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basskiller
Guest
He should be removed as an officer
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basskiller
Guest
Lawsuit likely in dog's death
Action by police angers N.C. man
By JOHN GEROME, The Associated Press
NASHVILLE, TENN. -- A traffic stop following erroneous reports of a robbery ended in heartbreak when the family dog bounded out of the car, his tail wagging, and was shot to death by police. Now, the dog's owner wants the officers punished, and the officer who pulled the trigger says he has been getting death threats.
"I don't ever want to see this happen to anybody else. That's why we can't let this go away," said James Smoak of Saluda, N.C., who owned the 1 1/2-year-old pit bull-boxer mix named Patton.
Gov. Don Sundquist said Friday that he had apologized on behalf of the state of Tennessee to the family.
Sundquist, an avid dog lover, said the incident made him and his wife, Martha, heartsick. "I have had multiple occasions to talk to Mr. Smoak and I have on more than one occasion told him how bad I feel about it," Sundquist said.
Meanwhile, Cookeville Police Officer Eric Hall, who shot the dog, said Thursday that people are misjudging him.
"It's been very difficult, but a lot of people who've made comments don't know me," Hall said on WTVF-TV in Nashville. "It's kind of taken a life of its own where people are judging without knowing all the facts."
Smoak, a seafood salesman, said he has contacted attorneys about the New Year's Day shooting and plans legal action.
He describes the family's ordeal as "a nightmare we can't wake up from," and says he will never forget having to load the dead dog into the car for the ride home.
The incident began when Tennessee state troopers and Cookeville police stopped the Smoaks' green station wagon as they were returning from a vacation in Nashville.
Another motorist had reported seeing money flying from the vehicle as it sped down Interstate 40, and authorities feared there had been a robbery.
They later discovered that the money -- about $445 -- was fluttering from Smoak's wallet, which he had mistakenly left on the car roof after pumping gas.
The patrol car videotape of the stop, released Wednesday by the Tennessee Highway Patrol, shows troopers ordering James and Pamela Smoak and their teenage son, Brandon, out of the car, and the three emerging with their hands up, getting on their knees and being handcuffed.
Then Patton bounds out, his tail wagging, and races toward Hall. The video shows Hall stepping back, then firing his shotgun. Hall said he thought the dog was a pit bull and that he was about to attack him.
"I noticed that it trained in right on me; the dog's coming right at me," he said. "I yelled at the dog as I was backing up. I screamed at it; it kept advancing and barking in an aggressive manner. It's unfortunate what happened after that."
Hall, who said he has received death threats, was assigned to administrative duties pending an independent review.
Action by police angers N.C. man
By JOHN GEROME, The Associated Press
NASHVILLE, TENN. -- A traffic stop following erroneous reports of a robbery ended in heartbreak when the family dog bounded out of the car, his tail wagging, and was shot to death by police. Now, the dog's owner wants the officers punished, and the officer who pulled the trigger says he has been getting death threats.
"I don't ever want to see this happen to anybody else. That's why we can't let this go away," said James Smoak of Saluda, N.C., who owned the 1 1/2-year-old pit bull-boxer mix named Patton.
Gov. Don Sundquist said Friday that he had apologized on behalf of the state of Tennessee to the family.
Sundquist, an avid dog lover, said the incident made him and his wife, Martha, heartsick. "I have had multiple occasions to talk to Mr. Smoak and I have on more than one occasion told him how bad I feel about it," Sundquist said.
Meanwhile, Cookeville Police Officer Eric Hall, who shot the dog, said Thursday that people are misjudging him.
"It's been very difficult, but a lot of people who've made comments don't know me," Hall said on WTVF-TV in Nashville. "It's kind of taken a life of its own where people are judging without knowing all the facts."
Smoak, a seafood salesman, said he has contacted attorneys about the New Year's Day shooting and plans legal action.
He describes the family's ordeal as "a nightmare we can't wake up from," and says he will never forget having to load the dead dog into the car for the ride home.
The incident began when Tennessee state troopers and Cookeville police stopped the Smoaks' green station wagon as they were returning from a vacation in Nashville.
Another motorist had reported seeing money flying from the vehicle as it sped down Interstate 40, and authorities feared there had been a robbery.
They later discovered that the money -- about $445 -- was fluttering from Smoak's wallet, which he had mistakenly left on the car roof after pumping gas.
The patrol car videotape of the stop, released Wednesday by the Tennessee Highway Patrol, shows troopers ordering James and Pamela Smoak and their teenage son, Brandon, out of the car, and the three emerging with their hands up, getting on their knees and being handcuffed.
Then Patton bounds out, his tail wagging, and races toward Hall. The video shows Hall stepping back, then firing his shotgun. Hall said he thought the dog was a pit bull and that he was about to attack him.
"I noticed that it trained in right on me; the dog's coming right at me," he said. "I yelled at the dog as I was backing up. I screamed at it; it kept advancing and barking in an aggressive manner. It's unfortunate what happened after that."
Hall, who said he has received death threats, was assigned to administrative duties pending an independent review.
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basskiller
Guest
Highway Patrol chief weighs steps merited by dog shooting
Procedural changes, discipline considered
By J.J. STAMBAUGH, [email protected]
January 11, 2003
Tennessee Highway Patrol Col. Mark Fagan will decide what punishments, if any, will be meted out in connection with the Jan. 1 shooting of a dog on Interstate 40.
Fagan will also determine whether any policy changes are needed.
"The colonel's office is now looking at what, if any, policies or procedures may have been violated and what, if any, disciplinary action is appropriate," said Beth Womack, Tennessee Department of Safety spokeswoman.
Although investigators have pored over all the audio- and videotaped information recorded during the traffic stop and shooting, Womack indicated that at least some conversations were not recorded.
"It was found that some of the communication between dispatchers was made on a Nextel-type two-way instead of a recorded telephone or radio line, therefore cannot be absolutely confirmed," Womack said.
In a written incident report filed after the shooting, Cookeville officer Eric Hall said he asked a dispatcher "what felony had been committed" as he drove to assist troopers but didn't find that out before arriving.
Hall said it appeared the dog "single me out from the other officers and charged toward me, grouling (sic) in an aggressive manner. I yelled at the dog to "Get Back" but it attempted to circle me to attack, so I felt I had no other option but to protect myself. I fired once at the dog instantly putting it down."
"When asked during our investigation why the passenger door was not closed, Lieutenant (Jerry) Andrews indicated that if he or another officer had moved to that side of the car, he would have been in the line of any potential crossfire," Womack said in a press release. "Remember - at this time, the troopers on the scene were still under the impression that a felony may have been committed, and were acting accordingly."
After the shooting, James Smoak tried to stand up but was wrestled _down by troopers. After he was put in a patrol car, he repeatedly asked the officers to get a veterinarian but his requests were ignored. "You all have gone crazy," he said.
Later, after the officers determined the family had committed no crime, they gave Smoak a plastic bag to collect the dog's carcass after he told them to leave his former pet alone. "You've done enough," he said.
After the officers removed the handcuffs from Pamela Smoak, she sank to the ground and cried. "I'm never stepping foot in this state again," she said.
Womack said the state had not offered to compensate the family for the loss of their pet.
In a written complaint against the officers, Pamela Smoak lashed out at the handling of the initial phone call.
"No one ever called in a robbery or any felony!" Smoak wrote. "A felony stop should not have been made. A murder has been committed by the Tennessee Highway Patrol. There was a very bad error on someone's part and we paid for it."
J.J. Stambaugh may be reached at 865-342-6307
Procedural changes, discipline considered
By J.J. STAMBAUGH, [email protected]
January 11, 2003
Tennessee Highway Patrol Col. Mark Fagan will decide what punishments, if any, will be meted out in connection with the Jan. 1 shooting of a dog on Interstate 40.
Fagan will also determine whether any policy changes are needed.
"The colonel's office is now looking at what, if any, policies or procedures may have been violated and what, if any, disciplinary action is appropriate," said Beth Womack, Tennessee Department of Safety spokeswoman.
Although investigators have pored over all the audio- and videotaped information recorded during the traffic stop and shooting, Womack indicated that at least some conversations were not recorded.
"It was found that some of the communication between dispatchers was made on a Nextel-type two-way instead of a recorded telephone or radio line, therefore cannot be absolutely confirmed," Womack said.
In a written incident report filed after the shooting, Cookeville officer Eric Hall said he asked a dispatcher "what felony had been committed" as he drove to assist troopers but didn't find that out before arriving.
Hall said it appeared the dog "single me out from the other officers and charged toward me, grouling (sic) in an aggressive manner. I yelled at the dog to "Get Back" but it attempted to circle me to attack, so I felt I had no other option but to protect myself. I fired once at the dog instantly putting it down."
"When asked during our investigation why the passenger door was not closed, Lieutenant (Jerry) Andrews indicated that if he or another officer had moved to that side of the car, he would have been in the line of any potential crossfire," Womack said in a press release. "Remember - at this time, the troopers on the scene were still under the impression that a felony may have been committed, and were acting accordingly."
After the shooting, James Smoak tried to stand up but was wrestled _down by troopers. After he was put in a patrol car, he repeatedly asked the officers to get a veterinarian but his requests were ignored. "You all have gone crazy," he said.
Later, after the officers determined the family had committed no crime, they gave Smoak a plastic bag to collect the dog's carcass after he told them to leave his former pet alone. "You've done enough," he said.
After the officers removed the handcuffs from Pamela Smoak, she sank to the ground and cried. "I'm never stepping foot in this state again," she said.
Womack said the state had not offered to compensate the family for the loss of their pet.
In a written complaint against the officers, Pamela Smoak lashed out at the handling of the initial phone call.
"No one ever called in a robbery or any felony!" Smoak wrote. "A felony stop should not have been made. A murder has been committed by the Tennessee Highway Patrol. There was a very bad error on someone's part and we paid for it."
J.J. Stambaugh may be reached at 865-342-6307
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basskiller
Guest
eric hall
The prick
B
basskiller
Guest
the video
http://www.wkrn.com/Global/story.asp?S=1076500&nav=1ugFDHrO
Click on the link right under the picture
"Dog Shooting Tape Released"
http://www.wkrn.com/Global/story.asp?S=1076500&nav=1ugFDHrO
Click on the link right under the picture
"Dog Shooting Tape Released"
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Badgermoon
Guest
You've got to be shitting me. I just watched the video tape of the incident. That little dog couldn't hurt shit. One kick would have sent it flying. They knew there was a dog there, why not use pepper spray, that will disable a dog. With the number of officers there, and the lack of a struggle, there was no way that pig (and I think that cop IS a pig) needed to shoot the dog. If it was comming after him, it would have come straight at him. If he had dogs like he said, he would have known that.
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