Second, these dog shootings epitomize a larger, societal problem with law enforcement agencies prioritizing an "officer safety" mindset that encourages police to shoot first and ask questions later. We'd have a lot fewer police shootings (of dogs and unarmed citizens) if police weren't quite so preoccupied with "officer safety" at the expense of all else.
Third, these dog killings are, as Balko recognizes, "a side effect of the new SWAT, paramilitary focus in many police departments, which has supplanted the idea of being an 'officer of the peace.'" Thus, whether you're talking about police shooting dogs or citizens, the mindset is the same: a rush to violence, abuse of power, fear for officer safety, poor training in how to de-escalate a situation, and general carelessness.
That paramilitary focus has resulted in a government mindset that allows SWAT teams and other government agents to invade your home, break down your doors, kill your dog (the dog always gets shot first), wound or kill you, damage your furnishings and terrorize your family.
This is the same mindset that sees nothing wrong with American citizens being subjected to roadside strip searches, forcible blood draws, invasive surveillance, questionable exposure to radiation and secret government experiments, and other morally reprehensible tactics.
Unfortunately, this is a mindset that is flourishing within the corporate-controlled, military-driven American police state.
So what's to be done about all of this?
In terms of our four-legged friends, many states are adopting laws to make canine training mandatory for police officers.
Frankly, police should also be made to undergo classes annually on how to peacefully resolve and de-escalate situations with the citizenry. While they're at it, they should be forced to de-militarize. No one outside the battlefield--and barring a foreign invasion, the U.S. should never be considered a domestic battlefield--should be equipped with the kinds of weapons and gear being worn and used by local police forces today. If the politicians are serious about instituting far-reaching gun control measures, let them start by taking the guns and SWAT teams away from the countless civilian agencies that have nothing to do with military defense that are packing lethal heat.
Finally, there will be no end to the bloodshed--of unarmed Americans or their family pets--until police stop viewing themselves as superior to those whom they are supposed to serve and start acting like the peace officers they're supposed to be. Ultimately, this comes down to better--and constant--training in nonviolent tactics, serious consequences for those who engage in excessive force, and a seismic shift in how the law enforcement agencies and the courts deal with those who transgress.
As I point out in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, when you're trained to kill anything that poses the slightest threat (imagined or real), when you've been instructed to view yourself as a soldier and those you're supposed to serve as enemy combatants on a battlefield, when you can kill and there are no legal consequences for your actions, and when you are deemed immune from lawsuits holding you accountable for the use of excessive force, then it won't matter what gets in your way. Whether it's a family pet, a child with a toy gun, or an old man with a cane--you're going to shoot to kill.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
7
5
4
