Derry police kill dogs in house... bizarre!

[KBCraig]

Okay, this story is bizarre on several levels. First, who calls 9-1-1 because you've got a dog fight in your house?

Next, what goes on in a cop's mind that he feels compelled to empty a magazine inside a house, with children just feet away, when the dogs are no longer fighting?

Crazy... I look forward to hearing more details of what really happened here. As a critter lover, I readily acknowledge that some critter lovers are just plain crazy, so I haven't taken sides yet. I just want to know what happened.

Kevin

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Mom%3a+Derry+police+went+too+far+killing+dogs&articleId=78804620-527e-4b79-830a-2d00de609407

Mom: Derry police went too far killing dogs

By ELISE CASTELLI
Union Leader Correspondent
1 hour, 57 minutes ago

Derry ? Days after police killed her pair of pitbulls, dog owner Carrie McGovern told the New Hampshire Union Leader she believes the force the officer used was excessive.

On Saturday morning, McGovern called police when 6-year-old Trouble attacked Tigger, 10, inside her home. Trouble then bit McGovern as she and friend Mary Mulone attempted to pull the collarless dogs apart, McGovern with her hands under Tigger's neck, exposed to Trouble's jaws.

The officer showed up at 9:23 a.m., according to police records. McGovern said he asked which dog bit her.

"Before he (the officer) fired the first shot, I told him not to shoot Tigger, just Trouble, because Tigger wasn't the one that bit me," said McGovern. "I told him to let me get my kids out of here."

McGovern said she was standing beside the officer at the threshold between her kitchen and living room, surrounded by four children between 7 and 12. They watched as he unloaded several shots from his handgun into each dog.

"It's a good thing none of my kids went to hide in the downstairs bedroom, because rounds went through the floor," she said. Only after the shooting did he tell her to get the children out of the house, she said.

Derry Police Capt. Vernon Thomas said yesterday the officer acted appropriately and will remain on duty. He refused to name the officer.

Thomas said the officer believed the dogs presented a danger to the adults and children in the home, noting that the dogs fell inches from where the officer was standing. Police are still investigating the use of force, he said.

Trouble was a visitor in the household. The younger dog came to the family in September after a friend needed a temporary home for the pitbull. While never aggressive with the children, Trouble was aggressive with Tigger, McGovern said.

Palmer put it more bluntly: "Trouble was trouble, period."

McGovern had already called police on Dec. 22, when Trouble attacked Tigger inside her home. McGovern said she asked police to remove Trouble, but was told it was a civil matter between her and the dog's owner. She said she feared the owner would have her arrested if she gave the dog to a humane society.

"If police thought there was a danger, then why didn't they do something about it on the twenty-second?" she asked.

Capt. Thomas confirmed police came to the house on the 22nd, but said police did not have authority because it was a civil matter.

McGovern's 77-year-old grandfather, John M. Palmer Jr., described Tigger as a beloved companion. Tears filled Palmer's eyes yesterday as he talked about the dog.

"He was like a human," he said, noting how Tigger would sit beside him in a car on trips to the bank. "When I drove up to the teller window, he would bark to let the teller know he was there and wanted a bone."

He added: "I can't sleep now because he's not there. He slept with me every night."

In a written statement, police said the officer who came to the house Saturday used his handgun to shoot one dog fearing injury to McGovern and her children, who where in "striking distance."

The second dog was shot and killed when police said it lunged at the officer in response to the gunfire, the statement said.

The statements in the press release came from reports provided by the family and officer, Thomas said.

However, McGovern, Palmer and Mulone said yesterday Tigger did not lunge at the officer, but staggered toward them, already wounded in the hindquarters.

"He was probably coming to Carrie or me," said Palmer. "I told the officer three times not to shoot Tigger. We pointed Tigger out many times; he knew which one was Tigger and which one was Trouble."

McGovern said although she understands the officer wanted to protect her and her family, "he disobeyed an order in our own house. If I knew he was going to shoot Tigger and disobey us, I would have shot Trouble myself."

[Lex]

Well, what did she want the police to do!?!  ???

Show up to pet the dogs and then leave?

[aries]

Well if I were the owner that cop would be as dead as my dog right now

They loved that animal like a member of the family, yet didn't react when the thug murdered him!

[Lex]

Well if I were the owner that cop would be as dead as my dog right now

They loved that animal like a member of the family, yet didn't react when the thug murdered him!

The owners were complete idiots. They wanted the cops to come but they didn't want the dogs taken or shot, so what in the world did they want the cop to do?!

[Kat Kanning]

The article said she wanted one dog shot and not the other.

[Lex]

The article said she wanted one dog shot and not the other.

When things came down to shooting dogs, yeah.

But there is also this:

McGovern had already called police on Dec. 22, when Trouble attacked Tigger inside her home. McGovern said she asked police to remove Trouble, but was told it was a civil matter between her and the dog's owner. She said she feared the owner would have her arrested if she gave the dog to a humane society.

"If police thought there was a danger, then why didn't they do something about it on the twenty-second?" she asked.

McGovern didn't want to give the dog to the human society but calling the cops to come and shoot the dog in her house was better?

[lildog]

This story is just messed up beyond belief.  If anyone hears anything more about this please do share as I?m interested in hearing.

[Fluff and Stuff]

Don't they have a government or private dog collector in Derry?

[CNHT]

The article said she wanted one dog shot and not the other.

It sounds to me like she already knew Trouble was trouble, was arguing with the owner about picking him up and taking him away, and should have had the animal control officers remove him sooner if he posed a threat to her own dog. I feel she was irresponsible and let the situation get out of hand, and rather than see children and adults hurt, the officer just did what his gut reaction was and it was to shoot any dog he saw there. She put the officer in a bad position.

What kind of mother knowingly leaves a dog that attacks like that in the presence of her children since Dec 22nd?

With freedom comes responsibility, and if you are going to be irresponsible, then this kind of screw up happens.
Simply put, she called the cops, and he did not have time to figure out which dog was the problem, so he did what he could to save HUMANS.
The woman, however, could have done something to rid herself of the bad dog, sooner.
You can't always automatically blame the cops, and I would hate to have their jobs, which are dangerous.

[CNHT]

Don't they have a government or private dog collector in Derry?

It's called an Animal Control Officer. And they WILL take unwanted animals away and then contact the true owner for action.
That is what she should have done.

But being a dog lover, she probably did not want to subject the dog to the pound, but had she done it, she might still have her own dog now.

[CNHT]

McGovern didn't want to give the dog to the humane society but calling the cops to come and shoot the dog in her house was better?

Because this was the last resort after not doing the right thing. People can't blame government for their own stupidity!!!!!
Things got so bad, she called people she knew would have a GUN.
But, if that dog were that dangerous, and the owner would not come get it, I would have SHOT IT MYSELF rather than see my children be in harm's way!

By the way, I am a dog lover, having owned a most wonderful border collie for years that was my best friend, but when an animal is crazed, what must be done must be done.