Radical Progressive. Proudly registered Unaffiliated. Anti-Imperial. Anti-Fascist. Anti-Nazi. Anti-Militarist. Anti-Terrorist.
West Haven, CT
Joined June 2009
- Tweets84.6K
- Following2.4K
- Followers4.6K
- Likes49.7K
Somewhere in America a police officer is killing a dog right this minute. Not once in a while. Roughly once an hour, round the clock.
The DOJ have called it an epidemic. More than 10,000 family dogs are shot by officers each year (that's nearly 27 a day) and that figure is a floor, as most departments don't track it at all. The ALDF have found that dog shootings are among the most common reasons an officer will pull the trigger on duty, even more so than encounters with armed suspects. At the same time there is not a single on-duty officer in this country who has had a documented death at the jaws of a pet dog. Put those two facts together and see how long you can look at them.
The most recent cases aren't in the old files. They're coming to light as we speak.
This month in Thomasville, GA a one year old dog (Bear) was shot in the face by a neighbor who is also a school resource officer. There's a doorbell cam of it. The officer told the investigators the dog charged him. Bear survived, and the family wants someone held to account.
In Palestine, Arkansas, body cam footage released in late September shows an officer firing approximately eight rounds into a house in July, killing a Rottweiler and a pit bull with children crying in the next room. When a family friend asked him if either dog had bitten him he said no. The owner states her hand was on one of the dogs at the time of the shooting and the bullet holes are still in her floor. The officer is now facing a first degree assault charge, though the police chief says he's still on the payroll.
Then there's HeeHaw, a one year old mini donkey in Polk County, Georgia. Officers searching for a missing child tried to drive him off with a stun gun and then shot him. New footage shows an officer announcing it over the radio as if it were just a routine errand. The owner is suing. The officer's lawyers are seeking a federal judge to dismiss the case, contending the pasture in question was not entitled to any constitutional protection. More than $166k has been donated by strangers to establish a foundation in the donkey's name which speaks volumes as to the public's attitude.
Different states, different species, same end. An animal that's either frightened or curious is treated as a target and the gun comes out before you even get a chance to use your patience, your space or any of the other tools.
Thoughts and prayers will not fix this. Accountability will. Every department must be required to log every time an officer shoots an animal. Every officer must be trained in dog behavior and in how to de-escalate a situation before a weapon is drawn. An officer who kills a family's pet without any real justification must face real consequences. Currently discipline follows only about three in every hundred shootings. That is not oversight. That is a system which is set up so the shooter walks away.
If departments are still at it fighting the most fundamental reporting rules then the idea that every officer should have a firearm becomes less radical and more sensible. A badge wasn't ever intended to be a license to go and shoot someone's dog for barking or to take a step closer to say hello.
People who are sworn to protect a community should protect the whole of it, including the animals on the porches and in the backyards. Every time. No exceptions.
#StopKillingPets #PoliceAccountability #JusticeForPets #NoKill #USAPAW #ProtectOurPets #EndPoliceViolence #AnimalWelfare
Earle L. Bailey 🇮🇪🇬🇧🏴🇸🇪🇩🇰 retweeted
Trump is trying to block certification of Alaska's Senate election if the Republican loses.
This is his authoritarianism in real time.
This is why we must do everything we can to win this election, defend democracy and create a government that works for all, not just the 1%.
If they do not respect our lives and the lives of those we love, how are we obligated to continue respecting theirs?
If these Flock/Axon cameras weren't INTENDED to be abused, they wouldn't have been DESIGNED to be abused.
2 New Bedford, Massachusetts police officers fired for allegedly misusing Flock cameras - CBS Boston share.google/s9kb5BYzGJmfoBT…
Not the USSR - Nazi Germany.
Fascist Capitalism to the BONE!
The Plutocratic Kleptocracy of America.
If these Flock/Axon cameras weren't INTENDED to be abused, they wouldn't have been DESIGNED to be abused.
Southern Indiana police officer arrested on fraud, misconduct charges over alleged Flock misuse share.google/JiG8nUv7yW2aEUq…
Is there going to be anything left when Trump and his band of buffoons finally leave the remains of the White House?
youtube.com/shorts/wFJS43ftk…
This would be the same "US Intel" that assured Americans that Saddam Hussein had "Weapons of Mass Destruction" when he didn't, yet somehow totally missed 9/11.
Scoop: U.S. intel memo warns of "advanced" Iranian plots to kill officials abroad axios.com/2026/10/24/iran-wa…
Another "Campaign Promise" Trump broke: Releasing ALL the Kennedy Assassination Documents. He cited "National Security" as the reason. In other words, to protect the very "Deep State" he promised to eliminate.
