View Full Version : Officer shot (by homeowner?) after responding to the wrong house
HoneyBadger
09-01-2015, 10:18
Interesting. This is a crappy situation, but I hope the homeowner doesn't face any legal trouble and I really hope nobodies injuries are fatal.
Just outside Atlanta, police responded to a suspicious person call by entering the unlocked backdoor to this guy's home. They claim to have identified themselves, but a lot of details aren't clear. What is clear is that they entered a guy's house, shot his dog, and now the homeowner and one officer have been shot in the leg.
People will probably say that nobody would have been shot if the homeowner wasn't armed (nobody was even able to confirm whether he was armed or not, but I assume he was), and others will probably say that the cop got what he deserved for trespassing or some such garbage. I don't think this is a political issue, just an unfortunate mixup that could have been much more costly.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/09/01/atlanta-area-police-officer-shot-circumstances-unclear/?intcmp=hpbt3
Bad situation all the way around. If someone enters my house at night, dog probably wakes up first, goes to investigate. If I hear someone shoot my dog, I'm assuming its game on and will respond accordingly. If cops only identified themselves upon entry, I doubt I'd hear them in my bedroom, assuming they said it in normal voices and only once. Again, bad situation.
Side notes:
If you call 9-1-1 and can't give an address, try to hang around in a safe area and flag the cops to direct them properly.
Why does an unlocked door mean someone probably broke in?
From what was reported on the news I was watching this morning, someone called in a suspicious person and only gave a description of a home, but not the address. Officer entered through unlocked back door.
First, how many houses on your street are very similar to your house with just a basic description? Where I live, almost all the houses are the same from the outside. Second, there must be much more to the story because when the police get called for suspicious people in my neighborhood, they haven't been entering homes. Sad about the dog. My dog would have been shot in that situation as well.
After arriving on the scene, if the situation wasn't semi-obvious, it was normal to ask dispatch to call back to the reporting party and ask them to meet the responding officer.
It was hit or miss whether the reporting party responded or not, but walking up to an unknown house on an anonymous call is a poor choice.
I hope all parties in this situation recover and a much more complete story emerges from the investigation. There are always lessons to be learned.
Be safe.
Kraven251
09-01-2015, 12:52
I feel the worst for the dog.
BlasterBob
09-01-2015, 13:01
KEEP THE DOORS LOCKED.
As long as we are both in the house or at least one of us is in the house, the doors are locked. Got that rule while living in the Chicago area many years ago.
BushMasterBoy
09-01-2015, 13:17
Blue on blue...
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/atlanta-area-cop-likely-shot-fellow-officer-after-entering-wrong-n419491
So this guys dog gets killed and he gets shot by the cops going to the wrong house?? I hope he never had to work another day in his life.
I hope the homeowner doesn't face any legal trouble
-not sure it's a crime (yet) to get shot in your own house while innocently minding your own business.
I feel the worst for the dog.
This.
HoneyBadger
09-01-2015, 15:30
-not sure it's a crime (yet) to get shot in your own house while innocently minding your own business.
When I said that I hope the homeowner doesn't face any legal trouble, it was under the premise that some of the flying bullets were his. Since it appears to be blue on blue, and the officers really fvcked it up, I do think they ought to face some very tough questions and the victim ought to get a pretty nice compensation for almost dying and for losing his dog at the hands of [legal] intruders.
Owner better get paid. Officer was doing his job but should not have entered based on suspicious call. Not necessarily the officers fault but it damn sure wasn't the dog or homeowners fault. Trespassing is just that whether the door was unlocked or not.
If cops only identified themselves upon entry, I doubt I'd hear them in my bedroom, assuming they said it in normal voices and only once. Again, bad situation.
So a couple of weeks ago DoCo SWAT goes banging down the door to the guy across the streets house - at 0630. I come flying out of bed, throw on some shorts, and go outside. There are two guys in FULL BATTLE RATTLE banging down the neighbors door - with a ram (that they are using poorly). There are no marked cop cars outside and they don't have POLICE or SWAT or SHERIFF on their plate carriers and I don't see any badges. I go back inside to grab something bigger and notice out of the corner of my eye a uniformed cop down the street (probably 600' or so) - so I put two and two together and go inside. Eventually the homeowner get to the door as they bust in -- then the cops go ape shit with them, screaming at them, berating them for making them break down the door. Bad things ensue.
Okay, so I get curious because I don't ever remember them announcing POLICE or SWAT or SHERIFF the whole time they are banging down the door (2.5 minutes). I pull up my camera recording of the incident, and it has full sound of everything that happened. I listen and confirm they NEVER ANNOUNCED POLICE OR ANYTHING OF THE SORT - at least not until the homeowner was at the door and they were already practically inside. I think back on that incident and heaven forbid what would happen if I was ever in that situation. All I would know is that two heavily armed men were trying to bust into my house. I think that would end poorly for everyone involved.
Owner better get paid. Officer was doing his job but should not have entered based on suspicious call. Not necessarily the officers fault but it damn sure wasn't the dog or homeowners fault. Trespassing is just that whether the door was unlocked or not.
The police will claim exigent circumstances. The homeowner will get jail time. Watch.
The police will claim exigent circumstances. The homeowner will get jail time. Watch.
Which I would say is utter BS if it does happen that way. I sure hope not. If that's the case then I am hoping the cops get nailed for unlawful discharge of weapon killing personal property, breaking an entry, attempted murder, and all the other laws that were broken had he not been acting in the line of duty.
i just think mistakes like this need to get paid out and thankfully no human life was lost but a best friend was needlessly killed because of poor information.
Why the fuck do cops think it's OK to just shoot dogs in their own homes? Protecting their homes and families is instinctive to dogs. Strangers break in, of course they're going to bark and growl, it's their duty. It's what they do. The cop doesn't belong there!
Shooting a dog in its own home is just about the most chickenshit thing a "man" can do. What a fucking hero. What a professional.
Bailey Guns
09-01-2015, 17:32
The police will claim exigent circumstances. The homeowner will get jail time. Watch.
Based on what we know so far? I'll take that bet. That's kind of a ridiculous statement to make at this point.
This sounds like a training issue to me. They made huge mistakes most likely based on poor/lack of training or failing to properly follow procedures. I'm guessing the homeowner comes out just fine on this...obviously other than the gunshot wound and loss of his dog.
Ron, it seems pretty clear that the dog jimmied the lock, unlawfully entered the property, then resisted arrest upon being confronted by police. You're just going to have to let this one go. That homeowner was pretty lucky that there was suspicious activity going on down the street, or else the officer might not have ever had the opportunity to foil this K9 criminal.
Nobody mentioned breed or color or sexuality of the dog yet.
Ron, it seems pretty clear that the dog jimmied the lock, unlawfully entered the property, then resisted arrest upon being confronted by police. You're just going to have to let this one go. That homeowner was pretty lucky that there was suspicious activity going on down the street, or else the officer might not have ever had the opportunity to foil this K9 criminal.
And that is pretty much how the report will be written.
Rooskibar03
09-01-2015, 18:21
Nobody mentioned breed or color or sexuality of the dog yet.
if the dog identified as a homosexual cat could we call it a hate crime?
if the dog identified as a homosexual cat could we call it a hate crime?
Nope. Everyone hates cays and society just accepts it.
So a couple of weeks ago DoCo SWAT goes banging down the door to the guy across the streets house - at 0630. I come flying out of bed, throw on some shorts, and go outside. There are two guys in FULL BATTLE RATTLE banging down the neighbors door - with a ram (that they are using poorly). There are no marked cop cars outside and they don't have POLICE or SWAT or SHERIFF on their plate carriers and I don't see any badges. I go back inside to grab something bigger and notice out of the corner of my eye a uniformed cop down the street (probably 600' or so) - so I put two and two together and go inside. Eventually the homeowner get to the door as they bust in -- then the cops go ape shit with them, screaming at them, berating them for making them break down the door. Bad things ensue.
Okay, so I get curious because I don't ever remember them announcing POLICE or SWAT or SHERIFF the whole time they are banging down the door (2.5 minutes). I pull up my camera recording of the incident, and it has full sound of everything that happened. I listen and confirm they NEVER ANNOUNCED POLICE OR ANYTHING OF THE SORT - at least not until the homeowner was at the door and they were already practically inside. I think back on that incident and heaven forbid what would happen if I was ever in that situation. All I would know is that two heavily armed men were trying to bust into my house. I think that would end poorly for everyone involved.
Owner should have lit them up with some rubber bullets.
[Sarcasm2]
gnihcraes
09-01-2015, 20:01
wait until the crooks decide to start yelling POLICE before/while breaking into homes..
HoneyBadger
09-01-2015, 20:30
wait until the crooks decide to start yelling POLICE before/while breaking into homes..
Yeah... would probably help them gain entry in a lot of cases.
1. BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET AND WHAT'S BEYOND IT.
Nobody mentioned breed or color or sexuality of the dog yet. Yellow meth lab
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