Deadliest dog: Dachshund, apparently

I think it all started with the Rodney King beating. I mean, the whole idea of the police gone wrong probably started even before that, but that’s the one that triggered a lot of the I-report rage. Citizen outrage over police behavior has been going on forever.

But lately it has really gotten out of hand. Take for instance, Ferguson. There apparently is no question something went wrong in that instance. I’m not quite ready to point a finger at anyone, I remember all too well how those things tend to work out differently in the courts than they do in the land of public opinion and the press.

Still, it really makes one wonder about what the heck is going on.

I mean even in lonely little Colonial Heights the specter of cops gone bad has reared its head in a situation that on its face seems clean. I mean, several witnesses have attested to the officer clearly telling the armed woman to get on the ground.

Given the situation, a woman coming at you with a pistol aimed in your direction, just how do you handle that? I think tripping the trigger is exactly the right thing to do. It’s better if the person avoids a medical examiner’s table, but things happen. Still, there was provocation and response.

The whole incident seems straight forward and pretty clean to me. Bravo CHPD.

But now we have this. It seems that a police officer in Danville felt the need to dispatch a dog that came at him growling, according to an article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The fact that the dog happened to be an 11-year-old miniature Dachshund doesn’t apparently matter.

Still it seems a bit hard to even pull a gun on a dog that small. At worst, what damage could the dog do to the officer? Wouldn’t it just be best to disengage from the situation?

It’s not like we are talking about a really dangerous dog, like a pit bull, Doberman, or Rottweiler. We are talking about a pet here. There should have been no question that the deceased belonged to someone, and perhaps may have had good reason to be growling and snarling at the officer. Haven’t you ever wanted to do so? I know, I too would be afraid of the consequences, judging by what happened here.

Still, we’re talking about maybe a 15-pound dog at best. Why not just walk away. Why not just a quick kick or a shot with the Billy club, or whatever it is that the police call those things nowadays anyhow. Not having had to face such a vicious attack, it still makes me wonder if the officer’s actions weren’t a bit of overkill, pardon the expression.

There is little question that police officers are faced with dangerous and yes even deadly situations on any given day. Incidents like Ferguson happen, and we, as citizens, need to allow due process to proceed. We should do the same thing for the situation in Colonial Heights.

But I don’t know how to react about the Danville shooting. You have to know that the dog is someone’s pet. After all it was Dachshund, a breed renowned for its vicious qualities. It seems to me there may have been a better way to handle that situation.