Dogs Shot By Police In Kenwick, One Dead

[GeckoTree]

Exactly. Although I would go a little further and say that any time the police use a dog for the purpose of intimidating, chasing, or attacking a suspect, it is obviously their own fault when the dog sustains injuries. They are the ones putting the dog in danger, they deploy the dog because they deem the situation too dangerous for themselves.

As I have said before, a police officer is compelled to abide by arrest guidelines and a duty of care, the dog understands none of that. If the police sic their dog on someone, anyone, but especially a dangerous suspect, it does not take a genius to work out that the suspect is likely to try and defend him or herself, therefore the police in these cases have wilfully endangered the dog. Defending oneself against an attacking dog might be amal cruelty by the strict definition of cruelty, but is also self defence.

That's not to say I am opposed to the use of police dogs, I'm not, but I am opposed to people suggesting that the police are blameless when the dogs are inevitably injured. As for this particular case, as others have pointed out, if the police were aware that the suspect had large dogs loose on the property yet still chose to attempt to use the K9 they either have a frightful lack of common sense for people in their position or they wilfully endangered their dog.

I am aware that the police have strict guidelines which must be followed and they have a duty of care to adhere to but unfortunately the badies don't always follow these guidelines they do anything and everything they can not to get caught, making the life hell for our police officers. It is a life often filled with instant decisions made under duress, then they are put through the wringer when things are over.

The police officers love their dogs just like you and I do ours. They don't like putting them in situations of great danger but if it came down to a human life versus a dogs life I know who's life would be lost.

A police dog to be bred to work and unfortunately their job is to protect their handler and the public at all costs even if the causes injury or death.

I think it's time we gave our police force some support instead of critising every little thing they do.

Oh yeah like the 8 year old kid who got chewed up big time in Ipswich by the police dog last year, shit happens ay the police new kids were around in that situation, failed to secure the raid and they got in the shit for it rightly so. I might say probably because someone else had the gumption to photo evidence it.

It doesnt matter if the people are deadbeats.

Police officers, not the dog, and dogs are not sworn in officers ffs not in this country, have the intellect to judge situations of potential harm, they get tax payer funded training in it.

I would love to see the police enquiry conducted by the police

[BC4ME]

A police dog to be bred to work and unfortunately their job is to protect their handler and the public at all costs even if the causes injury or death.

I think it's time we gave our police force some support instead of critising every little thing they do.

Oh yeah like the 8 year old kid who got chewed up big time in Ipswich by the police dog last year, shit happens ay the police new kids were around in that situation, failed to secure the raid and they got in the shit for it rightly so. I might say probably because someone else had the gumption to photo evidence it.

It doesnt matter if the people are deadbeats.

Police officers, not the dog, and dogs are not sworn in officers ffs not in this country, have the intellect to judge situations of potential harm, they get tax payer funded training in it.

I would love to see the police enquiry conducted by the police

The bolded sentence was meant to read injury or death to the dog.

I'm not going to argue specific cases but I do know that if a K9 Unit turns up at a scene it is because the human police may need the dog and it's handlers help.

Hence putting the dog and handlers lives at risk.

Receiving tax funded training doesn't make it any easier when you are working in a high stress situation making split second decisions. God our policitians are elected by us, usually have the best eduaction and are funded by the tax payers and they can't get things right. No one is perfect.

The media like to brow beat our police force for one to two bad judgements when 100's of good jobs go unrecognised.

Think what it would be like to walk a week in a police officers life and see how easy it is.

I am not a police officer nor am I married to one I believe these people and their dogs deserve more respect than they are given. After all when there is danger around who do you call...... the Police.

[GeckoTree]

For sure, but when things like this happen cause and affect have to be found, to make sure it wont happen again.

No police want a k9 throat torn up, no police want to whip out a gun around kids.

Edited July 24, 2011 by -GT-

[sandgrubber]

I find it hard to form an opinion without knowing more about the history of this case and understanding what the police expected to find . . . and why they thought a dog was warranted.

Imagine what would have happened in this scene if Australia didn't have strict gun laws!