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Raw Story – by David EdwardsThe police chief in Racine, Wisconsin has promised an internal review after a bizarre neighborhood dispute ended with a SWAT team killing a family pet.
Resident Kim Polk told WITI that it all began when a neighborhood man’s dog had crapped in her yard on Saturday afternoon.
“His dog proceeded to soil my grass and I asked him you are going to pick that up because I don’t want that sitting on my grass,” Polk recalled.
She said that the man responded by kicking the dog poop into a pile of leaves she was raking, and then threatening her family’s dog with a bow and arrow.
When Polk’s husband went to talk to the man about the confrontation, she said that he came to the door armed.
“He closed the door and came back to the door with a machete in his hand, a very long machete so at that time my husband backed up off the property and I had my daughter call the police,” Polk explained.
Disturbing cell phone video posted to YouTube shows tactical officers taking cover behind an armored vehicle, when a small dog runs out of the suspect’s home. The dog appears to turn and head back to the home after spotting the armored vehicle, but officers quickly fire at least two shots and the dog falls to the ground.
“Oh my God!” a person watching from a nearby home can be heard screaming. “They shot the dog. You f*cking a**holes!”
In a statement to the Racine County Eye, Racine Police Chief Art Howell expressed his regret for the dog’s death.
“On a personal level, I am saddened over the loss of a domestic pet that more than likely, had no malice against anyone,” he said. “During this standoff, the dog owner threatened to use a body armor piercing crossbow to kill officers, and this subject threatened to use his dog as a weapon against officers as well. After several hours of dialogue with crisis negotiators, the barricaded subject ultimately made good on his threat to introduce the dog into the active standoff.”
“Officers, who for over three hours were focused on peacefully resolving this crisis through dialogue, were now forced to deal with the distraction and unpredictability of having the subject’s dog moving through the scene of this active encounter at a critical time.”
Howell added: “Additional review is in order; however, judgement relative to the actions taken should be reserved until the matter has been thoroughly reviewed and all facts are known and considered.”
A Facebook page titled “Justice 4 Angle” encouraged supporters of the dog to lodge complaints with the Racine Police Department.
Warning the following video contains graphic violence.
Again…when you read the headline you swear at the cops. But when you hear the entire story it’s usually some nut job A-hole not listening logically to police officers. All the guy had to do was come out of the house unarmed and talk to officers but he didn’t . He barricaded himself in the house for hours and threatened them with armor piercing arrows and swinging a machete. My advice to everyone is fence in your yard and put no trespassing signs up. Especially if you have a dog. The biggest threat to your life is screwed up neighbors that call the cops every time they are mad at you.
What exactly, pray tell, does polished boot leather taste like? Sounds like you could help me with that answer.
It was his small mutt that ran out and quickly turned away and THEN shot as it ran away?!
Make sure you vote tomorrow, too. That’ll fix violent trigger-happy tyrants.
“All the guy had to do was come out of the house unarmed and talk to officers but he didn’t ” and why pray tell me should he?
They pitch up with full combat team as though taking on ISIS, to “talk” to a guy who may or may not have a bow and arrow.
Well we know what you Americans did to the last lot who were armed with bows and arrows.
You are all so scared, that a dog the size of a large mouse causes you to vacate your bowels and then to slaughter the thing. I would be happy to take that on in full attack mode, did they try just shouting “Sit”? Or how about kneeling down and saying “Here fluffy”.
“Contemplate the mangled bodies of your countrymen, and then say ‘what should be the reward of such sacrifices?’ Bid us and our posterity bow the knee, supplicate the friendship and plough, and sow, and reap, to glut the avarice of the men who have let loose on us the dogs of war to riot in our blood and hunt us from the face of the earth? If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen!” — Samuel Adams
The world is truly screwed when this country is held up as the model to which we should all aspire.
Same shit, different day in Wisconsin. We have goons outfitted in combat ready gear patrolling streets in not so large metropolitan areas. Yes people, Wisconsin has been overtaken by police goons with guns and they will not hesitate to shoot you or your dog. It’s a sad state of affairs when they hypnotize every simpleton with unreasonable fear and then use that fear to plow under our constitutional rights for the sake of “keeping us safe.” And believe me, we have a lot of “simpletons” that suck up this fear based bullshit and allow these a$$holes to get away with anything. “Well, at least they’re keeping us safe.” What they should try sometime is dialing 911 and see how “safe” they feel after that!
If I ever see this type of thing go down I will not be screaming. My AR will.
A little over-kill for a guy with a bow & arrow and a yapping dog.
Send in the storm troopers !! Police State USA !!
The American police have became a sad, sad lot. When they need full body armor and a armored retreat vehicle. Just to walk or be safe on the American street. And then to shoot a dog I am sure after investigation it will be sugested they get more armor for there vehicle and selfs. But it does make good comidy to watch the American police in action.