Court Rules Police Officers Can Legally Execute Your Dog if It Does Anything But Sit Silently

by pawbuzz on in Dogs 701

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit concluded Monday that police officers are justified in killing citizens pets; even if those animals are not attacking or attempting to attack them.

Judges MOORE and CLAY (Circuit Judges), and HOOD (District Judge) heard an appeal from the plaintiffs Mark and Cheryl Brown, of Battle Creek, Michigan.

The Browns filed a lawsuit against the BATTLE CREEK Police Department; the City of Battle Creek, and police officers Jeffrey Case, Christof Klein, and Damon Young; for the death of their beloved dogs at the hands of sadistic cops.

The incident occurred on April 17th, 2013, when police were attempting to execute a search warrant on the home where the Browns were living because a police informant reported another man, Vincent Jones was distributing heroin, cocaine, and marijuana from the residence.

Jones was apprehended before police arrived on the scene.

Mark Brown, who was not a suspect in the search; had gone home on his lunch break to let out his two pit bulls. After doing so, he locked the door and headed back to work when police arrived and detained him.

He told them he had a key, and that they didn’t need to destroy the front door to gain entry into the home. But destroy it they did.

The Browns dispute the claims by police that the dogs were barking.

Mark Brown even testified the smaller of the two dogs had “never barked a day in her life.” Officer Klein said the larger dog was barking and “lunged” at him, but later admitted the pet “had only moved a few inches.”

Despite there being no attack, Klein fired a round at the dog. Both dogs ran away from the officers to the basement, obviously fleeing in fear.

There, the two dogs were shot and killed by the officers who felt that they could not properly clear the room and effectively execute the search warrant on the home, explaining they “did not feel [the officers] could safely clear the basement with those dogs down there.”

Going further, the officers stated the “basement was loaded.

You’ve gotta look under beds, you’ve gotta do everything, and [the dogs] basically prevented us from doing that, and they were protecting that basement.” Klein testified the smaller pit bull was “just standing there” when it was shot and killed.

In spite of these sadistic admissions, the appellate court ruled in favor of the officers; the police department, and the other defendants. They agreed with the lower court ruling that the police officers were covered under “doctrine of qualified immunity”; and were therefore not liable for compensating the plaintiffs in the case.

SEE ALSO: A police dog was shot while chasing a suspect — now his partner sees him again

The precedent has now been set. Cops can legally kill your dogs for the sole act of being a dog. If your dog moves, it is dead, if he barks, it is dead. If your dog does anything but sit silently in the other room, it is dead.

However, as the above case illustrates, even if they are silent in the other room, police can still kill them; just to make their search for arbitrary substances deemed illegal by the state — that much easier.



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701 thoughts on “Court Rules Police Officers Can Legally Execute Your Dog if It Does Anything But Sit Silently”

  3. Ron Fleming

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    I find it very sad that in America some police forces are training officers how to deal with dogs that are loose on a person’s property and then the justice system turns around and makes it easier for police to kill dogs on private property

  6. Stephen Silvia

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    One time I got pulled over on an interstate in Virginia . As the cop approached I called out . Officer , I have a dog up here with me . He drew his gun and shoved it in the window and said ” I will not hesitate to shoot your dog ” . I said to him … the dog is 16 years old , is blind , and has dementia . But he will bark at you . I just didn’t want you to take the barking as aggressive . He kept his gun on us even after i told him that and even after he saw with his own eyes that my 16 year old Boston Terrier ( thats right a Boston Terrier , all 18 lbs of him ) was lost in his own little demented world and not even close to being a threat .

  10. Blake Klomfas

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    Michelle Dupras Michaud This case was a criminal case. First Responders are trying to save human lives. If that was your job you’d want to be protected as well. People don’t have time to play good dog or bad dog when seconds can mean a saved human life.

  40. Jamie Lawson

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    Most people consider their pets family, this only endangers the life of the police officer because many will not sit idly by and let someone come in to their home and murder for no reason. If they have proof that there are drug dealing, smuggling, harboring illegals or other illegal activities, they may be justified, but as we have seen over the years, the police are not the most reliable when it comes to raiding the right homes.

  46. Renee Thornton Schellen

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    Ask me to restrain my dogs, I can and will do that. These cops were trigger happy and no excuse changes that. The dogs had fled from them…they were then stalked and killed! Stop trying to justify a trigger happy cops actions with “drug” scare tactics! I have several family members in law enforcement and several times they’ve been involved in searches, but they NEVER shot a dog! They’ve asked owners to confine or restrain. That’s what intelligent people do!

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