(US/fl) Murder by Cop: Another Family's Canine Companion Shot

[Brennan Browne]

Miami-Dade Police Under Investigation For Shooting Family Dog (Video)

Posted: 05/16/2012 11:37 am Updated: 05/16/2012 11:38 am

Family pets are in danger of being killed by South Florida police, regardless of whether the canines are guarding a suspect's home, on a victim's property, or escaped from their owner's yard.
Tuesday night, Miami-Dade Police shot and killed Bosha, a female black Dutch Shepard outside a home in the 600 block of northwest 128th Court, reports WSVN7.
A neighbor had called police after the dog, which was hiding under a truck, started barking. The dog's owner told NBC Miami that Bosha had never been aggressive in the past 7 years.
Miami-Dade Police spokesman Roy Rutland said the shooting is under investigation.
Another family pet was gunned down last September when Miami-Dade police entered the backyard of house with an alarm going off even after neighbors warned them that Ozzy, a 140-pound Rottweiler, was in the back.
The neighbor reportedly told them, "'Be careful. It’s a big dog.'" Then he heard two shots fired. "They walked into the backyard with the guns in their hand. Then they ran from the backyard like they were scared or something."
According to NBC Miami, officers are instructed not to go into a backyard if they see a dog that could pose a threat to them.
In other cases, family dogs are shot and killed once they've begun attacking someone on the scene. In January, one cop raiding a growhouse was bitten on the leg by an attacking dog, which he shot and killed.
The year before, a suspect fleeing cops entered a backyard where the family pet bit his leg. Miami police officers, who were in pursuit of the suspect, shot the dog to avoid an attack on themselves, reports WSVN 7.


###


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/16/miami-dade-police-shoot-dog_n_1521203.html?ref=miami-crime