Questions about lethal force surround Des Plaines dog shooting

With dogs afforded a status approaching that of children in many American homes, the killing of a family dog by a Des Plaines police officer has raised questions from both its family and citizens about police judgment in such situations.

Bowzer, a six-year-old beagle and cocker spaniel mix, was fatally shot by a Des Plaines officer responding to a perceived domestic dispute at the home of Brian Darrey earlier this week.

The dispute turned out to be a nonissue, but the officer fired two shots at Bowzer when he and another family dog reportedly attacked the officer. The Darrey family disputes the claim.

When Andrew Darrey, Brian's 21-year-old brother, angrily confronted the officers about why the dog was shot, the officers threatened him with Tasers, he says.

The family is considering legal options. The shooting, and similar incidents around the country, call into question just how much training officers receive in such scenarios.

"There are no particular basic training requirements for animal situations. It's really up to the individual police department," said Chuck Montgomery, deputy director of training at the North East Multi-Regional Training center, a division of the Illinois Law Enforcement and Training and Standards Board.

Des Plaines Police Deputy Chief of Operations Michael Kozak said officers are trained to shoot and kill when attacked by a vicious animal. They are not trained to disable.

"We train them on tactical situations, and situations dealing with the public and dealing with the potential of an animal or a citizen trying to do harm to them," Kozak said.

Kozak said the officer who shot Bowzer has nearly three years experience with the department. An internal investigation into the incident cleared the officer of any wrongdoing.

Ultimately, it is each individual officer's judgment call how to handle such a situation.

"The only person in the living room was the officer when the two dogs charged at him," Kozak said. "Each situation stands on its merits. An officer has an absolute right to defend himself."

The last time a Des Plaines officer shot a household dog was about five years ago. Deputy Police Chief Rich Rozkuszka said it happened as officers tried to arrest a woman suspected in some residential burglaries.

"Her husband let out two pit bulls," he said. "Both of them came at me. I was able to kick off the first and the second one I killed."

Rozkuszka put three bullets into the dog, which bit into his right shin before dying.

He recalled another incident when he was first hired where police had to shoot a dog that attacked a child.

"It happens. We get attacked too," Rozkuszka said.

Randall Lockwood, senior vice president of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, says the group is trying to better educate officers on how to handle situations like this.

Lockwood said officers often receive little training on using less-than-lethal weapons on animals, and virtually no training on reading dog or animal behavior.

"We realize that there are situations where animals may be used as offensive weapons, but in situations where family pets are acting defensively, there are tools officers already carry like a baton and pepper spray that can defuse a situation without lethal force," Lockwood said.

The ASPCA offers a three-hour online course on investigating animal abuse for officers through the Center for Public Safety and Justice at University of Illinois at Springfield. The course teaches officers how to recognize dog behavior, how to defuse situations without lethal force and how to use a force continuum to assess the situation.

"We recommend in our training the use of force continuum that is what you do in encounters of people, least use of force necessary to protect yourself and others," Lockwood said. "The problem is that the bar is set very low for animals, and if an officer feels they are threatened, lethal force is generally considered justifiable."

Most of the time officers are vindicated at review boards because the standards are set so low, he added.

"These incidents are becoming increasingly common, and it certainly hurts the reputation of the department and has financial consequences. We've seen lawsuits approaching a million dollars," Lockwood said.

If the Darreys can prove in court that Bowzer was no threat to the officer, they could have a case for violation of their Fourth Amendment rights as an unlawful seizure and destruction of property, according to the Animal Legal and Historical Center at Michigan State University College of Law.

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<li><a href="/story/?id=382045">Family upset after dog killed by Des Plaines officer <span class="date">[5/20/10]</span></a></li>

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