I live in a neighborhood in DC, Adams Morgan, where the police are out of hand. They push. They taunt. They remember faces (like mine) and harass as you’re going about your daily activities. About a block from my home, I witnessed them beating a young black man right in the thick of a crowd while people looked on and told them to stop. Once the beating had stopped, I asked the young man what had happened and he said that a white guy had inexplicably thrown a punch at him, and then the police pounced on him. (A moment after I spoke to the man a cop told me that I had to leave or be arrested myself.)

And now, the Adams Morgan police have shot and killed a dog simply for being a dog. The dog was owned by solar energy professional Aaron Block, who works one office over from mine. I had met the dog, whose name was Parrot, a friendly dog who had come frolicking through the office.

Yesterday, Parrot was kneeled on by a cop, then thrown twelve feet down into a concrete stairwell, then shot with the officer’s service weapon. This happened in the midst of a festival with thousands of people, our annual Adams Morgan Day festival, about a block away from where I live.

Apparently Parrot, who is a two-year-old Shar-Pei mix, got into a fight with a poodle. Many people might assume that the larger dog started the fight, but I don’t. My grandmother had a tiny little caramel-colored poodle for many years that weighed about twelve pounds. By the end of its life, the poor little thing was halfway toothless, with a bark that sounded more like a snarling bunny. But that didn’t stop it from attacking any dog that threatened its poodley manhood. I have vivid memories of the little guy lunging unprovoked at a friend’s giant black labrador, teeth bared (what teeth he had left). The black lab sort of just stood up and walked away.

Yesterday, the scene didn’t end quite so gracefully. Why? The police were involved.

Candidate for DC Council Bryan Weaver said that the dog had been playing with his young kids about fifteen minutes earlier. I understand that. Parrot was a friendly dog without a bite history.

After the two dogs had begun to fight, Aaron jumped in and pulled Parrot away from the poodle. According to observers, the poodle walked away seemingly unhurt. Aaron was holding the dog and calming him, and the situation seemed resolved. Then a cop decided he wanted to fight the dog, too.

A cop knocked Aaron off of Parrot, then kneeled on Parrot and held his skin. I’ve been kneeled on like this by a cop too, and it is horribly painful. Parrot was growling, but he did not bite anyone, according to Aaron. Parrot was moving his legs to try and get up. What else did that horrible cop man think would happen? People can understand that they’re (sadly) not allowed to move a muscle when the police hurt you. But Parrot is a dog and doesn’t understand that just because some man puts on a fancy blue uniform, he is entitled to hurt people and animals. Those fancy blue uniforms are a hierarchical, human invention. Not understanding that it’s illegal to fight back when cops attack, Parrot didn’t just go limp. He was trying to get up. He was trying to get free. We can learn something from Parrot about just how inequitable and ridiculous our current law enforcement actually is, that we accept mistreatment from cops that animals will not endure.

The cop didn’t stop there. He picked up the dog and threw it over a banister and down into a stairwell. The frothing-at-the-mouth cop then drew his weapon. And he shot Parrot dead. As festival-goers looked on.

So, who is the out-of-control animal in this situation??? Not Parrot.

My heart goes out to Parrot, who died because of his good instincts to struggle against police oppression. He will be remembered, by me and the people who loved him.