Dog killed by police

COOKEVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) -- Police video released Wednesday showed a North Carolina family kneeling and handcuffed, who shrieked as officers killed their dog -- which appeared to be playfully wagging its tail -- with a shotgun during a traffic stop.

The Smoak family was pulled over the evening of January 1 on Interstate 40 in eastern Tennessee by officers who mistakenly suspected them of a carjacking. An investigation showed James Smoak had simply left his wallet on the roof of his car at a gas station, and motorists who saw his money fly off the car as he drove away called police.

The family was driving through eastern Tennessee on their way home from a New Year's trip to Nashville. They told CNN they are in the process of retaining a lawyer and considering legal action against the Cookeville, Tennessee, Police Department and the Tennessee Highway Patrol for what happened to them and their dog.

In the video, released by the THP, officers are heard ordering the family, one by one, to get out of their car with their hands up. James Smoak and his wife, Pamela, and 17-year-old son Brandon are ordered onto their knees and handcuffed.

"What did I do?" James Smoak asks the officers.

"Sir, inside information is that you was involved in some type of robbery in Davidson County," the unidentified officer says.

Smoak and his wife protest incredulously, telling the officers that they are from South Carolina and that their mother and father-in-law are traveling in another car alongside them.

The Smoaks told CNN that as they knelt, handcuffed, they pleaded with officers to close the doors of their car so their two dogs would not escape, but the officers did not heed them.

Pamela Smoak is seen on the tape looking up at an officer, telling him slowly, "That dog is not mean. He won't hurt you."

Her husband says, "I got a dog in the car. I don't want him to jump out."

The tape then shows the Smoak's medium-size brown dog romping on the shoulder of the Interstate, its tail wagging. As the family yells, the dog, named Patton, first heads away from the road, then quickly circles back toward the family.

An officer in a blue uniform aims his shotgun at the dog and fires at its head, killing it immediately.

For several moments, all that is audible are shrieks as the family reacts to the shooting. James Smoak even stands up, but officers pull him back down.

"Y'all shot my dog! Y'all shot my dog!" James Smoak cries. "Oh my God! God Almighty!"

"You shot my dog!" screams his wife, distraught and still handcuffed. "Why'd you kill our dog?"

"Jesus, tell me, why did y'all shoot my dog?" James Smoak says.

The officers bring him to the patrol car, and the family calms down, but still they ask the officers for an explanation. One of them says Patton was "going after" the officer.

"No he wasn't, man," James Smoak says. "Y'all didn't have to kill the dog like that."

Brandon told CNN Patton, was playful and gentle -- "like Scooby-Doo" -- and may have simply gone after the beam of the flashlight as he often did at home, when Brandon and the dog would play.

The Tennessee Department of Safety, which oversees the Highway Patrol, has said an investigation is under way.

Cookeville Police Chief Robert Terry released a statement on the department's Web site Wednesday night describing the department's regret over the incident.

"I know the officer wishes that circumstances could have been different so he could have prevented shooting the dog," Terry wrote. "It is never gratifying to have to put an animal down, especially a family pet, and the officer assures me that he never displayed any satisfaction in doing so."

Terry said he and the vice-mayor of Cookeville met with the family before they left "to convey our deepest sympathies" for the loss of their dog.

"No one wants to experience this kind of thing, and it's very unfortunate that it occurred," he wrote. "If we had the benefit of hindsight, I'm sure some -- if not all of this -- could have been avoided. I believe the Tennessee Highway Patrol feels the same way."

The department is conducting an investigation to determine what, if anything, could have been done differently, he said. Police also plan to be in contact with the Smoak family, Terry said.

The Smoaks buried their pet at home. A white cross marks the grave.

Source: http://raisethefist.com/news.cgi?art...303t4a.article

I can bet anything that the police won't be punished, nor will he loose his job. And yet the proof is right there, in the tape! Sickening...

Yep, really S I C Kening... I wish..wish there's no harmful crimes with animals..this...those...these hurt so much :( :mad: :mad: :( THIS NEED TO HALT!!!!

I'm curious ya'll, what would you do about it? To what happened to Smoaks?

That's a hard question... The sad truth is that this isn't exactly rare. Police brutality is on the rise, especially in the USA.

My personal thoughts are that as soon as a cop shows these sort of tendencies to get rid of him immediately, give him a desk job or simply just fire him. This is not to protect and serve and he and so many others should not have the job that they do.

I've been following this since it happened (geeks get all of the news first). It's a shame and apparently there is a petition circulating for the badges of the officers. I'm glad they had a video tape as I'm sure the bull dog, which the cops said was a pit bull would have been bear-sized and viciously attacking the officers. What makes it worse is that this was all based off of a phone call of a woman who made it more dramatic than it needed to be, the family's rights were violated and the simple fact that on the video:

http://www.wkrn.com/Global/story.asp...0&nav=1ugBDGSO

they can be heard begging the officers to shut the door so their pet couldn't get out. I'm sorry, Seven is bigger than the dog in the video and there was no reason for that dog to die. I can only imagine what the parents and kids are going through right now and my heart goes out to them.

God help anyone who ever hurts my dog.

I am afraid that I also started a thread on this in Dog General before noticing this one here. I had seen the couple interviewed on Connie Chung two nights ago and it ripped my heart out. You could just feel the emotion when these people spoke. Last night Connie Chung aired the video of the dog.....a friendly dog with wagging tail!!! :mad: :( I am wondering what message their young children have received about police officers as a result of all of this!! Certainly NOT that they are our friends. This is just too sad for words.

How the he** can anyone shoot a dog that was wagging there tail. Was the dog showing his teeth and growling? Was the dog barking vicoulously? Was he running at the officer barking and growling?? No he was not!! That is what makes me very mad:mad: Just because he's a cop he can just shoot a dog.

I hope the cop gets what he deserves!! But he probably won't they let him back out on the streets.:mad: I hope the family does persue legal actions against this cop. Cause he does not deserve to be on out on the streets.

arrrggggg! i cant view the video. i've been having some problems with java script the last few days....
oh well. it probably would have made me crazy anyway.

hey i didn't veiw the video cause if i heard or see a animal in pain i get all teary:(don't know why i just do.i hope that cop gets whats coming to him as well.just the thought of it makes me sad what a cruel thing to do:mad:

marylyn:(

I watched the video and it just made me cry! That is awful! You can hear them screaming. To lose their travel money, get pulled over for a crime you didn't commit and then to see your dog shot! That is so sad and I really feel for this family. :(

The cop should be shot himself!:mad:

Things like this sure make me happy that in the end, we have someone else to answer to....

Quote from the CNN story: "The Tennessee Department of Safety, which oversees the Highway Patrol, has said an investigation is under way."

Here is the contact information for that department, if anyone is interested in conveying their expectations for a thorough investigation and prompt discipline of the Police officer:

Tennessee Department of Safety
1150 Foster Avenue
Nashville, TN 37249
e-mail: [email protected]
Commissioner's Office Phone: (615) 251-5216

Tennessee Highway Patrol
Col. Mark V. Fagan
1150 Foster Avenue
Nashville, TN 37249-1000
Phone: (615) 251-5175
Fax: (615) 532-1051

THP District Six Headquarters
Captain: Randy Hoover
P.O. Box 826
1291 Bunker Hill Rd
Cookeville, Tenn. 38501
Office: (931) 526-8496

The officer that did the shooting was a member of the Cookeville Police Department:

Chief of Police, Robert E Terry
Cookeville, Tennessee, Police Department
10 E Broad St
Cookeville, Tennessee 38503
(931)526-2125

This is just horrible!!!!!!!! That poor family. That cop had no right to kill that dog just b/c he was scarred. At the animal Hosp. we are always almost getting bit by dogs you dont see us pulling out guns and killing people's pets!!!That dog wasn't even mean. It's probably just b/c it's was a bulldog

If this had happened to me it would have been the same as if I was cuffed and saw my mom being shot to death!!!!!!!I can even imagine what i would have done. I would have wanted to kill that officer!

Incidents like this have got to stop. Those cops need to get punished for this. The worse part is is that that family didn't do anything wrong!!!!

Thanks for the addresses, I'll go write them right now.

I just found this thread, we heard of this story just after a Harris county police officer received a call on a black lab mix chasing cow. The officer shot the lab mix on his owners porch. Shot the dog twice, which did not kill the dog, the dog was taken to the vet were it died 2 days later. This happen in Harris County in Georgia. There is no excuse for either one of these. Both owners have suffered a great loss.

OMG, that's awful!!!! I cannot belive that... There's not even an excuse (no matter how lame) in this case! Purely disgusting...

Do you know if the poor dog's owners will be pressing charges?

From what we have heard at the clinic, the owners are pressing charges, The thing that gets me is what if a child had come out the door at the same time. The dog was just lying on the porch by the front door. Just because they are the law doesnt give them the right. And what the Smoak family went through, there isn't enought money in the world to replace what they have lost.

:( :( :mad: :mad: :( :(

this is much to sad.