Collateral Damage: The Partial Story According to DBO! By WhoisColleenLynn

Back in November 2014,  Dogsbite.org provided a graph tracking data relating to dog shooting and the Buffalo Police from 2011. DBO asked the question  “is the problem of dogs shot by police a police problem, a dangerous dog problem or both? Well Anti Pit Bull Supporters gave their opinions and DBO provided a link to a Facebook group, BUT not a link to the original article from WGRZ-TV called “Collateral Damage”.

I read the article and what I found interesting, in typical DBO style, shock and awe with the headlines but leave the facts and other information out. For example, what DBO fails to inform their followers and just about anyone that commented or reads their post is this:

Buffalo Police shot at 92 dogs from Jan. 1, 2011 through Sept. 2014. Of those 92 dogs, 73 of those dogs died. One of the dogs shot dead, was a two-year old Pit Bull named Cindy. Cindy, shot in her home, when police officiers holding a warrant ENTERED THE WRONG HOME. Cindy’s owner not home at the time, returned to find bullet holes in the walls and no Cindy, who was carried off by animal control after the shooting. 

Again in July 29, 2014, Buffalo Police executing a search warrant, looking for “Ecstasy” shot and killed a one year old Pit Bull named “Rocky”. The dogs owner,  Ronald Raiser III was awoken by two-gun shots and a final “squeal” from his dog Rocky. A small amount of Marijuana was found in a roommate’s bedroom, but no other items found listed in the search warrant. The Police report listed the dog as “aggressive” just like the incident involving “Cindy”. Incidentally, the same police officer that killed Rocky also killed Cindy and 26 other dogs in a three-and-a half-year span, more than any other police officer in the department. 

 In fact, the amount of dogs in a 3-and-a-half year span the Police Officer that killed Cindy and Rocky  surpasses the amount of dogs killed in other Police Departments across the country. For example,  Cincinnati Police Officers had shot 27 dogs from Jan. 1, 2011 through Sept. 2014. Also, NYPD is recorded from discharge records shooting 72 dogs in 2011 and 2012, but fewer than 30 percent of those cases (21) resulted in fatalities. Buffalo Police – which has a fatality rate of 79 percent since 2011 in officer-involved dog shootings – killed twice as many dogs as the NYPD in that two-year span (Spewak & Blarr, n.d.).

 So there you have it, as I see it, the graph provided by DBO relating to the Buffalo Police Department doesn’t really compare to other cities such as New York City and Cincinnati. Does that mean Buffalo  Police Officers might require additional training in regards to dangerous dogs? Well why other cities such as Ithaca, N.Y., Atlanta, Ga., Texas, Washington, Idaho, Indiana and California are implementing training for Police Officers on how to deal with”canine encounters”, Buffalo’s Chief  has not implemented this training for his Department.

Danny Spewak and Megan Blarr. (n.d.).  WGRZ Collateral Damage: Police shooting dogs in line of duty

http://www.wgrz.com/story/news/local/buffalo/2014/11/14/buffalo-pd-dog-shootings/19012631/