[Traum]

RCMP officer shoots family dog in Richmond | CTV Vancouver News (http://bc.ctvnews.ca/rcmp-officer-shoots-family-dog-in-richmond-1.2399359)


CTV Vancouver
Published Saturday, May 30, 2015 6:42PM PDT

Hector Riquelme was in his backyard Friday morning when he heard a commotion.

It was the sound of Richmond RCMP officers -- who had mistaken his house as the home of a break-in suspect -- and his dog Koda, who had noticed the police before Riquelme did.

When he went to see what happened, he was stunned by what he found.

“My dog was just on this side right here with his face blown off and bleeding out from the mouth,” Riquelme told CTV News in an exclusive interview.

In a statement, Richmond RCMP said two officers saw a black duffle bag outside Riquelme’s house on Garden City Road that matched the description of one carried by the break-in suspect.

The officers attempted to retrieve the bag, when they were “confronted by two pitbull-like dogs and hastily exited the area, narrowly escaping,” police said.

“In the process, one of the officers discharged his firearm once at the dog that was closing in on him,” police said. “Our officers are shaken but uninjured.”

Koda, meanwhile, was bleeding.

“The blood was everywhere,” Riquelme said. “All over the grass, all over the stairs all over the inside of the house. At that point it was just stop the bleeding and get her to the vet as soon as possible.”

The family brought Koda to multiple veterinary clinics, where the pet was stabilized and later had surgery. So far, vet bills have totaled more than $3,500.

Richmond RCMP told CTV News Koda’s owners were told how they could get compensation for their dog’s injury, but Riquelme says one of the officers called both vet clinics and told them the police “will not be covering any amount of money.”

Along with his concern about the bills and his dog’s well-being, Riquelme is also worried about what might have happened.

He said his daughter was only 20 feet away when the officer shot the dog.
“What if he missed? What if it ricocheted? What if it hit my daughter and my daughter died?” Riquelme asked.

The break-in suspect has not been caught, but the nature of the crime the officers were investigating makes what happened even more concerning for Riquelme.

“Just a property crime - does that really warrant them to take their guns out and start shooting in front of kids? That's what concerns me.”

Obviously we don't know the whole story, but at a minimum, I think we can establish the following as facts:

- RCMP got the wrong house during an investigation
- One officer shot the dog in the dog owner's back yard while the home owner's young daughter was nearby at the 2nd floor.
- RCMP is refusing to pay for the resulting vet bill.
- The dog is not fatally injured.

In the absence of the whole story, I don't want to throw too many theories / guesses out. But I will just say that the incident raises some serious questions regarding the competency and professionalism of our Richmond RCMP officers. FailFish

[multicartual]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5fts7bj-so


Cocksuckers! Fuck them! They should offer to pay and apologize. Fuck them. Cocksuckers.

[murd0c]

The police will pay its out in the news and now shit will hit the fan. It's fucken sad but at least the dog wasn't killed that's the only good part of the story..

[Mr.HappySilp]

Is hard to say what happen unless we see the footage.

I mean the dog could be chasing the officers due to defending his home. i mean when a dog is going to chase me and try to bite me I would use any force necessary to stop the attack. In this case the officer his gun.

Is a sad story but If the dog was attacking the officer I could see why the gun was fire.

[fliptuner]

Is hard to say what happen unless we see the footage.

I mean the dog could be chasing the officers due to defending his home. i mean when a dog is going to chase me and try to bite me I would use any force necessary to stop the attack. In this case the officer his gun.

Is a sad story but If the dog was attacking the officer I could see why the gun was fire.

It's fair to assume the dogs were in a gated yard, hence:
The officers attempted to retrieve the bag, when they were “confronted by two pitbull-like dogs and hastily exited the area, narrowly escaping,” police said.


This, right on the heels of 2 Transit cops being found guilty of assaulting an innocent commuter, who was just playing a game on his phone while waiting for the fare cost to change.
Transit cops found guilty of assaulting construction worker, but not guilty of lying about it in their report (http://www.theprovince.com/news/Transit+cops+found+guilty+assaulting+construction+ worker+guilty+lying+about+their+report/11093675/story.html)

[Jonydakiller]

One for certain is that the dog must be fenced in on the property.
And the purpose having a dog for some people is to protect their homes against intruders.
There are so many other ways to resolve it other than the cop went rambo and try to retreive the bag thinking he/she could outrun the dog and be a hero.

[CRS]

One for certain is that the dog must be fenced in on the property.
And the purpose having a dog for some people is to protect their homes against intruders.
There are so many other ways to resolve it other than the cop went rambo and try to retreive the bag thinking he/she could outrun the dog and be a hero.

Go on.

[Gucci Mane]

breaks my heart. at least the dog is still alive and will survive this incident. stupid trigger happy cops..

[MitchK]

Is hard to say what happen unless we see the footage.

I mean the dog could be chasing the officers due to defending his home. i mean when a dog is going to chase me and try to bite me I would use any force necessary to stop the attack. In this case the officer his gun.

Is a sad story but If the dog was attacking the officer I could see why the gun was fire.

The officers had no right to be on the property. No footage needed. Had they been doing their job properly, it wouldn't have happened. A black duffel bag that "matches a discription" is probably at half of everyone's houses.

It's a sad story that's totally the cop's fault.

[Jmac]

Based on the information available to us at this time, it sounds like the officers entered the property without announcing themselves, attempted to grab the bag, and were chased out of the yard by the dogs.

Captain Hindsight would say the officers should've announced themselves prior to entering the property.

I won't pretend to know what police protocol is in this situation and whether or not they followed it.

[Jonydakiller]

Go on.

well...first of all...that bag ain't gonna go anywhere...its not like it has a pair of legs and just gonna start running.
I have an assumption that cops were aware about the dog that was on the property. Call backup first if they think the suspect is in the house.
Assuming the dog was getting aggresive when the cops approached the house, i'm sure cops have these sedation shots maybe not every cop has it with them but i'm sure when it is needed it can be supplied right away.
Then you proceed, put the dog to sleep, retrieve the bag, check the house etc.
But hey i'm no cop, but thats what i would do, i will never mess around with an angery dog, period.

[Manic!]

Cops saw the bag and probable thought the suspect was on the property somewhere.

[320icar]

First part is a good point. The other half though... No officer carries tranq darts lol

[Manic!]

well...first of all...that bag ain't gonna go anywhere...its not like it has a pair of legs and just gonna start running.
I have an assumption that cops were aware about the dog that was on the property. Call backup first if they think the suspect is in the house.
Assuming the dog was getting aggresive when the cops approached the house, i'm sure cops have these sedation shots maybe not every cop has it with them but i'm sure when it is needed it can be supplied right away.
Then you proceed, put the dog to sleep, retrieve the bag, check the house etc.
But hey i'm no cop, but thats what i would do, i will never mess around with an angery dog, period.

FailFish

Are you serious?

[Jonydakiller]

FailFish

Are you serious?

So are you saying...u would either shoot the dog and get the bag..
or like me when my dog is getting angry " hey boy...shhh...shhhh..you are at peace...shhhhh...i'm just gonna get that bag and leave..*woof woof*...hey..it's ok...nobody is gonna know...shhh...quiet...no barking....stay and be a good boy...stay ...stay...stay...*cross the fence*....dog came running...*shot fired*....game over...

[Mikoyan]

Shit people that weren't there, have any knowledge of use of force, or firearms will end up saying over the next few days: 'He should have put a warning shot into the air. Or in front of the dog. Or aimed and shot its paw. Or leg. He should have used a Tazer.'

My take on it? It was likely they were thinking to sneak in and catch the thieves in the act, recover B&E tools etc. If there's no direct evidence or witnesses, a lame excuse given to the cops, like "Oh, I'm a binner, I was looking for cans," and you have blue box in the open in the yard, mean they're pretty much walking out of there.

At the end of the day, the constable made a judgement call about the situation, and it went to shit. That, I think we can all agree on.

[StylinRed]

pepper spray would have fucked the dogs up and had nice coverage

but i could see how firing a gun at a small moving target makes more sense....


“Our officers are shaken but uninjured.”

:rukidding:

[Manic!]

pepper spray would have fucked the dogs up and had nice coverage

but i could see how firing a gun at a small moving target makes more sense....




:rukidding:

Gun was probable already drawn.

[jeedee]

In the cops POV i could see how the gun shot was "warranted". I mean if an angry pitbull was closing in on you what would you do? keep running when there's a chance it'll pounce and start biting you? Let's be real here, the cop didn't have time to think and ask himself "how do i get this pitbull away from me?"

However it blows my mind that the cops or VPD won't pay the hospital bill since it was a blatant mistake AND that the original suspect still has not been caught :rukidding:

[BrownBear]

He could have tazed or even pepper sprayed the dog. Why the fuck did he use his gun? If they had announced them self the owner could have easily stopped his dog. And putbull like? Seriously? That's fucking bullshit. I bet you it was probably a Labrador or a Golden retriever or any other super friendly dog like that. I say sue the RCMP, they had no right even bring on the property

[Traum]

Gun was probable already drawn.
Going back to the news report, they were there at the house to investigate a potential property crime -- they were under the impression that the suspect might be living there. Is it standard police practice to treat this type of thing as a felony situation, going in with guns drawn? Doing so would seem very heavy handed to me. After all, we are not USA.

If guns weren't aleady drawn, that means the cop reached for it when he reacted to the dog chasing him. I agree it was certainly the easy button, but it makes me wonder if having a dog that size chasing you would qualify as a situation where the officer felt his life was under threat... :rukidding:

[T4RAWR]

no real comment on the story but to clarify a few things;

-not all officers are issued tazers, in fact very few have them
-OC spray has a limited distance and often times does not effectively stop targets
-they most DEFINITELY do not have "tranq" darts
-they probably did not enter the property with guns drawn

[tinico]

Going back to the news report, they were there at the house to investigate a potential property crime -- they were under the impression that the suspect might be living there. Is it standard police practice to treat this type of thing as a felony situation, going in with guns drawn? Doing so would seem very heavy handed to me. After all, we are not USA.

If guns weren't aleady drawn, that means the cop reached for it when he reacted to the dog chasing him. I agree it was certainly the easy button, but it makes me wonder if having a dog that size chasing you would qualify as a situation where the officer felt his life was under threat... :rukidding:

Maybe the cops were the thieves... but seriously, I do not see the logic of going in a house where you suspect a thief is in. As said before the bag isn't going anywhere. They easily could have called for back up, made themselves less visible, while waiting, because the thief is going to come back for his bag, if he does not go for the bag, and the backup arrives, go for doorbell, "hello is everything all right". "Can I see your ID? what's in the bag?"

“The blood was everywhere,” Riquelme said. “All over the grass, all over the stairs all over the inside of the house. ....”
, so the house door was opened, by the cops?

It's ironic how usually an unattended bag is treated as potential explosive where bomb squad or whatever is called in, blocking road, choppers and all, but this time, it was "obviously" the thief's bag, they just had to go for it?? Right

BTW "black duffel bag that matches the description" what description would that be, black duffel bag?

[- kT]

lol at the cop making special mention to the dog being "pitbull-like" to sway public opinion in his favour

[nns]

LOL at you trying to make it sound like they're trying to swap public opinion.

Do you think the cop had enough time to get a blood sample from the dog, send it to the lab, then get a report back on what breed it is - all before shooting the dog? It looked like a pit-bull. It may have merely been an educated guess.

[westopher]

No. Fuck that fucking shit. Its a fucking stupid ass cop, pulling a dumb fuck move and not taking ANY accountability for his actions, and now trying to make it sound like the big scary super mean pitbull was such a meanie to him and deserved it. It doesn't matter what the fuck kind of dog it is, so the only reason he mentioned "pitbull type dog" was to get media bias in his favour. Any dog over 60 lbs will do damage, but many of the ignorant will side with the cop based solely on an irrational fear of pitbulls that the media hysteria has created for the uneducated. You come on my property unannounced and likely aggressive, without warning or any just cause for that matter, any dog in the yard going to show aggressive tendencies wether its my neighbours corgi or my reserve mutt that probably falls under the "pitbull type dog" category. Its called INSTINCT.

[Manic!]

No. Fuck that fucking shit. Its a fucking stupid ass cop, pulling a dumb fuck move and not taking ANY accountability for his actions, and now trying to make it sound like the big scary super mean pitbull was such a meanie to him and deserved it. It doesn't matter what the fuck kind of dog it is, so the only reason he mentioned "pitbull type dog" was to get media bias in his favour. Any dog over 60 lbs will do damage, but many of the ignorant will side with the cop based solely on an irrational fear of pitbulls that the media hysteria has created for the uneducated. You come on my property unannounced and likely aggressive, without warning or any just cause for that matter, any dog in the yard going to show aggressive tendencies wether its my neighbours corgi or my reserve mutt that probably falls under the "pitbull type dog" category. Its called INSTINCT.

The black bag was beside the door good chance the suspect was inside. If your wife calls the cops saying some has broken into the house. If they get there and your dog is acting aggressive what should they do?

[westopher]

This house had nothing to do with anything to do with the crime you illiterate fuck. If my wife called the cops the dog wouldn't be left in the yard. Your comparison has absolutely no relevance to the situation as usual.
These people did not call the cops, they were not involved in the robbery whatsoever. They were neither the victim, nor the perpetrator. Had the RCMP properly assessed the situation, they never would have entered the yard.
Do you think police have the right to just enter yards and shoot dogs based on an assumption?

[westopher]

For that matter, if the cops had a right to be on the property due to the crime it would be a different story, but as usual manic, you probably don't understand.

[donjalapeno]

Thats utter bullshit...

Drawing a fire arm should be the LAST alternative to defending yourself against a dog in a RESIDENTIAL area. You have pepper spray, you have a taser, you have a partner, you have advanced self defence training, you have a vehicle you can run to and hide... USE IT.

Its not like the dog had a shot gun drawn against you, you blithering retard.

[MitchK]

The black bag was beside the door good chance the suspect was inside. If your wife calls the cops saying some has broken into the house. If they get there and your dog is acting aggressive what should they do?

Reading comprehension. They weren't going to the location that the b&e happened at. Nobody from the house where the dog was at called the cop's. They had zero reason to be at that address, but because they saw a black duffel bag outside that "matched the description" they went in.

They had zero real reason to be there, and now they allegedly aren't paying the vet bill that is entirely their fault.

[Manic!]

Reading comprehension. They weren't going to the location that the b&e happened at. Nobody from the house where the dog was at called the cop's. They had zero reason to be at that address, but because they saw a black duffel bag outside that "matched the description" they went in.

They had zero real reason to be there, and now they allegedly aren't paying the vet bill that is entirely their fault.

They where chasing a suspect and thought the black bag saw the same bag the suspect was carrying.

[MitchK]

They where chasing a suspect and thought the black bag saw the same bag the suspect was carrying.

It never says anywhere that they were chasing. The b&e was in the area, and there was a black bag at this house. Hardly enough to go into someone's private property.

[multicartual]

For that matter, if the cops had a right to be on the property due to the crime it would be a different story, but as usual manic, you probably don't understand.


People seem to be unable to understand other viewpoints or have empathy these days. I call people retards because they lack the personal growth to acknowledge that they -might be wrong-.

[StylinRed]

back in my high school/hockey days we would leave our bags at the door, especially if my friends were over...and if we had played hockey we would leave the bags and equipment by the door since they're stinky/dirty

surprised these 2 hotheads aren't breaking into all sorts of peoples homes guns a blazing

[Mikoyan]

Thats utter bullshit... you have a partner, .... USE IT.

Its not like the dog had a shot gun drawn against you, you blithering retard.

What are you going to do? Throw your partner at the dog? Better he gets bit then you right? FailFish

When that story gets back to the detachment, you're never gonna get anyone backing you up again.

[T4RAWR]

Thats utter bullshit...

Drawing a fire arm should be the LAST alternative to defending yourself against a dog in a RESIDENTIAL area. You have pepper spray, you have a taser, you have a partner, you have advanced self defence training, you have a vehicle you can run to and hide... USE IT.

Its not like the dog had a shot gun drawn against you, you blithering retard.

no real comment on the story but to clarify a few things;

-not all officers are issued tazers, in fact very few have them
-OC spray has a limited distance and often times does not effectively stop targets
-they most DEFINITELY do not have "tranq" darts
-they probably did not enter the property with guns drawn

:whistle:

[m0shh-]

The dog looks all of 20, maybe even 30lbs to me... Much scary. Any regular person could kick that dog 20 ft

Seriously, seeing a black duffel bag does not warrant them to hot-headedly run onto the property. The dog would obviously be startled and act on instinct.

Now imagine if the daughter was outside playing with the dog at that time? Jesus christ...

[StylinRed]

:whistle:

pepper spray has different effects on animals, especially with their heightened senses, unless they're trained to resist pepper spray like police K-9s http://policelink.monster.com/training/articles/1759-effects-of-pepper-spray-on-the-police-k9 slow introduction to pepper spray, gradual increase at % concentration police K9s will be discomforted but still operate...otherwise it fucks em up

they were originally used by postmen to use because of dog attacks, and it takes hours for a dog to get over the spray

[GabAlmighty]

It's a fucking dog... Not a knife wielding crack head.

[JaPoola]

Two retards that will now probably be re-assigned to traffic enforcement. Hurray!

[jaguar604]

Two retards that will now probably be re-assigned to traffic enforcement. Hurray!

Traffic is pretty chill. Starbucks all week then setup a speed trap to meet quota.

[donjalapeno]

What are you going to do? Throw your partner at the dog? Better he gets bit then you right? FailFish

When that story gets back to the detachment, you're never gonna get anyone backing you up again.

Thats the most retarded response :rukidding: ... You have someone to back you up, whether its to distract the dog or help you hold it back/fight it. IF it comes to that. Two minds are better than one but in this case it seems like both the cops were retarded.

:whistle:

Yeah your right...I guess the best option is to take your gun out AND START FUCKING SHOOTING AT A FAMILY HOME THAT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CASE THEY WERE WORKING ON. I cant believe the mindset of some people.


It has nothing to do with the equipment the cops carry, its the fact that they decided to go on private property unannounced and then proceed to shoot a family dog in the face with innocent citizens 20 feet away all because the person they were looking for had a black duffle bag. They made two horrible decisions... end of story. Now they must pay the consequences.

[BrownBear]

The worst part was the dog was probably just trying to defend the daughter like a loyal dog

[evlee]

im glad the pup was not killed

[tinico]

Thats utter bullshit...

Drawing a fire arm should be the LAST alternative to defending yourself against a dog in a RESIDENTIAL area. You have pepper spray, you have a taser, you have a partner, you have advanced self defence training, you have a vehicle you can run to and hide... USE IT.

Its not like the dog had a shot gun drawn against you, you blithering retard.


This topic made me realize something, what happened to police sticks (baton or collapsible batons)? seems nowadays a lot of police shootings could have been avoided if they used a baton. Yet, don't remember the last time I saw a police officer carrying one of those. ?

[dvst8]

Its obvious many cops don't have the training/experience to execute these task. Most of them are scared as hell and resort to guns to solve problems. Adrenaline takes over and mistakes are made.

[Anjew]

The officer made a bad judgement call and had no accountability.

However it is easy to make mistakes in situations like that with lack of training. Training on situational protocols needs to be drilled so time sensitive judgement calls are made properly.

[- kT]

LOL at you trying to make it sound like they're trying to swap public opinion.

Do you think the cop had enough time to get a blood sample from the dog, send it to the lab, then get a report back on what breed it is - all before shooting the dog? It looked like a pit-bull. It may have merely been an educated guess.

no, i don't think that, nor that i insinuate that i thought that. they apparently had enough time to deduce that the dogs were "pitbull-like" while they were running from said seemingly rabid dogs. public opinion is that pitbulls are bad, police are good, so they play the black sheep card. why not take accountability for your actions instead of trying to bring the breed of the dog into question?

not to mention the guy has kids. dog seems okay enough to be around them on a daily basis, no? a dog is going to defend it's territory against intruders, full stop. the fact that the cops burst into some guys backyard mistakenly, unannounced and unjustifiably places fault on them

so yeah, they're trying to sway public opinion by blaming the breed of the dog

[Mikoyan]

This topic made me realize something, what happened to police sticks (baton or collapsible batons)? seems nowadays a lot of police shootings could have been avoided if they used a baton. Yet, don't remember the last time I saw a police officer carrying one of those. ?

Every single uniformed cop I've seen working on the street recently has been carrying a collapsible baton.

Thats the most retarded response :rukidding: ... You have someone to back you up, whether its to distract the dog or help you hold it back/fight it. IF it comes to that. Two minds are better than one but in this case it seems like both the cops were retarded.

....They made two horrible decisions... end of story. Now they must pay the consequences.

Get past an agitated animals teeth and "hold it back?" That's just as stupid as pushing your partner at the animal.

I'm assuming the animal was facing the two cops. We're all assuming details actually, because we weren't there. We also have all the time in the world to armchair quarterback this. Was there another option that would have worked better? Maybe. What if that option failed? How long did he have to come up with an option? Seconds? Lots of questions that we have time to ask.

This is from the US, but it does show how quickly things can change, and how long you have to respond.

Police put reporters through use of force training to show public what officers face | fox13now.com (http://fox13now.com/2015/02/26/police-put-reporters-through-use-of-force-training-to-show-public-what-police-face/)

The real truth of the matter lies somewhere between the extremes of the cops and the owner's stories.

I totally agree with you, that they have to live with the consequences of it.

Also, calling the vets and saying the RCMP wasn't picking up the tab? By that point, not his call to make. That one's going to supervisors and the bosses.

[fliptuner]

Pamela Riquelme

Our dogs were in a gated fence the bag was meters outside the gated fence. Where they shot our dog was the complete other side of the house for no reason. No chase nothing!!!!

inb4 paid leave

[Mr.Money]

:fuckthatshit: we're not not paying your vet bill Misses after shooting our pistol off in a populated area where Family's live in a tight knit community,that pitbull like dog showed Aggressive tendencies i feared for my life,please watch this video for what almost happened to me on the Line of Duty
www.youtube.com/watch?v=joxnhsoBtQU

[melloman]

:fuckthatshit: To serve and protect.

[MitchK]

Every single uniformed cop I've seen working on the street recently has been carrying a collapsible baton.



than it's probably an issue of how often it's not used, in favor of other weapons.


Get past an agitated animals teeth and "hold it back?" That's just as stupid as pushing your partner at the animal.

I'm assuming the animal was facing the two cops. We're all assuming details actually, because we weren't there. We also have all the time in the world to armchair quarterback this. Was there another option that would have worked better? Maybe. What if that option failed? How long did he have to come up with an option? Seconds? Lots of questions that we have time to ask.

This is from the US, but it does show how quickly things can change, and how long you have to respond.

Police put reporters through use of force training to show public what officers face | fox13now.com (http://fox13now.com/2015/02/26/police-put-reporters-through-use-of-force-training-to-show-public-what-police-face/)

The real truth of the matter lies somewhere between the extremes of the cops and the owner's stories.

I totally agree with you, that they have to live with the consequences of it.

Also, calling the vets and saying the RCMP wasn't picking up the tab? By that point, not his call to make. That one's going to supervisors and the bosses.

The real truth of the matter is that the cops didn't have enough reason to go onto the property, and this should never have happened. I don't blame the cop for shooting a dog coming after him. That doesn't change the fact that the cops are to blame, and 100% should cover any costs.

[MG1]

:fuckthatshit: To serve and protect yourself.

Fixt...............

New motto for the popo.

Just kidding. There's incompetence in every walk of life. Their job, however, can destroy lives. Training is the key, but, they are only as good as the people who apply.