Our community is shocked, saddened, and outraged at the shooting of Angel. She was an Australian cattle dog, about 30 lbs, and shot four times while running away from officers. Videos of incident can be viewed on the facebook page "Justice 4 Angel" though as a warning, it is very difficult to watch. Whether this was a terrible judgment call in a tense situation, or worse a deliberate act, she is the most recent victim in an unsettling trend of questionable shootings of dogs by RPD and we as a community find this unacceptable. We are petitioning firstly that Angel's case and any further incidents where a firearm is used to injure or kill a dog is reviewed by an outside agency. The discharge of a firearm should not be taken lightly in any situation, and if an officer is found to be at fault in these situations, he/she should be immediately and appropriately held to justice, including termination and possible criminal charges. We also petition that discharging a firearm or other lethal force is used only as a last resort and to prevent bodily harm in the face of an imminent threat ONLY. Whenever possible, we demand all other options be exhausted prior to an act of force being employed. To make such a request possible, we want better training for our officers given by professional dog behaviorists as to what constitutes "aggressive" behavior and imminent threat, how to distinguish this behavior from others, and alternate ways to diffuse situations when applicable. They also should have tools readily accessible to facilitate other approaches to these situations, including but not limited to catch poles, tranquilizer guns, dog treats, air horns, pepper spray etc and receive training on how to effectively use these tools. The citizens of Racine understand that sometimes, force must be used to ensure the safety of the public. However, it should only be employed if absolutely necessary which was clearly not the case with Angel. Please don't let this dog die in vain, and help protect future dogs and their families from suffering the same fate. Tell Racine we demand a change.
Updates
November 10, 2014
We have reached one thousand signatures on this petition. I am currently drafting a formal letter to the city council to request a review of current department protocols regarding animal encounters. Further updates will follow once I have confirmation on the meeting schedule.
Reached 1,000 supporters
November 7, 2014
Reached 100 supporters
November 4, 2014
654 Comments
We are tired of police officers getting off scott free when taking an innocent dogs life. If these officers scare so easily by a dog..how can we put them on the streets to protect humans? Let's get some training for police officers.
This is not only appalling but totally insane!! I have been on law enforcement boards and I would never condone this kind of action. Whoever deployed this tactical team should be fired. I think a serious house cleaning is needed. This needs to be looked into.
Seen it on the news in the Netherlands. Shocked by what a SWAT team did to this dog. What kind of a training did you get in this team ! Killing an innocent little dog ! Is that what you learn over there ? That is what we call murder !
Using a firearm, that is, shooting to hit a person or animal, should be a last resort and only to prevent bodily harm to oneself or others. A dog running AWAY from police, is NOT presenting a threat of bodily harm. Shooting her was WRONG!
Totally disgusted that this happened, and the Racine Police Department needs to fire the personnel responsible for shooting at the dog, as well as implement regular psych evals so the public can feel a sense of faith in their police force.
Tranq. guns ONLY for any law enforcement, animal control, etc. They are not educated to be judge and jury for the death penalty.
cops need to respect animals not murder them!!!!
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Our community is shocked, saddened, and outraged at the shooting of Angel. She was an Australian cattle dog, about 30 lbs, and shot four times while running away from officers. Videos of incident can be viewed on the facebook page "Justice 4 Angel" though as a warning, it is very difficult to watch. Whether this was a terrible judgment call in a tense situation, or worse a deliberate act, she is the most recent victim in an unsettling trend of questionable shootings of dogs by RPD and we as a community find this unacceptable. We are petitioning firstly that Angel's case and any further incidents where a firearm is used to injure or kill a dog is reviewed by an outside agency. The discharge of a firearm should not be taken lightly in any situation, and if an officer is found to be at fault in these situations, he/she should be immediately and appropriately held to justice, including termination and possible criminal charges. We also petition that discharging a firearm or other lethal force is used only as a last resort and to prevent bodily harm in the face of an imminent threat ONLY. Whenever possible, we demand all other options be exhausted prior to an act of force being employed. To make such a request possible, we want better training for our officers given by professional dog behaviorists as to what constitutes "aggressive" behavior and imminent threat, how to distinguish this behavior from others, and alternate ways to diffuse situations when applicable. They also should have tools readily accessible to facilitate other approaches to these situations, including but not limited to catch poles, tranquilizer guns, dog treats, air horns, pepper spray etc and receive training on how to effectively use these tools. The citizens of Racine understand that sometimes, force must be used to ensure the safety of the public. However, it should only be employed if absolutely necessary which was clearly not the case with Angel. Please don't let this dog die in vain, and help protect future dogs and their families from suffering the same fate. Tell Racine we demand a change.
Updates
November 10, 2014
We have reached one thousand signatures on this petition. I am currently drafting a formal letter to the city council to request a review of current department protocols regarding animal encounters. Further updates will follow once I have confirmation on the meeting schedule.
Reached 1,000 supporters
November 7, 2014
Reached 100 supporters
November 4, 2014
654 Comments
This situation was poorly handled. The officers involved need to be punished and better training needs to be implemented for the whole department. The community needs to trust its protectors and good officers need to not be punished for those that arent up to par.
We are tired of police officers getting off scott free when taking an innocent dogs life. If these officers scare so easily by a dog..how can we put them on the streets to protect humans? Let's get some training for police officers.
This is not only appalling but totally insane!! I have been on law enforcement boards and I would never condone this kind of action. Whoever deployed this tactical team should be fired. I think a serious house cleaning is needed. This needs to be looked into.
Seen it on the news in the Netherlands. Shocked by what a SWAT team did to this dog. What kind of a training did you get in this team ! Killing an innocent little dog ! Is that what you learn over there ? That is what we call murder !
Using a firearm, that is, shooting to hit a person or animal, should be a last resort and only to prevent bodily harm to oneself or others. A dog running AWAY from police, is NOT presenting a threat of bodily harm. Shooting her was WRONG!
Totally disgusted that this happened, and the Racine Police Department needs to fire the personnel responsible for shooting at the dog, as well as implement regular psych evals so the public can feel a sense of faith in their police force.
Tranq. guns ONLY for any law enforcement, animal control, etc. They are not educated to be judge and jury for the death penalty.
cops need to respect animals not murder them!!!!
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This situation was poorly handled. The officers involved need to be punished and better training needs to be implemented for the whole department. The community needs to trust its protectors and good officers need to not be punished for those that arent up to par.