Sure would hate to be a cop

[Glorian]

http://news.sky.com/story/1648215/polic ... on-purpose

Anything you do is wrong..

Dog running wildly on a busy road causing vehicles at high speeds to swerve to avoid it. Sorry animal rights activists would you rather catch the dog and in the mean time cause a huge pile up? also the line about "Tasing the dog" i lol'd. Dogs run pretty damn fast and are small targets not and easy thing to hit, even if it did hit i'm fairly sure it would kill it.

[Six30]

.........

[Fozzie]

True, the coppers face heat they don't always deserve.

But also, they were hasty. The M25 is closed the moment a sick pidgeon lands on the carriageway for 6 hours at peak time.

At 3am there's hardly going to be many people around to cause a pile up, especially in Wales, which is much less busy!

I think they thought quickly on their feet, made a call and ran with it.

None of us were there so we won't know what they said/thought.

My only problem with this is are we really going to spend tax payers money to establish if a little thing like this was necessary? It's a bit silly isn't it!

[Gin]

At first reading I was mildly horrified at this but two things changed my mind..

The little one is that I know that road well, it's not a nice wide, long motorway.. It's a dual carridgeway, lined on one side by hills/towns and the other side is the sea. This road curves beautifully along the coast, which means I can see how this could be really dangerous..

The officers did attempt to catch the animal but were unable to.

The main part of the story for me that negates all else is:

 

The dog's owner was "devastated" by his dog's death but supported the decision, according to Chief Superintendent Sacha Hatchett.

She added: "He said he appreciates that given the risk to human life, the officers made the correct decision.

"He is supportive of the police as had there been a serious accident, he said he could not have lived with himself."

There. Done. Shows over, all go home.

[Hoggs]

Mimi Bekhechi, director of the animal rights charity PETA, said: "This could just as easily have been a frightened human being or someone with a mental illness.

 

I don't even have words for this PETA are a bunch of hypocritical asshats anyway. Yeah PETA the police would have ran over a frightened human. It is exactly the same. Well done. Go away.

[Gin]

Mimi Bekhechi, director of the animal rights charity PETA, said: "This could just as easily have been a frightened human being or someone with a mental illness.

 

I don't even have words for this PETA are a bunch of hypocritical asshats anyway. Yeah PETA the police would have ran over a frightened human. It is exactly the same. Well done. Go away.

 

Aww man don't even get me started on them!

I have money going out to various animal charities each month and my mother brought me up in a very animal friendly house but those callous, vile beasts don't have any right to claim they know what's best for animals...

[Mr Fro]

I feel sorry for the coppers - the paperwork they're filling out will probably take them until time stops to complete.

[Fozzie]

Mimi Bekhechi, director of the animal rights charity PETA, said: "This could just as easily have been a frightened human being or someone with a mental illness.

 

I don't even have words for this PETA are a bunch of hypocritical asshats anyway. Yeah PETA the police would have ran over a frightened human. It is exactly the same. Well done. Go away.

 

Yep!

PETA have great ideals, same with vegans, I can totally understand the animal activist argument.

"KILL THE HUMANS INSTEAD" However... Is where they fall down a flight of stairs argument wise

[Glorian]

I just feel bad for the cops. They're probably going to be doubting every decision they make from now on because of this. They made a call and ran with it yet they get hung out to dry and worried about facing criminal charges/losing their jobs when all they tried to do is save lives..

[Joeman]

Surely they had enough dohnuts to entice the dog into their car?

Same cops will probably be signed off work on stress leave...

[MrBrightside]

Taser the dog? Wtf. I'd Taser a dog in self defence but you won't catch a dog by using a taser unless you constantly apply charge, which would constitute animal cruelty.

f**kin idiots.

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The officer did on this occasion have doughnut residue on him, however didn't catch the pooch.

[Fozzie]

Surely they had enough dohnuts to entice the dog into their car?

Same cops will probably be signed off work on stress leave...

 

At 3am they could have been running low!

If the cop was a dog lover, even more reason I suspect he made the right choice. He did something he didn't want to do believing it was right. It's sad the dog died, but imagine the uproar if they carried on and someone did have an accident and die?

[Chrissb6]

Not an easy decision to make for the cop's, but in this modern age where most police patrol cars are armed you would of thought a dart gun with a tranquiliser would of been at hand rather than destroying the animal.

[Mr Fro]

Taser the dog? Wtf. I'd Taser a dog in self defence but you won't catch a dog by using a taser unless you constantly apply charge, which would constitute animal cruelty.

f**kin idiots.

">

The officer did on this occasion have doughnut residue on him, however didn't catch the pooch.

Resident Evil style!

Don't know why the first bloke started waving his pistol about at the dog - it's not as if you can intimidate an animal with a firearm.

[TC1474]

Not an easy decision to make for the cop's, but in this modern age where most police patrol cars are armed you would of thought a dart gun with a tranquiliser would of been at hand rather than destroying the animal.

 

Who told you that most patrol cars are armed? Total rubbish, and even the armed response units do not carry tranquiliser darts

I have been in this situation before albeit many years ago and before everything got referred to the IPCC, and I can assure you that it is not an easy decision to make, but when all options have been examined (which I am sure will have happened in this case) you have to look at the overall picture and go with the decision.

The officers will not have made the decision lightly, they will have been thinking of how to explain and justify the damage to the patrol car, but compared to the £2million + costs that are incurred if a fatal crash had occured, it becomes a bit of a no brainer.

Flip it around though, I see nobody has had a pop at the dog owner for failing to train it properly or keep it under control.

[MrBrightside]

Not an easy decision to make for the cop's, but in this modern age where most police patrol cars are armed you would of thought a dart gun with a tranquiliser would of been at hand rather than destroying the animal.

 

If I had tranquilliser darts in my vehicle, they'd be personal use only.

Tony is right. Most patrol cars are certainly not armed, and none whatsoever carry darts.

[Valko]

At first reading I was mildly horrified at this but two things changed my mind..

The little one is that I know that road well, it's not a nice wide, long motorway.. It's a dual carridgeway, lined on one side by hills/towns and the other side is the sea. This road curves beautifully along the coast, which means I can see how this could be really dangerous..

The officers did attempt to catch the animal but were unable to.

The main part of the story for me that negates all else is:

 

The dog's owner was "devastated" by his dog's death but supported the decision, according to Chief Superintendent Sacha Hatchett.

She added: "He said he appreciates that given the risk to human life, the officers made the correct decision.

"He is supportive of the police as had there been a serious accident, he said he could not have lived with himself."

There. Done. Shows over, all go home.

 

Agree to disagree here. What risk to human life?? Does the dog was running with AK47 assault rifle? Are we talking here for The Hound of the Baskervilles??

I mean somebody scratch his bumper and they close M25 for 3 hours for gawd sake. And this is London here with 10 million cars per hour.

But no the Whales muppet keystone cops can't close a road and catch a dog with bare hands. Seriously

Few months ago I a guy has hit a cat in front of me. I am not a cop, but have closed the road with my 4x4 and the emergency lights. Got the cat luckily no damage only stressed out. Found the owners in nearby house.

My wife was like: why you have blocked the whole road? Because there are morons that is way.

If I alone and not a cop can do that why the muppets can't?

BTW I do not hate cops in general. I have many friends cops. I hate stupid people though.

If anybody is remotely interested what the law say about it:

1. The stupid owner must be prosecuted for endangering public safety. Yes by UK law the owner is fully responsible for any damages caused by his/her pet.

2. The particular cops must be prosecuted for criminal damage. Yes by UK law they have damaged somebody else property.

[Glorian]

"WHat risk is there to human life"

70MPH road where people go faster all the time. dog runs infront what do you do. You swerve. You're in a artic lorry and you swerve into a smart car passing you by and you crush it against the railings killing the 2 occupants. you panic and swerve the other way off the road killing yourself.

Probably over the top but it's a potential. Police had to act then and there, they'd tried to catch the dog, the dog escaped/bit the officers. Unfortunately they had to make a choice quickly and they did.

Also if you've ever seen the police close a road they can't just STOP in the middle of the road and expect people to slow down in time. It takes a lot of planning time and work. The only person to blame is the dog owner for letting the dog lose.

[Fozzie]

And in Gin's defence. She knows the road so is likely in a better position to say whether the police were able to catch the dog.

I just hope the dog didn't suffer. Was a shame this happened, but that's all, no need for a police probe.

[Mr Fro]

Agree to disagree here. What risk to human life?? Does the dog was running with AK47 assault rifle? Are we talking here for The Hound of the Baskervilles??

I mean somebody scratch his bumper and they close M25 for 3 hours for gawd sake. And this is London here with 10 million cars per hour.

But no the Whales muppet keystone cops can't close a road and catch a dog with bare hands. Seriously

Few months ago I a guy has hit a cat in front of me. I am not a cop, but have closed the road with my 4x4 and the emergency lights. Got the cat luckily no damage only stressed out. Found the owners in nearby house.

My wife was like: why you have blocked the whole road? Because there are morons that is way.

If I alone and not a cop can do that why the muppets can't?

BTW I do not hate cops in general. I have many friends cops. I hate stupid people though.

If anybody is remotely interested what the law say about it:

1. The stupid owner must be prosecuted for endangering public safety. Yes by UK law the owner is fully responsible for any damages caused by his/her pet.

2. The particular cops must be prosecuted for criminal damage. Yes by UK law they have damaged somebody else property.

I think you'll find, should you read the article fully, that the hound in question was in fact scampering about with an armalite.

Why would you illegally block an entire road while you fannied about finding tiddles' owner? That does sound like a very silly thing to do.

[Six30]

If it was a sheep or a calf , pony , whatever would they have done the same ?

[RantMachine]

Who knows? Depends how ballsy they were feeling

I saw horse vs rangerover once, that was daaaaamn messy. It skidded down the road on its side at a scary speed, like it was being run over a giant cheese grater - there was basically half a horse left at the end, still moving about. Like something in a Damien Hirst gallery!

[Hoggs]

I used to work for a horse place. Saw more horse vs car pictures than I care to remember. Pro tip: that 5* euro ncap rating means nothing if a horse rears up and kicks you in the face through the wind sheild

[Adam]

I agree that they made the right decision, from what I've read one officer actually managed to grab the dog but it bit him so naturally he let go, so the dog would've been put down even if they caught it anyway.

[Guest]

They got close enough to it to get bitten by it, all they needed was a noose on a pole as carried in all RSPCA vans.

Not going to cause a major traffic jam by putting up a road block at 3am, and when the traffic stops you don't even need to hold them there, explain what's going on and ask them to proceed with extreme caution below 20mph until past the dog.

Call the RSPCA who are trained in catching it or tranquilising it and have 24 hour call out response all over the UK.

There was only danger to human life while there was 70 mph traffic mixed in with a dog, they could remove either one of those things to neutralise the threat and at 3am it didn't need to be the dog.

Have plenty mates who are coppers and 999 call handlers, all have agreed closing the road was the obvious decision to take.

Wouldn't be surprised if there's £1000 of damage to the car, paid for by the taxpayer, upwards of that if the radiator was damaged, headlights smashed or bonnet creased. A fox hound is a big heavy dog.

Behind the scenes the police themselves aren't happy with the decision though they can't say that to the press, that's why it's been referred to the IPCC.