Do you think this is extreme?
By carpenter5
@carpenter5 (6782)
United States
October 11, 2007 1:43pm CST
In Pennsylvania, a man is in jail being held on a $100,000 bond after walking by a police car and taunting the K9 unit's german shepherd.
When the 23 year old walked by the police car, Benny began to bark. Then the man began to scream at him and threaten to kill him if he didn't shut up. He also informed officers at the top of his lungs that he hated dogs.
But the man's mother believes that the high bail is unnecessary. She said people who commit violent acts against other people don't have bails that high.
Taunting police animals is a felony under Pennsylvania's animal cruelty law.
1 person likes this
3 responses
@Thirteenth (291)
• Malaysia
12 Oct 07
Nah, I don't think it's too high. If he threatens to kill a police dog just for barking, there's obviously something wrong with him anyway. Seriously, threatening a regular dog would be crazy enough, but threatening a police dog in front of officers who can arrest you? That takes some serious stupidity. And anger issues. They really should make him take an anger management course, or maybe get psychiatric help.
2 people like this
@carpenter5 (6782)
• United States
18 Oct 07
You are right. It could just as easily been the human officers that he had threatened. In the eyes of the police force (at least here in my home town) it is the same thing, because their Canine's are officers...just like their human counterparts.
Besides, we have animal cruelty laws that would get him if it were a regular dog.
@houndsgood (774)
• United States
11 Oct 07
A K-9 dog is a police officer or the property of the police department/government whichever way you look at it. If he had defaced a police care or harrassed a human police officer it is the same deal.
It can also be looked at as obstruction of justice. If the police officer received a call to go to and the dog didn't have his head in the game so to speak because a jerk just screamed and harrassed at him, it could be a problem. Or if the jerk delayed them getting there because they had to deal with him first, then that is an issue too.
He also threatened to KILL the dog, who is an also an officer and threatening to kill a police officer is serious whether someone has a plan to do so or is just saying so.
I think part of the fine is definitely the police officer/property issue. But I do think the fine also sends a message - what is wrong with people that they just have nothing better to do than to randomly harrass others?
Oh and one last thing - there are a lot of people who think a dog that bites should be put down and the dog sometimes doesn't get a break if they bit a person who was harrassing them, therefore they were acting in defense of themselves or out of fear. If the person were to have harrassed the dog to the point that the K( saw him as a threat and attacked him, you wouldn't have heard the end of it about the vicious police dog who in fact was provoked to protect himself or his human officer. So part of it may have to do with endangering an officer as well. Not physically endangering the human, but the K9 who could have been taken out of duty at best or been euthanized at worse for biting the screwball.
2 people like this
@carpenter5 (6782)
• United States
18 Oct 07
I agree with you. Our neighbor harrassed our dog. He would throw things into our fence and pretend to bark at him and after several months of this, Romeo...who loves everybody that I know of....began to hate this man.
One day, DC (I'm using initials because I was told I had to) decided he was going to come over our fence and pick up pecans that had fallen from his trees into our yard.
Romeo bit him!
He tried to sue us. But we had everything on our side. The dog was vaccinated, he was on our property, and properly penned up, and we had a "Beware of the Dog" amd a "Private Property" sign posted.
The judge even asked if we wanted to press charges for his trespassing!
@simplemind (15)
• United States
11 Oct 07
Yeah, this bail is totally rediculous.
1 person likes this
@carpenter5 (6782)
• United States
18 Oct 07
The others make a good point here friend...
The dog is a member of the police force.
What if it had been a human officer that he threatened to kill...would you still think the bail was too high?
