Whether they were having a 50 Shades of Grey moment, or the husband was abusing her, the facts are she screamed out the window asking for help, the cops arrived, and the dog made a run at the cop. It was a good shoot. Thankfully neither civilian was shot in the process.

I agree, Bodhipooh. And I say that as a pit owner and an animal lover. I'm sure if a police officer busted down my door, my dog would lunge at him, and she might even be a real threat. I'm not sure, and hopefully I'll never have to find out. But I'm not sure what else an officer can do in that situation. I also agree with dtjcview that it seems police response is rather one-dimensional, but I really don't know what else they can do when a dog is lunging at them. They could be maimed or killed in a matter of seconds. If she was really crying out for help and that's what caused the officer to break down the door, then I can't fault him.
The really sad part, if this was an abusive situation, is the dog probably WAS trying to protect her.

It's the police officer's training and frankly only option:
- dangerous dog - dead
- mentally ill guy - dead
- any perceived threat - dead

I don't have a problem with the officer - just the Dirty Harry/ Peacemaker-style training.

Quote:

This. As fat-ass-bike points out, there would have been quite a bit of time between the time she started screaming, the time someone called the police and the time an officer showed up.

Also, this will likely get me flamed, but I give the officer a pass on this one. Nobody wants to see an innocent animal shot to death, but in the heat of the moment, as the officer responded to a distress call (or, to the cries/pleas for help from this woman) he had to break through that door and was (apparently) faced with a menacing dog that lunged at him. In that moment, I can see the officer having to make a split second decision: protect myself, so I can then carry out my mission, or roll the dice. That poor dog was, essentially, collateral damage of a sad situation. But, like I said, I can't fault the officer.

Sounds like an abusive situation to me. She is just covering for the husband now, seemingly out of fear.

Quote:

What a load of crap from the wife / dog owner - It all doesn't make sense.

Someone called the cops and heard the cries for help and then she states she could have controlled the dog ... then why didn't she, instead of crying out ?

The woman is full of inconsistencies and it would have been some time before the cops came and when she stated yelling

Terrence T. McDonald | The Jersey Journal

Prosecutors are investigating the fatal shooting of a dog by a cop who was responding to a woman's cry for help in the city's Greenville Bayside Park section last night.

Officers arrived at a Garfield Avenue apartment building, located across from Bayside Park, just after 9 p.m. yesterday on a report of a woman screaming for help inside, according to Hudson County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Gene Rubino.

Neighbors told The Jersey Journal that police broke down the door of a second-floor apartment to get inside and, according to Rubino, that's when a pit bull inside the apartment lunged at an officer. The cop shot and killed the dog, Rubino said.

Rubino wouldn't say how many rounds were fired, but a neighbor told The Jersey Journal she heard three shots.

Story