Justice for Geist .. website for dog killed in his own back yard by cops - Page 1

A dog shot in his own fenced in and gated back yard .. white people with money this time and the owner has stirred up a mess for the slick heads neo-military cops on the Salt Lake Police force.  This is becoming a nationwide movement as hundreds of dogs are killed by police illegally entering property and killing people's dogs with the same excuse as they use to shoot unarmed people .. "I feared for my life" is their get out of jail card.  Geist was shot in the head and was no where near the cop who shot him and I use cop instead of officer because he is a coward and a thug not an officer.  When the police can kill your dog in your own closed and latched yard or hop your fence and kill your dog then how are any of us safer for this misuse of their gun and their hiding behind a badge.

http://www.justiceforgeist.org/

I am surprised that no cop has been shot when entering a yard...at night...in the dark...and the dog/s barking...I would think someone would have been going out with their gun ready and if...in the dark...someone shoots at you...your family or your dog...You can shoot to protect yourself...

This was a white man's dog and he has money.....this is what the department does not want hear.

Sad situation, but suing for $1.5 million? Now that guy is just being greedy...

He seems intent on legislative changes and accountability, he'll need all those funds to manage that. The loopholes that they have to go through to even bring suit are ridiculous.

In the case of Geist .. the entire incident was that a child was missing .. the child was sleeping in her own home the entire time.  The cop was so stupid that he did not bother to search the home for the child.  Geist died because a stupid cop made at least two bad decisions .. search the childs home for the child before running all over the neighborhood was stupid decision #1.  The second bad decision was to enter a back yard with a latched gate and then shoot the dog instead of just backing out.  The dog was not near the cop when he shot Geist.  The cop comes into the latched gate and shoots the dog before he even gets close to Geist or Geist gets close to him.  The cop was following procedure according to the Salt Lake Police chief who shaves his head to look more macho so I hope Geist's owner collects $1.5 million as that will likely lead to a new procedure and hopefully the firing of the cop and the police chief.  Police departments will soon need malpractice insurance and malpractice of their oath and duties will be the cause.  The number of dogs being killed by cops has become obscene and the circumstances are also sometimes beyond belief.  A woman in Atlanta had her dog shot while chained in her garage by a cop who was at the wrong address.  He feared for his safety while approaching a clearly chained and restrained dog .. put him in jail for animal cruelty and take his badge if that is the kind of judgement a police thug has.

I think its helping that Geist was a Wiemeraner,  they hardly have any

reputation as a guarding or 'vicious' breed, do they ?

Someone in the demo pic was carrying a placard that said:

"POSTMEN SHOULD TRAIN THE SLCPD" - thats probably not

a bad idea.  We know that hundreds of postal workers get bitten

by peoples dogs every year - I never heard of any of them

shooting a dog.

And they have the sort of "how to deal with canines" training

many of us have long suggested the police should get.

Your average meter reader could teach cops a whole lot about dogs. 

I no longer have the link for this story, but here in Ontario, a police officer managed to subdue a woman's bully-type dog that tried to attack  him. It had managed to get loose from the backyard, and the neighbours had called to complain.

Did he go for his gun? Nope. He tazered the dog.

Also heard of another case where the cops corralled the loose dog WITHOUT resorting to weapons of any sort. I think they just cornered it in someone's yard, and the owner was able to get a leash on it.

So, LISTEN UP, you stupid cops....IT CAN BE DONE WITHOUT KILLING THE DOG!!

I DO agree with the officer being in the wrong, and do think the owner of Giest has a case. However....

"The cop was so stupid that he did not bother to search the home for the child.  Geist died because a stupid cop made at least two bad decisions .. search the childs home for the child before running all over the neighborhood was stupid decision #1."

Where did you find that he was the first responding officer? For him to be "stupid" and not check the missing child's home first, he would have been one of the first on the scene. He very well could have been just following orders from someone else.

"I think its helping that Geist was a Wiemeraner,  they hardly have any

reputation as a guarding or 'vicious' breed, do they ?"

Not everyone is well versed in dog breeds and the characteristics that go with the breed.  I have had people think my Mal was a Lab cross, my Dutch was Great Dane, and my adult Collie a Sheltie. People just don't know!

" We know that hundreds of postal workers get bitten

by peoples dogs every year - I never heard of any of them

shooting a dog."

Because they don't carry guns. I am sure if they did, there would be shootings.

Although law enforcement would benefit from training on how to deal with dogs, they don't receive it. As dog people it is easy for us to pick apart these situations and say that it was unjust, but LEO's are just like the general public. Most don't know basic dog body language and behavior.

As I have said before, it is a sad situation. I hope no matter the outcome of the case, some type of awareness and training program is developed.