The sun has risen again, which can only mean another dog has been shot by a police officer. This time the shooting appears to be part of a new police program to help families forget about the loss of a family member by killing one of their pets:
Hamiel’s nephew, Ricky Ellerbe, 33, turned up shot to death hours later, about eight blocks from his home and just yards from the all-night convenience store on Mechanicsville Turnpike that had been his destination.
[…]
Henrico investigators swarmed the area with forensics technicians and tracking dogs, but no arrest had been reported Wednesday night. Ellerbe was one of five children; a brother, Gary, died in 2010 from a heart attack, three years after he’d been repeatedly stabbed.
And in a horrific turn of events, a Henrico police officer shot and killed the Ellerbe family pitbull, Tiger, as it charged toward the officer off its leash.
This harkens back to yesterday’s post discussing the practice in our society, especially with police officers, to use violence as a default reaction. Many people have been quick to point out that the dog was a pitbull; which I’m told is a breed that hunts down and eats small, worships at the alter of Lucifer, and has a propensity to breath fire while spawning small demons around it; that wasn’t on a leash. Even if the dog was active aggressively, which running towards somebody isn’t generally a sign of aggression (dogs run towards people in a friendly manner all the time), police officers generally have a non-lethal, yet very effective (especially on animals of the four-legged variety), option of pepper spray. But when the words “officer safety” are spoken the police are able to get away with whatever form of violence gets their rocks off.
More and more it seems to be the case that death follows police wherever they go. Next time they want to report on a murder they can do the decent thing and just make a phone call.