North Wales Police deliberately mow down dog

But its all well and good saying youd just hit it but most peoples reactions would have them serving before theyve even realised what it was
 
Freefaller said:
If there wasn't a firearms unit to hand then I think they did what they had to do. The dog was creating a risk to other motorists. However a firearms unit would have been a better solution.

As much of a dog lover as I am (grew up with cats and dogs) I feel they were limited on what they could do and whilst not very fair on the dog they had little other choice.
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I imagine a firearms unit probably was called, but if you have a dog running around, getting a clear shot that doesn't put other people at risk is hard with a potentially small target.

I would expect a reasonably long incident log with all the rationale for why they had to take actions that were "creative". You don't run a dog down in a police vehicle without a lot of rationale.
 
After having a chat with a member of the force via their live chat, it is apparently already under investigation by the IPCC due to a large volume of complaints.
 
Martini1991 said:
Does anyone actually believe they just managed to run the Dog over and kill it clean and simple? (As they're basically making out). It's not like the dog sat there and let them.
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^ This.

If the dog running around all over the place was THAT much of a threat to drivers, how come it just sat there and let itself get run over?

It's not any threat to drivers, who can simply come to a stop and sit there with windows safely rolled up and the radio on. In fact, it's harder to keep people from getting out and helping!

Cops have these hazard lights and FLIPPIN' BRIGHT flashy blue lights and road cones and warning triangles and a FLIPPIN' MASSIVE great car, with which to close the road and warn people.
As mentioned, there are plenty of matrix signs along this stretch, too.

With all that going on, any driver who fails to stop probably needs their licence taken away.
But as is, drivers generally aren't that bad - I've seen plenty of similar incidents on the busy 3-lane A road near my house, where big-ass frightened deer, sheep, horses and dogs were running all over the road during far busier and far faster traffic than this.
Rarely have the Police arrived within half an hour, but not once was a motorist or a motor vehicle even damaged by the errant animal, not once was the animal hit and not once did anyone have to run it over to solve the problem.

This force probably has K9 units, as well as a nearby RSPCA peeps and even other officers experienced handling errant animals.

Plus, the cops themselves both have dogs - They should know not to approach a scared animal or expect it will bite.

Very badly handled, Mr Nicknick...
 
^^ No offence but I've seen these kind of situations (usually horses and dogs confused and bolting after an accident) and its nothing like you are talking about - not unusual for them to run in and out of the roadside foliage/bushes, etc. potentially appearing in an instant infront of a driver - it really has the potential to be very difficult to control and a real risk of danger to other road users and they don't just stay in one place you can nicely cone off, etc.

I doubt it just sat there and let itself be run over - the cop probably saw a chance and took it at some point.

(Not that it couldn't happen at any time with wild animals but that isn't something you can control).
 
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Rroff said:
^^ No offence but I've seen these kind of situations (usually horses and dogs confused and bolting after an accident) and its nothing like you are talking about - not unusual for them to run in and out of the roadside foliage/bushes, etc. potentially appearing in an instant infront of a driver - it really has the potential to be very difficult to control and a real risk of danger to other road users and they don't just stay in one place you can nicely cone off, etc.

(Not that it couldn't happen at any time with wild animals but that isn't something you can control).
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Having done my fair share of chasing after horses and other wild animals in the Hampshire rurals, I couldn't agree more. It seems simple from an armchair, but the reality is much more unpredictable.
 
Burnsy2023 said:
Having done my fair share of chasing after horses and other wild animals in the Hampshire rurals, I couldn't agree more. It seems simple from an armchair, but the reality is much more unpredictable.
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I think there is more to this than what the force is letting on, their statement doesn't add up for me and is missing certain details of what was attempted before deciding to run it over.

Going to complain to the IPCC about it as personally i think it was very poorly handled by the force.
 
Living in rural Somerset its not a completely rare situation - though it doesn't usually end with the animal being run down :S
 
Tough the outcome is not ideal, i can understand the reasoning. None of us here are as aware of the situation as officers at the scene, a judgement was made with the idea of safety rather than maliciousness toward dogs.

You can suggest road closures and this and that but there is nothing to say that as cars on the road reduce, the dog wouldn't go to the nearest busy road or non closed off area or just hide in a bush until the road re-opens. Though it is unfortunate the dog was killed, the situation was settled.

The officer no doubt knew there would be some backlash after the incident and took the chance to end it anyway.

I am not going to praise the officers actions but neither am i going to grab a pitchfork and join the mob. The incident will no doubt be investigated and the decision will come under scrutiny if judged to be wrong. I would rather a system where police were not afraid to act while being kept in line by assessment over a system which is kept in line due to fear of job loss created by the whim of public opinion generated by one media outlet or another.
 
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Rroff said:
^^ No offence but I've seen these kind of situations (usually horses and dogs confused and bolting after an accident) and its nothing like you are talking about
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I've sat there and watched with my own eyes.

Rroff said:
they don't just stay in one place you can nicely cone off, etc.
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No, but the traffic does.

I dunno, maybe Reading traffic and Police are somehow special or something, but I've watched a good 40+ incidents like this myself and not once were they this 'disastrous Daily Fail exhibitions of mayhem and threatened drivers requiring the precision weaponisation of a vehicle that only a skilled Police driver can manage'...
 
thebennyboy said:
Going to complain to the IPCC about it as personally i think it was very poorly handled by the force.
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You're basing a complaint on a news report without any personal involvement or experience? You, like most people in this thread haven't got a scooby of what was done or why. The press are hardly a bastion of accuracy in cases such as this. You do realise that complaints can be a really big deal for officers and that you're ignorant, knee jerk reaction actually affects people?

Also, you don't complain to the IPCC, you complain to the force and they will be overseen by the IPCC.
 
To play devil's advocate, let's pretend it wasn't a dog and was instead, a different animal of roughly the same size (thus allowing the same destruction method).

Same reasons for destruction apply.

Do your feels towards it change?
 
Burnsy2023 said:
You're basing a complaint on a news report without any personal involvement or experience? You, like most people in this thread haven't got a scooby of what was done or why. The press are hardly a bastion of accuracy in cases such as this. You do realise that complaints can be a really big deal for officers and that you're ignorant, knee jerk reaction actually affects people?

Also, you don't complain to the IPCC, you complain to the force and they will be overseen by the IPCC.
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Everything within my complaint to the force was regarding what was said in the statement they themselves released so nothing that was said could possibly have been made up. Before you question my judgment to complaint about it, i did ring the IPCC to ask whether it was something that i could realistically complaint about. The answer was "Yes it is."

Couldn't care less whether it has a negative effect on a member of the force, if it's investigated properly and they find protocol was properly followed then nobody suffers as a result. Don't see the issue with complaining. How can i be ignorant when i'm basing what i said in my complaint on the statement they THEY THEMSELVES RELEASED.
 
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thebennyboy said:
Everything within my complaint to the force was regarding what was said in the statement they themselves released so nothing that was said could possibly have been made up. Before you question my judgment to complaint about it, i did ring the IPCC to ask whether it was something that i could realistically complaint about. The answer was "Yes it is."
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And we both know that the Police statement won't be the whole story because the Police aren't in the business of releasing the full incident logs over something like this. You don't have all the facts and you should be well aware of that.

Also, just because you can complain, doesn't mean you should.
 
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