By Greg Lawson -
[email protected]
On January 9th, the Tennessee Highway Patrol released
the patrol car video showing the tragic events which befell the James
Smoak family of Saluda, N.C. on January 1st. Soon, through CNN and other
news outlets, the whole country became aware of the unnecessary killing
of the Smoak�s dog, Patton, by a Cookeville, Tennessee, policeman.
James Smoak was traveling with his wife Pamela, their
17-year-old son, Brandon and two dogs, Cassie and Patton. On the road
back to N.C. from Nashville, they had stopped for gas and James left his
wallet on the hood of his station wagon. When the wallet fell off and
scattered $400 in small bills across I-40, a passing motorist called the
Highway Patrol stating that it looked suspicious and gave a description
of the car and its license plate number. Dispatchers at the THP
erroneously determined that a robbery had taken place even though no
robbery had been reported. A �be on the lookout� alert for a robbery
suspect was broadcast.
THP Troopers spotted the Smoak�s vehicle and called
Cookeville police to assist them in a �felony stop.� One by one, James,
Pamela and Brandon were ordered out of the car, handcuffed and placed in
a kneeling position by the side of the road. The police videotape shows
one of the officers looking into the car�s open door and saying that
there were dogs inside. Both James and Pamela pleaded several times that
the officers close the car door so the dogs wouldn�t get out, but their
requests were ignored.
Three minutes into the arrest, Patton, a mixed breed
bulldog, left the car and approached Cookeville officer Eric Hall who
shot it in the head with his shotgun. The police camera recorded the
cries of anguish of the Smoak family as their beloved pet was killed in
front of them. It was later determined that no robbery had taken place
and the family was released.
In his official report, Officer Hall wrote that he
thought Patton was a pit bull and that it �charged toward me growling
(sic) in an aggressive manner.� Martha Armstrong, senior vice president
for companion animals for the Humane Society of the United States had a
different opinion after viewing the videotape. "When you see a dog
approaching with its head up, ears up and tail wagging, this should be
an indication that this is a friendly animal."
The Cookeville Police Department conducted an internal
investigation and found that its officers, who were providing backup for
the Highway Patrol, ''performed their duties according to training and
policy,'' according to spokesman Capt. Nathan Honeycutt. If this is so,
then the training is inadequate. Martha Armstrong believes all police
agencies need more training in how to tell the difference between an
aggressive and a non-aggressive animal. It is obvious that they also
need more training in how to deal with companion animals in suspect�s
vehicles.
By leaving the car door open in spite of family�s pleas
to close it, and even after having seen the dogs inside, the officers
demonstrated a callous disregard for the lives of the animals. They also
showed a disregard for the safety of the passing motorists who could
have been involved in an accident had the dogs ran into traffic. How
much training overcomes ineptitude?
The Smoaks have indicated that they plan to initiate
legal action against both the Cookeville Police and the Tennessee
Highway Patrol.
Our hearts go out to the Smoak family and we hope they
will recover from the terrible events of January 1st. We also hope that
this tragedy will result in improved police procedures by law
enforcement agencies across the country when dealing with companion
animals. Surely, non-lethal techniques can be developed for such
situations.
Something else we should all learn from this - traveling
with a companion animal involves a certain amount of risk. Animals
should be kept inside carriers, tied or otherwise restrained during
travel to protect them in case of accidents or felony stops by inept
police. Loose animals inside vehicles also present the risk of
interfering with the proper operation of the vehicle.
Please remember your animals� safety when you travel.
For news stories about the incident in Cookeville�.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/01/09/police.kill.dog/index.html
http://story.herald-citizen.com/newsstory4.htm?%5brkey=0024318+%5bcr=gdn
http://story.herald-citizen.com/newsstory5.htm?%5brkey=0024331+%5bcr=gdn
If after learning more you want to write letters you can
contact....
THP District Six Headquarters
Attention: Captain Randy Hoover
P.O. Box 826
1291 Bunker Hill Rd
Cookeville, Tenn. 38501
Phone: (931) 528-8496
Email: [email protected] (mail.state.tn.us)
Cookeville Police Department
10 East Broad Street
Cookeville, TN 38501
Phone: (931) 526-2125
Cookeville Mayor Charles Womack
City of Cookeville
45 East Broad Street
Cookeville, TN 38501
Phone: 931-520-5241, 931-526-9591
Email: [email protected] (cookeville-tn.org)
Go on to My Foster Dog
is Beautiful by Martha O'connor
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