They Shoot Dogs, Don't They?

Was anyone in L.A. very surprised to learn that the LAPD had shot and killed another unarmed Black person last month? Sickened, shocked and pissed off, yes, but not really surprised. However, I was surprised when the Los Angeles Times reported that in the midst of the ongoing furor over the Devin Brown shooting, some LAPD officers shot and killed a beloved canine member of the community. However, today comes a follow-up story by reporters Matt Lait, Scott Glover and Doug Smith headlined "Shootings of Dogs by Police Not Unusual":

One out of every four times Los Angeles police
officers intentionally fired their guns during
the last 20 years, the target was not a man; it
was man's best friend.

Though the killing of a pit bull by an officer
three weeks ago sparked anger among animal
rights activists, LAPD data show that shooting
incidents involving dogs are commonplace.

Since 1985, police have shot at more than 465
dogs, killing at least 200 and wounding at least
140, according to incident reports.

And it's not just the LAPD which is trigger happy. According to the article, the NYPD (which is four times as large as the LAPD serving a population twice as large) has shot at 803 dogs since 1990. The LA Sheriff's Department fires at approximately 36 dogs per year, compared to the LAPD's 26 dogs per year and the NYPD's 53 dogs per year. Interestingly, if one looks at the rate of dog shootings per year per officer, the LAPD and NYPD have roughly the same number which is actually lower than the sheriff's statistic. However, asking how many pet shootings per year is acceptable is like asking how many Devin Brown shootings is acceptable, isn't it?