Brett Bittner

Often, these situations are described by police as "isolated incidents" where the dog in question shows "signs of aggression." This time, there are ZERO signs of aggression on behalf of Sheba, a Labrador Retriever, but that doesn't stop the lead officer of the SWAT team from blowing her away with three rounds from his automatic weapon without a second thought or breaking stride as he ascends the final steps before entering the home.

I can understand a truly aggressive dog that in is the act of defending his home and his people that actually begins an attack of officers, but to have story after story after story** of "isolated incidents" raises the question of whether officers receive training about dog behavior to understand what a dog is communicating. After all, they speak less English than many individuals the police encounter, but with about 36% of American dog owners, it seems that they are more prevalent than non-English speakers, however translators are made available to communicate with them.

What infuriates me about this situation is that the subjects of the SWAT seige/standoff had already surrendered to police, and the SWAT team entered the home to ensure no one else was inside the home.

It's clear that police officers do not receive enough training about the civil liberties of those they swear an oath to protect and serve, but how many "isolated incidents" that emotionally scar families must take place before departments take action on the issue?

As you can see in the coverage by the local ABC affiliate, Sheba remains amazingly still for a dog that didn't lunge or even bark at the officers about to enter her home.

**In the interest of full disclosure, I am working with the family affected by the third story linked above to train their new puppy, Drake.