https://www.yahoo.com/news/petition-demands-accountability-davenport-officer-215411337.html

The killing of dogs (and cats) by police is so common it has a name which I have used as the title of this essay.

There is no need for deep moral or ethical analysis here. Killing people’s pets is wrong, and the official murder of a pet is particularly wrong. There is virtually no chance this shooting was in any way justified, and what internal imaginings or hysteria prompted the shooting can only be guessed at.

I read all the comments. They are virtually unanimous in concluding that a police shooting of a pet will never result in any accountability on anybody’s part. And that is unfortunately true.

Shooting dogs was no big deal for most of American history. Animals were valueless. I bought a book on hunting from the 1950’s a few days ago. It said if you wanted to hunt bear, get an old horse take it out in the country, shoot it and gut it and it will attract bears. I do not believe that is current hunting advice.

It is not unusual for a family to have hundreds of dollars invested in a pet. The bizarrely casual nature of the police killing of pets is so out of touch with current culture, that it is hard to believe that nothing has been done about it. Have we arrived at a point where the miniscule chance of a family pet assaulting an officer calls for immediate gunfire?

Postmen, UPS drivers and other visitors do not routinely kill pets. Why do police officers?

There has been a recognition in police circles that things must change.

Here is a national training standard for police encounters with dogs. I wholeheartedly completely recommend it.

Click to access PF_Dogs_final_7.22.19.pdf