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A dog fight ended with a hail of bullets in a Philadelphia suburb, leaving residents shocked and looking for answers.
The incident started on Friday at around noon when a stray dog got into a pickup truck at a red light in Chester, Pa., and began fighting with another pooch, NBCPhiladelphia.com reported.
Cops were called when the dogs couldn't be separated, and when they arrived, witnesses were stunned at the reaction. One officer shot at the dogs five times with a pistol, then another fired one blast from a shotgun. Both dogs were killed.
And this all went down right in front of Chester High School.
Tehran Freeman, a dog owner himself who lives down the block from the shooting, captured the incident on video with his cell phone and was outraged at the handling of the situation.
"I don't care how bad they try to make Chester seem, this is not a war zone, you don't do things like that," he told NBCPhiladelphia.com.
"I thought them as the police should be held to a higher standard and would have some type of procedure for breaking it up than actually pulling out your pistols in front of the high school."
Freeman told NBCNews.com that the bigger, more aggressive dog seemed to be a pit bull and had a leash, but the other smaller dog didn't. It was unclear who the owners were.
He said when he saw the police the "last thing that I thought would happen" is that they would open fire with their guns.
"It wasn't secure at all, I know bullets can ricochet and anything else -- you're trying to shoot two animals in the back of a metal vehicle, that bullet can go anywhere."
Chester police told NBCPhiladelphia.com that the incident was under investigation and at the time the animal control officer in the city was unavailable.
Freeman added that some of the cops involved seemed as upset as anyone.
"One of the officers actually looked very, very shaken up about it," he said.
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Cops are getting to trigger happy . Seems like the force doesn't have ant police with any common sense anymore. This is happening all over the country just look at the President and Holder with fast and furious they aren't held accountable for their actions. Take the guns away from these type of cops.
And they want to take away my guns?
KEEP YOUR STUPID MUTTS ON LEASHES! Oh, and please shut them the hell up too.
Dogs dont need to be shot when they fight. I guess we should shoot peole when they fight too? Its not hard....
Seriously? They needed to use deadly force on two dogs to keep one from killing the other. Huh. Oh, and if front of a school? Huh....
... and they are worried about citizens being armed.........
them cops need there house burned down!
Everybody knows all you have to do to break up a dog fight is stick your finger up their butts..google it! However if I were a cop faced with the prospect of breaking up a dog fight by the old traditional method..I would shoot the damn dog!
Evidently a lot of you have never seen two large breed dogs fighting, it is like breaking up a fight between two women, you don't know where to safely grab....lol
No don't use your finger. Use a lit cigarette. Use your finger the fight stops but the dog bites you. Use a lit cigarette and game over for all dogs involved.
I learned that one after a year of yanking dogs apart by hand and getting bitten a few times. Running a kennel you see it all with dogs.
Aah, more fat, bald, bone-headed cops doing what they do best - acting without thinking and generally being hostile morons.
Thats Philly for you - you can bet they weren't union dogs - shame it wasn't before the election - those were probably 10 votes for Barry by those dogs but they'll vote again the next 5 elections - I'm just kidding (about the union thing anyways) LMAO
Hmmn, let's see what the problem could be. Bad part of town with an aggressive dog attaching another dog, or possibly a student since it was so close to a school, and the cops are expected to do what, give the doc a treat and call it a day. And who do you think would be blamed if they didn't do anything, and by the way, a pit pull is very aggressive and I have had one almost puncture a tire on my truck? I don't blame the cops at all for carrying guns in the event of an attack. Maybe the neighbors should do more to support their schools and police force, and do less carrying for aggressive beasts, and spending more time in school.
If a cop has to shoot 5 times at close range to hit something and shoot in front of school risking a richochet then there is a problem with the police force and the training those guys receive. If it was pit attacking another dog I will have to say shooting was probably the safest if the dogs were separate. I thought most cops carried tasers anyway, why not tase the dog?
Okay...for one...you don't need bullets to stop a dog fight, you need your brain and ingenuity....two...you don't need to use a finger up the butt or a cigarette up the butt like some crazy redneck posted earlier. These officers were obviously so desperate to say they were involved in a gunfight that they chose to have one with dogs (did you earn a badge of valor, officers?)! The Animal Control Officer being unavailable???? Are you REALLY going to use that as an excuse!!! PLEASE tell me that you are not going to use the fact that your pi$$-poor planning and your poor excuse of training of your officers is a good reason to pull weapons out and discharge rounds in a crowded zone because dogs were fighting!!!
So what you are saying is, "It's okay for us to discharge rounds at living souls (the poor dogs) who are NOT breaking the law, but may have their life in jeopardy, in a public place, less than 100 yards from someone's home, with bystanders a few feet away AND near a school, and that, rather than use my pea-sized nutshell of a brain, I'm just going to reach for my weapon and KILL, because I have the AUTHORIZATION, simply because I wear the uniform and some dumb-a$$ gave me a badge"!!!!....
Pretty much that's what you're saying. Hmmm. So From my point of view, you killed an innocent animal, a life that needed help. The dog was being accosted, and if it was an intentional set-up, those poor dogs were being USED in a very bad way. Death was NOT the answer. Oh, Officers? Ever hear of TRANQ guns???? Google it, you might learn something. Remind me not to call you when I'm being accosted, you might shoot me too!
This is why I will ALWAYS believe that gun control is a really BAD decision. Don't tell me I can't have a weapon...because I KNOW I will need it to protect myself...especially when these dumb-a$$ cops pull their weapons out and shoot whoever, whatever, and whenever, even without a reason!...I don't want to end up dead from a criminal OR from a COP...Just let me protect myself...cause I am who I trust! Oh, and BTW, remember that these poor dogs are not the only innocent animals killed by trigger happy cops...
One last thing...I KNOW cops never know what is going to happen...they can never be sure if someone in a vehicle is going to draw down on them...I know plenty of police officers...but truly, these officers, and all the officers in the other situations, who go to the wrong home, kill an animal because it happens to be in the same vicinity as them, they are shooting at will, without cause, because we all know that dogs don't have thumbs...or fingers, or carry guns...so get out your pepper spray, you dumb-a$$es!!! Just Sa N!!! And for my friends on FB, pardon my passionate wording...but they have gone too far!!!
ok if I'm reading this story correctly, a stray dog jumped into a pick-up and attacked another dog.
So the cops killed both dogs? WTF.
Imagine if your with your dog and some ghetto dog attacks your dog and the cops not only shoot the attacker but shot gun blast your little pooch.
The cops should be arrested and locked up for a long, long time.
Plus anyone who trains and fights dogs sould be locked up forever.
of course the officer seemed very very shaken..he's worried about his pension!
now on this one here i vote gun control. there is no reason for them to have shot and killed either of those dogs. cops with guns are a danger to society. any time you put a gun in a cowards hand aka gang-banger aka cop you got trouble waiting to happen. i wouldn't be surprised if there was a baby in a car seat back there where they were shooting so freely. i see ignorance like this all the time. people you have 2 hands the dog has 1 set of teeth grab the dog lift him and toss him problem solved no one hurt. a dog is only a danger if your a coward. nonsense like this burns me to the bone. i say turn a few dogs loose on the officer while they don't have they gun.
trigger happy assses what ever happen to aminal control they like to shoot people and aminals because they can get away with it
Oh Damn !! We have an all knowing, all seeing bad ass over here ya'll
Maybe if we are all lucky we can be like you when we grow up !!
Got all the facts straight from a 30 second video, and has now pronounced judgment.
I sure hope to hell you never make it on a jury. Your mind is made up before the Judge says "Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, we are here today to,,,,,,,,"
Really, are you a Pa cop too or an Attorney? You saw and heard it with your own eyes on the 30 sec video plus one man who video- taped this inhumane act in front of dozen of witnesses.
This is the idiots of slum city Philadelphia with brain less cops.
i thought only cops knew how to use firearms safely in an urban situation such as this? both should be fired immediately with revocation of pension benefits. two f-ing bozos with firearms.
These sorry a$$ excuses of a human being....are an absolute disgrace to our country....and this is how they handle everything these days.....America needs to rise up now....we need to take our country back and fire all of these pathetic losers they hire for protecting and serving!!!!!
It's time for some Batman like justice. It reminds me of an episode of the Simsons, when Homor buys a gun. Bet they use their gun too turn off the lights. This country deserves a better kind of peace keeper.
The officer made a bad decision? I was certain the gun did it :) (sarc)
Bloody idiots! Didn't anybody there have any sense on how to handle animals?? Didn't anybody have a garden hose? A bucket to throw water on them? Lord knows it isn't easy to break up a dog fight, might of had to shot one of the dogs. But hell that many times? Point blank and then do it with a shotgun? Totally idiots and then to do it in a location like that?
And what about the guy's dog that was in the back of the truck? If I was him/her I would definitely sue for "overkill" in that situation as well as for killing my dog! And I do have my dog ride in the back of my truck sometimes.
A fire extinguisher would of worked
Another excellent idea. And I read an earlier comment about using a taser. Cops should have both in their cars! I hope those cops get into some big time trouble over this.
I am pretty sure these idiot cops wouldn't even think about a taser if they are strapped. This entire state is filled with gun ho cops looking for trouble the 50+ years i lived here. I've seen it soo many times from Steelton, Pa to Philly. They actually think they are above the law. These cops should be fired. Period! They were totally wreckless and had little disreguard for any pedestrians standing around. 5 shots to kill a dog and a gunshot blast. Serio? ...This is soo pathetic!! It's sickening....
I have seen dogs that attack/fight like this and under no circumstances can they be pulled apart. So yes the shooting was warranted and yes that many shots and the use of a shot gun was necessary otherwise we may be reading about a mauled child.
You are a complete moron!!! Now get lost!!!!
Fed Up-2009841
How can you say it was just? Would you still say that if a ricochet or piece of shrapnel hit and injured or killed a kid/bystander? And YES you can break up 2 dogs fighting. Fire extinguisher, pepper spray, taser, all 3 of those the cops SHOULD have had in the squad car. I got 2 German shepherds apart when I was 13. Using a stick and a loud voice. No more excuses! Cops need to think BEFORE they act. If they are the type of cops we have to protect us, we are in trouble.
Bucket or large cup or hose with WATER TO SPLASH ON THE DOGS.....stops a dog fight every time. You just have to shock them out of the aggression state.
Hearing the squeal of pain from the dying dogs in the video just made me want to vomit...at the stupidity...of unnecessary killing of simple, innocent animals.
Damn....I sure as hell wish all you phucking critics were there to break up the fight.
As a matter of fact, I sure wish the police would have let the dogs fight and then let the winner loose in the neighborhood to pick off a few of you!
Oh, and the next time you need a cop, do me a favor. Don't call one...Call your lawyer, instead!!!