Please sign and share this petition on all your social media in an effort to stop police officers from freely shooting people’s pets and punish officers who do. Citizens in the Filer area have high concerns regarding the safety of their pets from police officers.
Citizens in Longmont, Colorado are pleading publicly with the police department, holding up such signs as “Mr. Policeman, don’t shoot my dog” or “Killing our pets is not protecting and serving.” Many other signs could be seen with similar sentiments. The public is so concerned and angry that they created a Face Book page of “Dogs Shot by Police.”
The rally held in a Filer parking lot was assembled in an effort to gain justice for a black Labrador named “Hooch” who was fatally shot by Police Officer Hassani. Hooch’s shooting, filmed by a dashboard-mounted video camera in Hassani’s cruiser, hit a nerve with pet lovers almost everywhere and made international headlines, most recently in the United Kingdom-based Daily Mail. An advocate for animal behavior training for law enforcement officers stated that “Officer-involved dog shootings happen more often than you would believe!” It is becoming a national problem.
A new law is drafted for Colorado, the first in the nation, which is requiring all officers to be trained in recognizing dog behaviors and employ non-lethal methods to control them when necessary. Because dog shootings by police has gotten so out of hand, dog-encounter training needs to be mandated and officers need to abide by the new law or be held accountable. The Dog Protection Act was signed back in April of 2013 but obviously it is not enforced.
Pets need to be protected throughout the state and such laws should be instilled nationwide. Pets are family members and causing their demise so carelessly by police officers should be a crime. Please sign and share this petition on all your social media in an effort to stop police officers from freely shooting people’s pets and punish officers who do. Citizens in the Filer area have high concerns regarding the safety of their pets from police officers.
Colorado Law Makers and Judicial System – You need to put an end to all the police shootings that involves family pets. This is not just an occasional instance but has become a common practice that is devastating. As you attempt to change the laws requiring all officers to be trained in recognizing dog behaviors and employ non-lethal methods to control them when necessary, ensure that you also enforce that law. Officers who are in violation need to be held accountable and punished with suspensions and more. The unnecessary killing of people’s pet dogs has got to stop.
