55. Boo! Hiss!

What a shame.

[Incitatus]

57. There's too many pigs who can never miss a chance to use their gun or taser.

A dog barked! I have to shoot it. A pregnant woman is talking back to me! I have to tase her.

[mackerel]

58. Wow there hard boys aren't they?

Scared of an old yellow lab.

[truth2power]

78. Hard boys? I expect that pig got himself a woody after he shot that dog. eom

[Robeson]

63. This is a sick society we live in folks. The fact this mindset exists in some of our "finest"...

...really says how dysfunctional our society is. What's left to say?

[Jeffersons Ghost]

66. K&R

[Stinky The Clown]

68. May the shooters and enablers find their afterlife an eternity keeping the meadow at Rainbow Bridge

feces free.

[ooglymoogly]

71. After reading this, I hold my dog especially close this day.

The dusgust for these murderers is just too overwhelming. My profound condolences to Mary Kate Hallock knowing full well the profound sadness for the loss of an old friend and family member.

[cbdo2007]

72. I have family members in LE who say dogs are shot every single day...

during just routine house calls because they are loud and scary looking. They literally have the right to shoot any dog for any reason.

[old mark]

80. We should have the right to shoot back. Fuck all cops everywhere.

Lazy fucking thugs on steroids.


mark

[MajorChode]

83. I wouldn't go so far as to say for any reason

They have the right to shoot a dog if they think they or someone else might get bitten and they can and should err on the side of caution in that regard. Other than that, I don't see a reason.

The other side to that coin is I don't think anyone here really knows what happened. Just because the dog is a lab or any other breed means next to nothing. You can't make a blanket statement for all dogs within a breed. Some may be similar, all are different. Just because the dog is old or is arthritic means next to nothing. I have a 17 yr old dog who is arthritic, but when a stranger comes over, you would never know it. She has never bitten anyone, but she does bark and growl and she could possibly fool someone. Almost without exception, dogs will act to protect their territory. And even if they won't bite, they certainly can convince someone otherwise. That's their job. That's what they do. Most owners will tell you their dog will never bite anyone, but the reality is a shitload of people get bitten every year.

[cbdo2007]

85. Well....from what I've heard, they tend to "err on the side of caution" too quickly

and kill the dog first and ask questions later.

My dog is about the scariest dog you've ever seen. She's build like a freaking truck, 90 pounds, big ass teeth and when someone comes to the door she jumps up against the window like she's going to kill them...but she really wouldn't kill or even bite anyone, she's a sweetheart. Like you say, she's just protecting her territory and once we approve of the person and let them in, she's ok. I just worry about anytime if a cop has to come in and they are scared of her :( I'll just have to cross my fingers.

Seems like this would be a perfect opportunity for them to use a taser though rather than a gun.

[MajorChode]

87. And that certainly may be what happened here

But remember that neither of us are in their shoes. Dogs do bite cops. Some are hospitalized, and some of those have severe injuries. The cost of that is very high. I suspect many (if not most) police departments train their officers to shoot (or taser as you suggest) a dog if they have any reason to suspect they may be bitten. It's also very possible the police officer in question may have acted exactly as he has been ordered to act.

[CreekDog]

115. there was no burglary!

the cop inserted himself into a situation where nothing but a malfunctioning alarm was going on.

alarms go off by mistake all the time, the City of Fremont (one of the safest in the nation) stopped responding to them because false alarms are so common.

the cop could've waited for a burglar to come out of the house --or checked from the outside to see if there was one. that would've been safer than going into a house and possibly confronting one.

maybe the cop would've gone into the house and shot a resident.

[MajorChode]

124. Hindsight is always 20/20

If the cop didn't have to respond, he probably wouldn't have. It's common for municipalities to stop responding to alarms after a false one has been registered. I find it hard to believe that they don't respond to any of them, but perhaps this is so. The cop could have done a lot of things, but I'm not sure the ones you suggest were an option. How long must they wait for a possible thief to come out? Most police departments establish policies that require them to respond to such calls in the least amount of time required. False alarms are very common, so I doubt if they can afford to waste much time on each one.

[CreekDog]

125. you start shooting before you even spot anybody inside?

that makes no sense.

tell you what, if you are correct, i'm never calling the police ever again.

got it?

and if it's so justifiable, why did the police department apologize?

[DirkGently]

113. Yeah, what about that? They don't have Mace? Tasers? Why have them, if every barking dog gets shot

anyway?

[CreekDog]

114. if that's true, then most of us will not call the police when maybe we should

because we don't know if they'll come in and shoot our dogs or grandmothers.

if they arrive and make a situation worse, then i don't want them there.

hope that makes them happy.

[ooglymoogly]

127. If the police around the country want to bring hate

and loathing upon themselves, this is the way to do it.

[gordianot]

74. My son who is a Deputy learned early how to avoid this tragedy.

He keeps a dog biscuit in his car as an offering to protective dogs. So far it has always worked, he has distributed several biscuits with success.

[smiley]

93. +1

you should tell your son to pass this on to his fraternity.

[gordianot]

102. They told him and even bought the dog biscuits.

[mod mom]

76. :( so sad.

[truth2power]

77. Effing worthless cop thugs!!! What the goddamn hell did they think??...

"The dog, police said, growled and barked at them."

She was protecting her territory. What did they expect? Just about any dog will growl, bark and possibley attack a stranger who trespasses onto their property.

Tazing old ladies and children, shooting people's dogs at the slightest provocation, i.e., that cop-thug who killed that guy's dog at the county fair (I can't remember wheere; it was posted here on DU, but I do remember his obese ass on that dog's neck).

I hate cops more every day. Flame away!

[asdjrocky]

79. Cowardly pig. nt

[flvegan]

81. What I want to say here, I can't. I don't want it ever read back to me in court.

So I'll just shut up.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

82. I hope that whoever did the shooting is fired! He/she needs to be.!

[CanonRay]

84. Simply indefensable

and I'm ex law enforcement.

[whathehell]

88. Wow......These fucking cowards have no business being cops.

If they do this to old dogs behind fences, What will they do with with unfenced "growling" people.

This sucks.

[KamaAina]

90. Oakland just laid off 70 cops

any one of whom would be more than happy to take Sgt. Brandwood's job after OPD cans his sorry ass. :grr: :banghead:

[earth mom]

91. I could understand if it was a Pit Bull, but a Lab? WTF?!

I hope the owner of that dog sues that police officer's ass off! :grr:

[flvegan]

99. Really? Why?

An arthritic 11 year old pit bull that barks is a justified shooting?

Thank the fucking heavens you don't live near me.

[tblue37]

121. Pit bulls are not demons in disguise. I know many sweet family pets

who happen to be pit bulls. Their families would be devastated, too, if their friends were murdered by trigger-happy scaredy cat cops.

[KamaAina]

92. Well, it's not like they get to shoot at a deer every day, you know

http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-05-05/bay-area/20884892_1_deer-oakland-housing-authority-officers

The incident began when two Oakland Housing Authority officers spotted the deer running on the 8700 block of Birch Street about 10:30 a.m., said housing authority spokesman Marcus Walton. The officers saw the deer running into the carport on 90th Avenue behind a home belonging to Kim McElmore. The animal then jumped a fence and ended up in Brian Campbell's backyard....

But sources said that before a state game warden could arrive, Oakland police Sgt. Terrance West ordered another officer to kill the deer. The officer, whose name was not released, fired several shots, but the deer did not die immediately, so he fired several more shots, Weems said. A total of six or seven shots were fired but it was not known how many hit the deer....

In general, Oakland officers are allowed to kill animals that are injured or pose threats to public safety, said Officer Holly Joshi, a department spokeswoman. Witnesses said the deer did not appear to be hurt and posed no threat.

"Public safety (threat) to whom? Because it's back here in the corner?" McElmore, 38, asked, pointing to where the animal was killed.

:wtf:

[glinda]

94. This is it! There have been way too many of these. Gun happy idiots.

[cbdo2007]

96. Anyone know why they shoot dogs rather than just taser them?

[j420norcal]

97. Because they can N/T

[Ikonoklast]

103. Because they WANT to.

There are other ways to deal with a situation such as this, but if you are predisposed towards violence, that's the solution you choose.

[flvegan]

100. Or pepper spray?

[yurbud]

101. the worst I'd ever fear from a dog like that is getting slobbered and shed on.

maybe those cops were neat freaks.

[frylock]

104. if these cops are so shit-your-pants scared of a lab..

they're probably not qualified for the job. what was it that NWA once said? oh yeh; FUCK THA POLICE.

[Omar4Dems]

107. "...threatening manor..."?

(Quote from the police note)

Yeah, that guy's a real Einstein. :eyes:

[KinMd]

108. If it was MY dog

they'd need to cue the bag pipes, and the black ribbons for their badges

[Pool Hall Ace]

116. These Keystone Kops were so brave

to bust a cap in an "advancing" 11-year-old dog with hip dysplasia. That is the equivalent of, what, a 77-year-old human? :eyes:

You really can't trust the police to be there for you, can you? I have no use for trigger-happy twits like these to be on patrol.

My heart goes out to the Hallock family. R.I.P., Gloria. :cry:

[1620rock]

117. Cops just want to kill somebody or something.

They are common thugs who fancy themselves as some kind of all powerful entity.

Taze em' shoot em, club em, beat em, fuck em. Yeah, they protect and serve alright.

[tblue37]

118. I think some kill the dogs because they are such scaredy cats that they shoot anything.

But I think some are thrilled to get a chance to shoot something, anything, so they will make up whatever excuse they think will let them get away with it.

Poor, sweet old family friend. I would be devastated to los one of my pets that way. I don't think I would ever get over it!

[Dawson Leery]

122. Again, why I never give one cent to assist police

and their "benevolence" bull nonsense.
Overpaid as they are.

[zentrum]

126. Same department shot trapped fawn

.....in the last year. Remember how an Oakland Police officer was called to help a baby deer trapped in an Oakland Hills back yard and he shot the frightened, harmless animal dead? Big outcry at the time but I don't know the outcome.

The headline read: Officer shoots Bambi.