Untitled topic

Unbelievably sad.

If anyone ever doubted whether memes (in the original Dawkins sense) are real, this is a good demonstration. Lately, police have just taken to shooting dogs willy-nilly.

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/incoming-police-ch...

So many questions! Why would they think it was alright to cuff the videographer? Why wouldn't they expect a dog to attempt to protect his owner? If they had successfully cuffed the gentleman and taken him away in the squad car, would they have left the dog in a hot car (a crime here in Pennsylvania)? Why weren't the other people taking videos also arrested?

I hope some of these police officers lose their jobs, but apparently the laws no longer those who are supposed to enforce them. If our president acts like he's above the law, why shouldn't everyone else with even a smidgen of authority?

In any case, the video is horrible. As a dog owner, I can imagine the poor guys sadness and I can only hope he isn't persecuted (used to be prosecuted) for "having a dangerous dog".

Unless you have a real emergency and need assistance, it's best to avoid the police whenever possible, even if you've done nothing wrong. Local police forces have many officers that are poorly trained and believe that they have plenary power or act as if they do in any situation. Of course, this isn't true about all local police officers, but if you don't know which officers are the good ones, you should just avoid all police whenever possible. Even large "local" police departments have very negative reputations in America; especially the NYPD, LAPD and Chicago PD.

I think that that stories on HN about FBI abuses of power are popular because people expect more from the FBI. It's comforting to think that there is a highly trained law enforcement group that can intercede when a local department is incompetent or inadequate, and the realization that the FBI can be just as bad or even worse than local law enforcement is disheartening.

Why are guns even used on dogs? Shouldn't there be a way to sedate aggressive dogs? I just don't understand. Getting shot by a gun as a human or dog is almost always going to be fatal.