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Faith in police has been shaken
Friday, Mar 21 2008, 12:01 am
My faith in the Colusa Police Department is shaken after an officer entered my property and shot my dog.
On March 6, my Jack Russell, Rocky, got out of his pen after a gate was opened.
Rocky can be aggressive and protective of our property when family members are not present. I discovered his aggressive nature back in December of 2006 when Rocky escaped going after the postman. However, Rocky is far from a killer. After all he was a Jack Russell Terrier.
In this case the little guy chased after the garbage truck and bit the garbage man on the left calf as he attempted to collect the garbage from our property.
I hold myself fully responsible for my dog’s actions. The gate should have been locked. However, my dog’s behavior did not warrant him loosing his life.
The garbage man rightfully reported the dog to the police. An officer responded finding my dog in the alley behind my house. Rocky darted at and growled at the officer and then ran around the property returning to his pen.
The officer entered the pen area through a small gate with a narrow walk way.
The officer was met by Rocky barking, growling and approaching the officer in an aggressive manner.
When Rocky got within seven feet of the officer he drew his service pistol and shot Rocky.
Other measures should have been taken. Why didn’t the officer use a tazer gun or pepper spray? Why didn’t he kick or club the dog if it got to close? Why didn’t the officer back out of the gate? Why did the officer enter the property to begin with? Why did he put himself in harms way? Why was animal control not available?
If police officers are going to respond to calls in regards to animals why are they not trained to do so?
A lieutenant responded to the scene after Rocky was shot. They took my dog and left a card requesting we contact the police department. I was initially under the impression my dog was impounded. I discovered the following morning over the phone my dog had been shot.
With the loss of a family member you would think they would do more then leave a card. Rocky was the most intelligent, playful, obedient dog I have ever owned. I rescued him about 2 1/2 years ago. We miss him dearly already.
I’m concerned about this officer’s judgment if he feels the need to pull his service weapon on a little terrier.
Rocky will forever be remembered as my faithful friend not as a vicious attacker out to get anyone in uniform.
Ron Rector
Colusa
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Reader's comments
| Yes, I think we all can agree that it is hard to lose a pet. Often they become a member of a family. As a pet owner, it is essential though to take responsiblity for our pets. Does the owner not realize that his pet's behavior hasn't only exposed him to criminal liability but civil as well? The dog took a chunk out of a city employee! The city employee outta take a chunk out of the owner's pocket and sue. Back off the pd and embrace reality. |
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| Danny - Apr 09, 2008 10:29:31 PM | Remove Comment |
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| Hey BC your other perspective makes the Police Officer sound incompetent. Are you telling me that shutting the gate, waiting for animal control to show up and warning people to stay away from the area wouldn't be enough? Should an incompetent office have a gun? I have children and live near Mr. Rector. I do not want a gun fired anywhere near my home at any time unless its life threatening. The officer was not bitten. He entered the property to chase the dog, putting himself into the position to be bitten. The officer then shot the dog in its yard. The Officer is wrong. He should be reprimanded for drawing his weapon without needing to. I too blame the dog's owner, he is responsible. I would hate to have my children bitten at any time, but pulling a gun is not the right way to handle this occurance. The owner should be responsible for any fees to the city or medical attention to the garbage collector. But other remedies could have been taken. |
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| Sandra - Apr 01, 2008 12:09:49 PM | Remove Comment |
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| How many times should an officer allow an aggressive dog to bite him in the legal course of his job? Once? Twice? How many times? The answer is ZERO.
Additionally, the officer as a duty to protect others. The dog already bit someone else, and the officer was well within the law to enter private property to find the dog and prevent it from biting yet another victim.
From another perspective, suppose the officer stood on the curb waiting for animal control. Meanwhile suppose the dog got out again and bit another person. If that happened, people would be complaining that the officer just stood there watching and didn't do enough to stop the 2nd attack.
The officer shot the dog. Nobody won. Blame the dog's owner, he is responsible. I'm not sure which is more dangerous, an aggresive dog that bites, or the owner that keeps him. |
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| BC - Mar 31, 2008 10:59:00 AM | Remove Comment |
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| I agree with Harris. And,it doesn't sound like this officer stopped to think before he shot this dog. |
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| OMG - Mar 29, 2008 11:11:22 PM | Remove Comment |
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| My family has a small chihuahua dog who will bite, snap and chase any stranger that comes into our home and our yard. Our dog is never, ever in the front yard or on the street without a leash. It is our absolute responsibility to make certain he does not get out of the house or our back yard. I don't understand why Mr. Rector would not take more action in ensuring that his little terrier never got out to harm anyone. His letter above sounds as though it was not a big deal that his dog was loose in the alley behind his house.
I agree that the garbage person, mail person, meter reader, etc all should be able to do their jobs without fear, at least be warned of a dog with a sign on closed or locked gates. There is no reason why this dog should not have been under lockdown. No excuse.
The police officer should have never ever entered ones property. I can't believe he drew his gun to kill. Cops go years on the job and do not draw their guns when approaching a violent person. This officer sounds of a coward or something. Seriously, you pull out your gun and kill this small dog? There is something serously wrong with that. The officer should have simply closed the gate and called animal control to handle the matter.
Of course, there is always another side to the story. Mr. Rector should be worried about a potential law suit from the bite victim and the police officer should be evaluated of some sort, at least a slap on the hand for pulling his killing tool and shooting a small dog. |
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| WMS resident - Mar 29, 2008 09:52:40 PM | Remove Comment |
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| Aggressive, biting dogs have no place out of securely locked dog pens. Our public workers--garbage collectors, peace officers, letter carriers-- must not be bitten by dangerous animals as they do their work. This family's house is situated between two elementary schools where children pass by each day walking to school. This dog needed to be put to sleep. Don't blame the policeman, Ron Rector. |
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| Colusa Area Resident - Mar 29, 2008 07:12:42 AM | Remove Comment |
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| i belive that the police officer did take advantage of the situation at hand and used deadly force when not needed, because i cant come to belive that a terrior in his own house protecting it, was unsutabel for animal control to handle. The officer should have been informed by the report of the dog was agressive and taken the necessary percautions. |
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| Joe Cruz Martinez - Mar 28, 2008 02:17:07 PM | Remove Comment |
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| I bet these are'nt the answers ron was expecting to get back. I'm supprised legal action hasnt been taken yet, you deserve it Ron. |
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| mr - Mar 28, 2008 12:24:50 PM | Remove Comment |
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| Service people such as police,the postman and the garbage man should be able to perform their duties without the fear of a dog owner not locking up his known vicious dog. The dog
owner should get his pants sued off by the garbage man. |
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| Bob - Mar 27, 2008 09:42:40 PM | Remove Comment |
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| I do not feel that the officer had the right to draw his firearm to shoot this dog for any reason. This is why we have Animal Control in Colusa. The Officer should have called the appropriate people to deal with the problem, especially if the dog was chased back into his yard. The officer illegally entered private property without a warrant or just cause to deal with the matter how he saw fit. But I also feel that Ron knew he had an aggressive dog and did not take the appropriate measures to keep him on his property. This should have been dealt with by Animal Control and not with a gun in a residential neighborhood. Animal Control Officers are trained to catch animals with out killing them. This allows the proper people to deal with unresponsive pet owners in a safer manner than just pulling a weapon. What if this happens to someone |
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| chris - Mar 25, 2008 06:24:12 PM | Remove Comment |
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| This dog has had numerous occassions of being out and aggressive. Have any of you seen him? He is not a 5lb dog. He's more like a 30 or 35lb dog. He had bitten and chased several people. CPD is out there to protect the public and they did just fine. |
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| mp - Mar 25, 2008 07:25:37 AM | Remove Comment |
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| There are two issues here
When a dog bites someone should it be killed?
Do police officers have the right to ignore tresspassing laws at their own discretion?
NO to both. If the officer had not had not entered the owner's private property the dog would still be alive.
When a dog bites someone the owner is liable under some city or county ordinance which means fines which means money. Eventually the owner will comply with the rules.
What happens when the law enforcer breaks the law. Not much. The officer does NOT have the right to be judge and jury. But occasionally the bully resurrects and causes a problem.
If I had a choice to get bitten by a pit bull or a terrier I would definitely choose the terrier. Neither would I enter their territory, nor kick at them, and still expect them to be friendly to me. |
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| gail - Mar 24, 2008 03:52:49 PM | Remove Comment |
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| I am not at all surprised that a Colusa police officer did not think before he acted. Using deadly force on a public street. Sounds about right when the COPS are too incompentent to write their own warrants. |
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| lynndals - Mar 24, 2008 08:18:00 AM | Remove Comment |
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| legal action should be taken against dog owner. If a pitt-bull did the same thing as Ron's dog did, would Ron feel the same thing for pit-bull as he does for his dog? Probably not, a bite is a bite no matter what kind of dog it is. |
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| herb - Mar 23, 2008 12:31:52 PM | Remove Comment |
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| if the gate was secure in the first place then the dog would not have gotten out. If someone else's dog bit Ron's kid he would've wanted that dog put down. It's the irresponsible dog's owner that caused dog to get killed. Everyone is lucky that it was a small breed and not a bigger dog. Ron thinks that because his dog was small it isn't that big of deal. That dog should've been put down sooner. This is a combination of bad dog ownership and over agressive dog. |
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| cm - Mar 23, 2008 12:24:45 PM | Remove Comment |
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| I believe the owner of the dog referred to his "pet" as aggressive nunerous times throughout his letter, as well as having bit one person and chased others. Well done CPD! Keep up the good work. |
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| Buzz - Mar 22, 2008 08:50:03 PM | Remove Comment |
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| How terrible. The officer shot the dog on private property?
Animal Control should have responded NOT the CPD. The use of DEADLY force is unexcuseable. |
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| omg - Mar 22, 2008 01:23:22 PM | Remove Comment |
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| I do not feel the officer was correct in drawing a firearm, in a neighborhood, where children are present. There were children living at this home as well, that easily could have been home, and run out to save their dog. If this officer is so quick to draw his weapon on an animal, who next? |
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| Harris - Mar 22, 2008 10:19:22 AM | Remove Comment |
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| I feel the ofcr did the correct thing. The next victim could have been a child if the dog got out due to the gate being left unlocked. It seems this happened more than once, and once is enough. Thank you Colusa Police Department for keeping our neighborhoods safer for our children to play in. |
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| qbert - Mar 21, 2008 11:27:47 PM | Remove Comment |
