Police killing of Cisco getting a second look
Inundated with angry calls and emails, the Austin police department has reassigned the officer involved in the fatal shooting of a dog Saturday.
In addition to taking a closer look at the incident, in which a blue heeler named Cisco was shot by an officer who had responded to wrong address, the department says it is re-examining its policies.
“This incident has drawn a lot of attention,” Assistant Police Chief David Carter told the Austin American-Statesman.
“We’ve received a lot of calls, a lot of emails from people who are very concerned. And we are, too,” he said.
Cisco, owned by Michael Paxton, was shot by officer Thomas Griffin, who was responding to a call about a domestic disturbance. Griffin arrived at the wrong address by mistake and said he shot the dog after it charged him.
Paxton denies that Cisco behaved aggressively, but reports indicate that at least two complaints had previously been filed with animal control about the dog — one by a woman who claimed she’d been bitten when she tried to pet him in a parking lot.
While originally discounting Paxton’s version of events and saying the officer acted properly, police officials showed a more conciliatory tone Wednesday.
“The bottom line is, we have a citizen who was going about his business, who was not involved in criminal or suspicious activity,” Carter said. “And he loses his dog. … That’s a big deal, and we recognize that.”
Carter said the official review includes the 911 call and how dispatchers responded to it, the officer’s tactics and what happened afterward. Carter said the department is also examining its policies and training for animal encounters.
The review will also look at whether the recent shooting death of an Austin officer might have resulted in “hypervigilance” on Griffin’s part when he encountered the dog, Police Chief Art Acevedo said.
The shooting garnered national attention. A Facebook page called “Justice for Cisco” has more than 71,000 supporters that have left messages of support and, often, outrage.
Acevedo offered condolences to Cisco’s owner during an interview on the “Dudley and Bob Morning Show” on KLBJ FM Radio.
“My heart goes out to him. I think if you ask everybody in the department, believe it or not, we’re animal lovers, just like everybody else,” Acevedo said
Posted by jwoestendiek April 19th, 2012 under Muttsblog.
Tags: aggressive, animals, apology. animal control, art acevedo, austin, behavior, bites, biting, bitten, blue heeler, cisco, dog, dogs, killed, michael paxton, officer, pets, police, police chief, shot, texas, thomas griffin
Comments
Comment from jwoestendiek
Time April 19, 2012 at 2:52 pm
Actually, Wade, there are, including the one we linked to in the post.
Here’s another one:
http://www.kvue.com/news/Animal-Control-report-shows-Cisco-had-recently-charged-stranger-148105355.html
john / ohmidog!
Comment from Dara Woodworth
Time April 19, 2012 at 3:37 pm
This is just another dumbass cop thinking he is above the law. I say fire his ass and make him pay the people for murdering their pet. Cop in general are out of control and this needs to stop.To the comment from jwoestendiek, if we could only shot every person for charging another person what a great place this would be to live. We kill a dog for standing his ground but it’s ok for a criminal to rape,kill and rob and get away with all they do.
Comment from Raw Dog Food
Time April 19, 2012 at 8:59 pm
We’ll see what happens next. I don’t agree that the cop is just a dumbass, because we don’t really know what happened. If the dog already attacked other people, it could be that the cop really was in danger. Although, I don’t know what would make me to pull out the gun and kill a dog, maybe this cop simply is one of those persons who are scared of dogs. Maybe he reacted impulsively, because of his fear. Anyway, poor Cisco. He probably just tried to protect his owner… Sad story…
Comment from CT
Time April 19, 2012 at 11:35 pm
Sad indeed. I feel sorry for family who owned the dog. And also for the police officer who pulled the trigger. He must have threatened for his life. Not excusing the incident, just trying to understand why.
Comment from Amber @ Pooch&Puddy
Time April 20, 2012 at 7:53 am
Maybe the dog had prior complaints, but here’s a fun fact: did the officer know about them? If he didn’t, he still shot and killed a dog whose behaviour he could not predict. When you’ve received training, taking out a dog once it has actually indicated it is going to attack you (Not by charging up and barking, which dogs do to fences and each other all the damn time, often to no outcome) is easy. Hell, I never received any training and pulled a 180 pound Ambull off my tiny Pomeranian without having to shoot him. The dog that was killed was innocent, until he is proven guilty of actually attacking the officer. The man who pulled the trigger IS guilty though, no bones about it.
Comment from Wade
Time April 19, 2012 at 1:21 pm
There have been no reports in any local news about the dog ever having had complaints made against him. That is obviously a rumor being spread to help the reputation of the murderer, Thomas Griffin. Please stop passing on propaganda.