Verderben
09-18-2005, 07:42 PM
This happened to a friend of mine who has a rottie. The police showed up at the wrong house (her house) her dog went to the door when they knocked and they shot her through the door. she lived. but her bottom jaw is nothing but pins and a metal plate now :(
http://pinellas.tbo.com/pinellas/MGBZERRUPDE.html
Police Go To Wrong House, Shoot, Kill Family's Dog
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By STEPHEN THOMPSON spthompson@tampatrib.com (http://us.f314.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=spthompson@tampatrib.com) http://media.tbo.com/tbo/images/spacer.gif
Published: Sep 18, 2005 http://media.tbo.com/tbo/images/spacer.gif
The tip was a little vague.
An anonymous resident called to say a man wanted on outstanding charges was in a yellow house at Third Avenue South and 30th Street.
There is a yellow house at the north side of the street at that intersection. On the south side of the street is another one that's yellow too, if a tad on the gold side.
That afternoon, on Sept. 7, St. Petersburg police went to the gold house. Patrol officers misinterpreted a beware-of-the-dog sign, allowed themselves through a gate, got into a confrontation with the family dog, then shot and killed it.
But they had picked the wrong house, said St. Petersburg police spokesman Bill Proffitt.
Home alone with the dog, a 58-pound mixed-breed pit bull named Red, was Carletha Hill, a 36-year-old social services employee who was studying for her bachelor's degree, said her husband Willie.
"It devastated her," Willie said of his wife's reaction to Red's death. "She was on the ground trying to pick him up" afterward, Willie Hill said.
Red had been acquired as a gift for the Hills' two children, a 14-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl, about four years ago, said Willie, who sells car stereos.
The children hadn't arrived home yet from school, he said.
In a police report, Officer Ralph Draper said he and another officer, Kurt Bradshaw, went through the front gate, with Bradshaw going to the front door. Bradshaw said he saw the beware-of-the-dog sign, but presumed it was referring to a dog tied up at the east end of the house.
As Bradshaw went toward the front door, Draper walked toward a GMC Jimmy parked in the yard, intending to use it as cover as he watched the west side of the house.
Red was under the Jimmy, Draper wrote, and he started growling as the officer approached, Draper's report says.
Draper wrote that he then saw Red poke his head out from underneath the vehicle. As Draper backed up, the dog charged him with bared teeth, Draper said.
Draper stated he continued retreating, yelling, "Get, get back," while swinging his left arm at the canine. He tried getting his pepper spray and police baton off his belt, but he couldn't because he was too busy fending off the dog, he wrote.
He did manage to get his flashlight, but when he swung it at Red, the dog got a hold of Draper's entire left hand, bit it, let go, then continued charging, Draper wrote.
That's when Draper pulled his firearm and fired one shot at Red, striking him in the face and killing him, the police report says.
Red's license and vaccinations were up to date, said Welch Agnew, assistant director of veterinary services at Pinellas County Animal Services. In April, Red had jumped up on the fence of the Hill residence and bit a 12-year-old child, Agnew said. He was quarantined, then released back to the family, Agnew said.
The suspect police were looking for was Kino Middleton, a 17-year-old who had failed to show up in court after he was charged with burglary and obstruction, police and court records said.
He lived at neither yellow house, and police believe he is still at large.
"It devastated her."
WILLIE HILL On his wife's reaction to police killing their dog
http://pinellas.tbo.com/pinellas/MGBZERRUPDE.html
Police Go To Wrong House, Shoot, Kill Family's Dog
http://media.tbo.com/tbo/images/spacer.gif
By STEPHEN THOMPSON spthompson@tampatrib.com (http://us.f314.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=spthompson@tampatrib.com) http://media.tbo.com/tbo/images/spacer.gif
Published: Sep 18, 2005 http://media.tbo.com/tbo/images/spacer.gif
The tip was a little vague.
An anonymous resident called to say a man wanted on outstanding charges was in a yellow house at Third Avenue South and 30th Street.
There is a yellow house at the north side of the street at that intersection. On the south side of the street is another one that's yellow too, if a tad on the gold side.
That afternoon, on Sept. 7, St. Petersburg police went to the gold house. Patrol officers misinterpreted a beware-of-the-dog sign, allowed themselves through a gate, got into a confrontation with the family dog, then shot and killed it.
But they had picked the wrong house, said St. Petersburg police spokesman Bill Proffitt.
Home alone with the dog, a 58-pound mixed-breed pit bull named Red, was Carletha Hill, a 36-year-old social services employee who was studying for her bachelor's degree, said her husband Willie.
"It devastated her," Willie said of his wife's reaction to Red's death. "She was on the ground trying to pick him up" afterward, Willie Hill said.
Red had been acquired as a gift for the Hills' two children, a 14-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl, about four years ago, said Willie, who sells car stereos.
The children hadn't arrived home yet from school, he said.
In a police report, Officer Ralph Draper said he and another officer, Kurt Bradshaw, went through the front gate, with Bradshaw going to the front door. Bradshaw said he saw the beware-of-the-dog sign, but presumed it was referring to a dog tied up at the east end of the house.
As Bradshaw went toward the front door, Draper walked toward a GMC Jimmy parked in the yard, intending to use it as cover as he watched the west side of the house.
Red was under the Jimmy, Draper wrote, and he started growling as the officer approached, Draper's report says.
Draper wrote that he then saw Red poke his head out from underneath the vehicle. As Draper backed up, the dog charged him with bared teeth, Draper said.
Draper stated he continued retreating, yelling, "Get, get back," while swinging his left arm at the canine. He tried getting his pepper spray and police baton off his belt, but he couldn't because he was too busy fending off the dog, he wrote.
He did manage to get his flashlight, but when he swung it at Red, the dog got a hold of Draper's entire left hand, bit it, let go, then continued charging, Draper wrote.
That's when Draper pulled his firearm and fired one shot at Red, striking him in the face and killing him, the police report says.
Red's license and vaccinations were up to date, said Welch Agnew, assistant director of veterinary services at Pinellas County Animal Services. In April, Red had jumped up on the fence of the Hill residence and bit a 12-year-old child, Agnew said. He was quarantined, then released back to the family, Agnew said.
The suspect police were looking for was Kino Middleton, a 17-year-old who had failed to show up in court after he was charged with burglary and obstruction, police and court records said.
He lived at neither yellow house, and police believe he is still at large.
"It devastated her."
WILLIE HILL On his wife's reaction to police killing their dog