Officer shoots dog and puts in trunk while still alive and yelping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[marinafb]

[DEFINATELY NEED A PETITION ON "One of Our Finest"
in Springfield IL who is out there "protecting" us!


Please Crosspost Far & Wide!


From: Appi Preusen
Date: 6/29/2006 9:44:15 PM
To: apreusen@yahoo.com
Subject: Letter to the Editor


Hi Everyone!

I just wanted to pass this on in hopes that some of us animals
lovers could help make a difference. This article
was in the State Journal Register down in Springfield, IL. That is
down where I am originally from. The link is
http://www.sj-r.com/sections/news/stories/89686.asp It is about an
officer that shot a dog and then put it in the
trunk when it was still alive and yelping. The dog had gotten out
by mistake and was running loose in a nearby
park. I was hoping that maybe some of you along with myself could
write a letter to the editor expressing our
concerns about this officer. I attached the link to the story and
below is the address to send your letters to.
Hopefully if they get enough concern from the public, they will
investigate and punish this officer and not just give
him a slap on the wrist! Thanks for your help and for caring about
the animals!

Sincerely,
Appi

ADDRESS:
The State Journal-Register
One Copley Plaza, P.O. Box 219
Springfield, IL, 62705-0219

or by fax at (217) 788-1551



Link to story in newspaper..... .
http://www.sj-r.com/sections/news/stories/89686.asp
Comment on this story Email Story Print Story
Officer's account of dog shooting disputed
Witness says he saw no threat; owners say it wasn't vicious

By JAYETTE BOLINSKI
STAFF WRITER
Published Thursday, June 29, 2006

A man who said he saw a Springfield Park District police officer
shoot a dog in Washington Park on June 15 is disputing the officer's
version of events.


The witness, a correctional officer who asked that his name not be
used, says the dog was shot while it was leashed and sitting beside
Capt. Bob Rusciolelli's car.

According to Rusciolelli, a 10-year veteran of the park police
force, the dog came around the side of the car with its teeth bared
in a threatening manner, prompting him to shoot it twice with his
duty weapon.

The Springfield Police Department's internal affairs division is
reviewing the incident, at the request of the park district, to
determine if the officer's actions were justified. Rusciolelli is on
paid desk duty until the review is complete, which could take 30 to
90 days.

Meanwhile, the owners of the dog, a 9-year-old Siberian husky named
Blue, said it had never acted viciously toward them or their two
children, a 2-year-old and an infant.

Mike Stratton, interim director of the park district, said last week
that park officials had received several calls the day of the
incident, complaining that the dog was snarling and snapping at
people, killing ducks and wandering in and out of the woods near the
playground.

"I just think it's uncharacterist ic of our dog to be vicious," said
Ellen Giacomini, who had owned Blue since he was a puppy. "The duck
thing wouldn't surprise me, but I just don't see him going up to a
police officer baring his teeth. Maybe it happened, I don't know.
I'm just confused about the whole thing, what really happened."

Giacomini, who lives on Bates Avenue near the park, said the dog,
which was wearing a collar, slipped out of the house when her
daughter opened the door that morning. A neighbor saw him and put a
leash on him to walk him back to the Giacominis' house.

Blue wiggled out of the collar, however, and ran to the park.
Giacomini's husband, Matt Giacomini, drove through the neighborhood
and the park searching for the dog, but couldn't find him, she said.

Giacomini said she and her husband repeatedly phoned Sangamon County
Animal Control inquiring about Blue but were told there was no husky
there. They learned the following Tuesday that the facility did have
Blue's body at the time, she said.

Stratton said last week that the park office, the park maintenance
office and park police all had received complaints from people in
Washington Park about the dog. Rusciolelli notified animal control,
Stratton said, but Rusciolelli found the dog in the park lagoon,
where it was attacking ducks, before animal control officers
arrived.

Rusciolelli, who has declined to be interviewed, told Stratton he
was looking for something in his trunk to restrain the dog with
until animal control officers arrived but that Blue came around the
side of the patrol car with his teeth bared.

The witness maintains that the dog didn't appear threatening at all.

He was at the park with his wife and two children, ages 2 and 4.
They were feeding the ducks near the dog, he said.

The dog jumped in the water and was wading toward some ducks, but he
didn't see it attack any, the man said. When the dog got out of the
water on the other side of the lagoon, he said, Rusciolelli
approached it.

The man said the officer got a leash out of his trunk, walked over
to the dog, petted it and slipped the leash over its neck. The man
said he never saw the dog act aggressively toward the officer,
although the dog did seem a little unsure when Rusciolelli first
approached. The man said the officer secured the leash to his car,
and the dog "just sat down."

The man said he then watched the officer take a couple of steps
back, pull out his gun and shoot the dog twice in its hindquarters.

"At that point, the dog was just kind of yelping and whining, as you
can imagine. The officer just watched it lay there, licking its
wounds in pain," the man said. "A few minutes later, animal control
pulled up. The dog was still alive. When they picked it up to put it
in the truck, the dog was yelping again, because it was still in
pain."

The man said he immediately called Stratton to complain.

"As soon as it happened, my oldest said, 'Daddy, why did that man
shoot the puppy? That puppy didn't do anything,'" he said. "She
still talks about it."

Stratton said park policy requires the district to place
Rusciolelli "in a non-patrol position" and review the incident. The
witness said he intends to make himself available to be interviewed
by city internal affairs investigators.

Giacomini, who sobbed when she talked about Blue, said she hopes to
get some answers about what happened and that she believes park
officers should have some sort of less-than-lethal tool, such as
stun guns, to subdue dogs.

"I don't think that any dog should be running around the park
without a leash or tags. But that's what's animal control is for,"
she said. "What we're really concerned about is they're shooting
guns in the park. That's just crazy."

Stratton on Wednesday declined to comment further.

"The matter is under third-party review, and we'll just wait to hear
the outcome of that," he said.

Jayette Bolinski can be reached at 788-1530 or jayette.bolins ki@sj-
r.com.

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Reader Comments

Bill W. wrote at 6/29/2006 7:04:56 AM

I think that this matter requires very thoughtful and objective
investigation. If the witness story is true, the officer should be
fired IMMEDIATELY. If his story is true, he should be reprimanded
severely, and perhaps even fired. We can't have people shooting guns
in our parks, unless there is NO other choice.

dog lover wrote at 6/29/2006 7:06:46 AM

THe Park District is handling this matter properly by doing an
investigation, but if the dog was shot without reason, they should
fire the officer.

parent wrote at 6/29/2006 7:10:37 AM

As a parent who brings her small children to play in Washington
Park, I don't want anyone shooting guns in the park. Doesn't anyone
think that this officer's judgment is a bit off? Should we be giving
guns to people with such bad judgment about using them. Unless the
officers life was in real danger from a vicious dog, he shouldn't
have fired that gun. His job should be terminated.

to:parent wrote at 6/29/2006 7:43:35 AM

If that dog had attacked one of your children, you would have sued
the park district, the city of Springfield,the police officer and
anyone else you could. There were numerous complaints about the dog.
I find it hard to believe that all of these people were complaining
about nothing. I also find it hard to believe that this officer just
decided for no good reason to shoot this nice calm dog that was
sitting by his vehicle.

I AM HERE wrote at 6/29/2006 7:46:23 AM

THIS IS TOTAL BULL. THE POLICE OFFICER IN QUESTION HAD MOTIVE TO
KILL THIS VICIOUS DOG. THOSE KINDS OF DOGS ARE KNOWN FOR BEING NASTY
AND HATEFUL DOGS WHO HAVE NO BUSINESS RUNNING OUR STREETS AND
HARMING INNOCENT PEOPLE. MORE POWER TO ALL THE POLICEMEN WHO TREAT
THESE VICOUS DOGS ACCORDINGLY

disgusted wrote at 6/29/2006 7:58:02 AM

I also find it hard to believe that the officer would shoot the dog
for no good reason; HOWEVER, if he felt threatened by the dog, WHY
would he shoot him in the hindquarters? Seems to me that if he felt
like he was in danger that he would have shot the dog in the head,
killing it immediately, rather than just trying to injure him. I
find it disgusting that this "officer" would do something like this
in a public park in front of children. He must feel like a real man
now.

To: I AM HERE wrote at 6/29/2006 8:08:13 AM

Your statement that Siberian Huskies are nasty and hateful simply is
not true. The breed is very people friendly with a loving nature.
They live with the artic people and make excellent pets. This
incident is very unfortunate and should be thoroughly investigated.
I'm not a bleeding heart liberal, but discharging firearms in
Washington Park on an already leashed dog is not acceptable.

judgment call wrote at 6/29/2006 8:08:34 AM

According to the witness, who may or may not be reporting the
incident accurately, the dog was tied to the officers car. It was
not attacking anyone, and it had not attacked anyone. It was sitting
there waiting for animal control to arrive when for some reason the
police officer shot it. The officer knew the dog was tied and he
knew thst animal control was on the way. What possible rerason could
he have to cruelly wound a family pet? His judgment is WAY off.

TO: I AM HERE wrote at 6/29/2006 8:09:01 AM

I AGREE WITH YOU. I HAVE 3 SMALL CHILDREN WHOM I TAKE TO WASHINGTON
PARK ALL THE TIME I GET TIRED OF HAVING TO GRAB MY CHILDREN BACK DUE
TO SOME IDIOT LETTING THERE DOG RUN FREE THEY NEED A PARK JUST FOR
DOGS ONLY. KEEP THERE DOGS AWAY FROM MY CHILDREN I DONT WANT A
DISFIGURED CHILD BECAUSE SOME DOG LOVER FEELS THERE ANIMAL LIFE IS
MORE VALUABLE THEN HUMAN LIFE!

Advice wrote at 6/29/2006 8:10:00 AM

Memo to Mike Stratton - Stop whatever you are doing. Fire the cowboy
cop. Do it. Now!

in response to: 7:43 & 7:46 postings wrote at 6/29/2006 8:17:14 AM

I can't figure out for the life of me why you feel that it is so far
fetched that an "officer" would do such a thing.They too are only
human and we know that all humans make mistakes. THIS IS A BIG ONE.
I agree with the 7:58am writer who questioned the truthfulness of
the officer's version by asking "why if he was so afraid of this
vicious animal, did he not shot him somewhere that would do more
than make the dog suffer. And even in his accounts, the dog was
still alive and suffering when animal control arrived. Hey, I think
that most officers can be held in the highest esteem but we must all
remember that they too are human and can have issues, a bad day or a
psychological problem like other humans. And to shot a dog in front
of babies playing in the park....that's that simply bad judgement

Citizen wrote at 6/29/2006 8:24:04 AM

Let the investigation run its course. The facts should be clear
specially since the dog should have wounds to the hips. That in
itself is cruel since that would only cause extremely painful wounds
and not put the dog down quickly as the officer should have done if
needed. The dog was tied, so was it really necessary? There are no
bad pets only bad pet owners.

That is cruel wrote at 6/29/2006 8:25:24 AM

Clearly if the dog was shot in its hindquarters.. .it was not
threatening the officer at that time (if it ever was)...so maybe he
should have left it tied to the car and got inside and waited for
animal control rather than shooting the dog infront of kids in the
park. Not a smart move JP.

Strong Opinion wrote at 6/29/2006 8:27:25 AM

1ST OF ALL, THIS COP IS A 10 YEAR VETRAN AND KNOWS WHAT THE RESULTS
ARE THAT COME FROM UNNECESSARY DISCHARGE OF HIS WEAPON. I ALSO WILL
BET MONEY THAT HE WOULDN'T GIVE UP HIS JOB FOR THE WORLD-LIKE
ANOTHER PARK COP I KNOW, SO WHY WOULD HE SHOOT A DOG UNLESS IT WAS
CALLED FOR. I TAKE MY 2 YEAR OLD TO THE WASHINGTON PARK ALL THE TIME
AND I AM GLAD THERE ARE PEOPLE LIKE THIS OFFICER OUT THERE THAT KEEP
MY CHILD SAVE FROM STUPID PEOPLE'S DOGS. IF YOU CAN KEEP YOUR DOG
UNDER CONTROL-YOU DIDN'T NEED IT ANYWAY. WITH ALL THE CALLS ABOUT
THIS DOG THROUGHOUT THE DAY I AM SURE THE OFFICER'S ACTIONS WERE
JUST AND THE WITNESS IS PROBABLY JUST ONE OF THESE PEOPLE WHO LIKE
TO BLOW THINGS OUT OF PROPORTION AND OBVIOUSLY DIDN'T SEE THE WHOLE
STORY.

to the dog haters wrote at 6/29/2006 8:28:32 AM

The owner did not "let the dog run free"...learn to read. Besides,
the dog was secured to the car by a leash. If the officer was
threatened, he should have stepped back because animal control was
on the way. The officer acted irresponsibly, plain and simple.[/size][/color]