Surprize, surprize, the police have cleared their own for the shooting of the supposedly dangerous dogs in Raleigh, North Carolina. Seems the police are claiming Truman ran towards the young and obviously inexperienced policeman so he felt he had to shoot him. The family claims the dog was on leash and tied on the porch. Of course, this is the same policeman who shot a dog based on a hospital report that the dog had bitten her guardian. Turns out, it was a scratch done in passing. Let’s see who do I believe? I’m betting on the family as being more reliable than an inexperienced police rookie.

BTW, notice that this semi-official version barely mentions the murdered dog and dismisses any concern about her by saying the owner was bitten. Check the previous report on this blog for more information on that incident.

Thanks to WRAL.com for this update.

Magistrate Clears Officer Who Shot Dog

Raleigh A Wake County magistrate has cleared a Raleigh police officer of wrongdoing in the shooting of a dog on Christmas Day.

Officer R.A. Smith shot Truman, a chocolate Labrador retriever, behind the right ear while responding to a call about a dog bite. The dog suffered a ruptured eardrum and has been recovering at home.

Another dog in the house had bitten its owner, Meredith Phillips, on the cheek earlier, and Rex Hospital workers reported the dog bite to authorities according to procedure after Phillips went to the hospital for treatment.

Smith, 23, told investigators that Truman ran toward him, but Phillips and her family maintain the dog was tied up on the porch.

The Raleigh Police Department Internal Affairs unit investigated the case and turned its findings over to a magistrate, who ruled that no criminal violation had occurred.

The police department continues to review the case to determine if Smith violated any department policies, spokesman Jim Sughrue said.

Department officials also plan to review its training and practices to determine if any changes are needed to handle dog-bite calls.

Update — Follow this link to read an article on this topic in The News & Observer.