Puppycide! It’s an epidemic!

by Keith Farrell and Austin Petersen

Regular readers of The Libertarian Republic know that we often keep track of abuse of authority from all branches and departments of government. The authority vested in our local police departments is given to them in order to serve and protect the citizens of our communities. But in the last decade, police power has grown, leading in an increase of raids on homes and abuses of authority that often end with people, and their pets, dead.

The Libertarian Republic did some research and we found that in 1972 there were only a few hundred SWAT raids a year. Now in 2013 we are on track to average 80,000 SWAT raids. Many of these are due to non-violent drug offenses such as the ones you’ll see in the video below. But one thing that we discovered while doing this research was how often innocent dogs are killed in these raids.

But dogs aren’t just being shot in raids, sometimes officers shoot dogs that are already restrained, or who are actively protecting their masters. Many times these dogs don’t need to be shot at all.

These are five stories that we found but they are by no means a full list. At the bottom of this post we feature a link to a Google Maps view of dog shootings around the country that you can interact with to educate yourself.

Video 1: A Columbia, Missouri SWAT team enters a house to search for drugs based on a warrant that had been issued over a week before the bust was carried out. Officers entered the home and immediately shot the dog in the residence. All the police found was some paraphernalia, which led to a fine.

Video 2: Another horrific story from the Columbia, Missouri SWAT team during a home raid that was suspected of containing marijuana. The homeowner had no previous arrests or history of violence, but the police used full force and raided the home, discharging flashbangs and shooting the dogs as they retreated from the explosions.

Video 3: Hawthorne Police in California shot a dog who was trying to protect his owner from arrest. The police were found to have been justified in the shooting after a full investigation was completed. Their argument was that Leon Rosby was interfering with an investigation by playing his music loudly from his car and bringing his dog around them while they were in the line of duty. Rosby, the dog’s owner disagrees and claimed his civil rights to record police were violated.

The Hawthorne incident may be an example of a justified self-defense shooting, however it definitely is a lesson to pet owners NOT to bring their dogs around police. A woman learned that lesson the hard way recently when she asked police to come and investigate a report of a stolen vehicle on her property. She told the police that she had jumpy puppies and specifically requested not to shoot them. Unfortunately the police shot her puppy immediately upon arrival at her home.

Video 4: The LaGrange, Missouri Police were forced to pay a $50k settlement after they shot a dog who was restrained and under their control. The officer was dispatched to restrain the dog, not kill it. The city of LaGrange was accused of failing to train their police officers in how to properly capture animals.

Video 5: In this video, officers were attempting to rouse a homeless man who was suffering from a seizure on the streets of New York. Instead of calling an ambulance however, they tried to kick him awake. The owner’s dog was there and obviously didn’t react well to see strange men kicking his master. The dog tried to protect his master when police shot him in the street in front of stunned onlookers. Luckily, the dog survived.

These are just a few of the terrible stories that happen more often than you might believe. Below we have provided a link to a map of dog shootings around the country. Take a look at the map and see what’s occurring in your community. Get involved, know your rights and use your knowledge to affect positive change for our families and our four-legged friends.