Doggycide in Birmingham, Alabama

On the one hand, anyone valuing their emotional health should probably stay far away from the Dogs Shot by Police Facebook group. On the other, it allows one to stay abreast of the latest developments in the unending battle to hold cops accountable when their encounters with household pets all-too-commonly go wrong, such as in this case in Birmingham, Alabama:

A Facebook post (no longer available for viewing) shows a graphic photo of the dead dog. The text reads, "This beautiful pit mix baby, only 4-5 months old, was just gunned down by the Birmingham, Alabama Police Department less than two hours ago. He had been rescued, had beaten parvo, and lived with one of my FB friends, who I talk to all the time...only to be blown away by some cowardly (expletive) with badges. Six gunshots for a 5-month-old puppy who had escaped his yard and run back home. Left in a pool of blood at the gate to his house. Cops overheard bragging about the loudness of the gunshots."

People have complained about the incident on the police department's Facebook page, and sent emails to The Birmingham News demanding action be taken.

Birmingham police spokesman Sgt. Johnny Williams Jr. said the dog was fatally shot about 7 p.m. Wednesday in the 9300 block of Parkway East. He said the incident is under investigation by the department's Internal Affairs Division, which handles investigations on all incidents involving the discharge of an officer's weapon.

Later this morning, Williams said the incident occurred outside a restaurant where officers confronted three dogs in a parking lot after a complaint that the dogs were acting aggressively toward people.

Officers saw the dogs approach customers and when they attempted to intervene, one dog turned on an officer who fired his gun to halt the attack, Williams said. Police subsequently notified the owner of the incident.

Further details were not released.

Here’s the original Facebook post (which I’m not sure why the article claims is unavailable).

(via @radleybalko)

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Doggycide Bingo Index

Confirmed hits:

Dead Boogie

Cop shot first

No apology (arrogant cops)

Owner claims dog was harmless

6 bullets for one puppy

Total: 5/25
No bingo.

Tags: Boogie the pit mix • Birmingham, AL • Birmingham Police Department • Johnny Williams Jr. • Lacy EndBsl