Puppycide

by Radley Balko, The Agitator
Feb. 27, 2012

A New Mexico woman called the state police to report that she had been the victim of an Internet scam. The police told her they couldn’t come right away. She asked them to call before showing up at her house. They didn’t. Instead, an officer arrived while she wasn’t home, ignored the woman’s “Beware of Dog” sign, hopped the woman’s fence . . . and then killed her dog.

The department tells our media partners at KOB-TV that it will investigate the incident, but initially sees no cause for disciplinary action. KOB-TV did not indicate whether the officer’s name was made public.

“Was there things that could have done different? Absolutely, however that’s the situation that occurred and so now we’ll deal with it,” Lt. Robert McDonald said . . .

State police said the officer thought Baca was home and entered her property.

Police called Baca after the shooting and when she and her children arrived home, Jilly was dead on the front porch of their home.

“My 4-year-old’s response was, ‘Did they shoot our dog?’” Baca said. “My son walked up the stairs and started shaking her, trying to wake her up.” . . .

“I called for help and instead I ended up with the loss of a family member,” Baca said.

McDonald told KOB-TV it appears the officer was only acting in self defense and he said the department apologizes to the family for the tragic event.

So they’re going to conduct an investigation, but before they start, they’re say it “appears the officer was only acting in self defense” and they “initially see no cause for disciplinary action.” Inspires confidence in the impartiality of this forthcoming investigation, doesn’t it?

Also, whether or not the officer legitimately acted in self-defense doesn’t address the alleged fence-hopping, ignoring the “Beware of Dog” sign, and failure to call before coming to the woman’s home. It isn’t really clear what else the woman could have done to protect her dog, here. I mean, short of not calling the police at all.