ARFEE: It's not about training

I tried hard not to take pen in hand over this one, but can’t… We have all read the numerous articles in the paper regarding the shooting of a dog through the window of a vehicle. We have all seen the dubious response from the police department in an attempt to convenience its citizens that this is a “Training Issue.” That this is something that takes place throughout the United States with Colorado creating new policies to deal with this problem. Unbelievable, to say the least.

The hiring of a police officer is a very complex procedure. written exams, oral interviews, cyclonical evaluations. During these entire exams one would try and determine an element called, “Common Sense.” The examiners’ ask questions like, “What would you do “if,” (hypothetical situations). This is my point here, I’m sure this hypothetical situation was never mentioned only because it’s too far out of the parameters of being prudent. It borders on stupidity.

This is not a training issue and for the police department to attempt to say otherwise and in the manner they did, is ridiculous. There was no threat here and for the officer to get so excited that he pulled his gun and shot this Lab through the window of a vehicle is way beyond reasonable. Let him find another law enforcement agency to work for, along with the officer’s supervisor who took part in this.

The second issue on my mind is the absence of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, (search and secure). Who gave these officers the right to enter the vehicle without the consent of the owner and remove private property, the dog? Where was probable cause that in fact a crime had been committed to be able to do so? Where was the warrant? Can these officers enter a camper, motor home without consent if suspicion, or where a crime has not been committed? Why did they not try to find the owner?

Being retired from law enforcement I can tell you that in my entire career I have never heard of an officer shooting an animal through a window of a van, or through the window of anything, ever. I’m sure that the attorneys are lined up in hopes of landing this one. It was not too long ago that we citizens paid a former Coeur d’Alene Police Lieutenant $3 million+ for a wrongful termination. The city is self-insured, so we need to wake up folks, it’s costing us citizens a lot of money…

PAUL A. TELEBAR

Coeur d’Alene