The incident began on July 11 around
11:20 a.m. in the 3700 block of Keokuk Street, which is located in the
Dutchtown South area. Two officers were responding to a call about copper
thefts in the area when they were approached what the officers describe as a
aggressive dog. When the dog showed its teeth, one of the officers pulled his
weapon and fired several shots at the dog.
One of his bullets missed the dog and
ricocheted off the sidewalk. His partner was injured near his elbow, and was
taken to Saint Louis University Hospital for treatment.
The officers were unsure of the dogs
breed, but are searching for the dogs owner. The police aren't sure whether or
not the dog suffered any injuries.
The injured officer hasn't been
identified, but St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson posted on Twitter that the
officer was in “good spirits.”
This is one reason dog lovers question
the use of deadly force when faced with a potentially aggressive dog. A bullet
can ricochet and strike an innocent party. In this case, the officer was lucky
not to have been seriously injured or killed.
Rapid fire at dogs to stop the threat
is the method taught to many police officers. In other words, continue shooting
until the threat is stopped. With each bullet fired, there more risk that one
will hit something other than the intended target.
A police officer being injured by a
partners bullet is one more reason police need to be trained in dog behavior,
and condition themselves to use a weapon other than their gun as a first line
of defense. Luckily, this shooting didn't involve a child being injured.
How can two police officers be unsure
whether the animal was hit by any of the bullets? Was there no blood? Did the
dog not cry out in agony? It's unlikely a police weapon was fired that many
times and the police unsure whether any bullets hit their mark. That sounds
like bad aiming or poor vision, which are both inexcusable in their line of
work.
This isn't the first time another
person has been hit by a ricocheting bullet. In May, 2013, a Chicago police
officer was injured in an almost identical situation. Then in June,
Winston-Salem resident Tamara Whitt was shot by a ricocheting bullet as police
shot at her dog.
