Vicki
Administrator
Published August 10th, 2009
By Kacie Breeding
Kingsport Police Chief Gale Osborne says he's looking into alternatives to a city-wide ban on pit bulls that would protect officers and citizens from the possibility of an attack.
"The jaws are like an alligator once they get ahold of you," said Osborne, adding that his greatest concern is not necessarily for police officers, who are armed, but for children or any other person who would be defenseless against a charging pit bull.
"(Pit bulls) might be required to be on a certain size cable or in a fenced-in lot. That would be a consideration prior to banning," Osborne said.
"Most of us are pet owners and dog lovers too, so it'd be nice if we could reach a happy medium," he said.
"We don't want to hurt any animals either," Osborne said, "But when (officers) have got a set of teeth like an aggressive pitbull may have" coming at them, they've got to protect themselves.
Meanwhile, KPD's Capt. Ed Swayze said Monday morning that Officer Darrell Johnson's latest shooting of a pit bull appears justified.
Swayze said Monday that an internal review of Johnson's actions was conducted and it was determined that Johnson had acted well within the bounds of departmental policy.
KPD Sgt. David Moore said Thursday that when Johnson arrived at 2425 Jennings Drive while investigating a call, the dog's owner, Stacy Gibson, had told him, “Let me go around here and put my dog up because he bites.â€
Despite Gibson's efforts to restrain the dog, when Johnson went around back of the residence, it broke free of its cable and went after him, Moore said, adding that Gibson's father told him the dog was snapping at Johnson.
Johnson then fired a single round at the dog. It was later euthanized due to its injuries.
According to Osborne, during his history with the department, officers' encounters with aggressive dogs have most frequently involved pit bulls. There have been other occasions, though none in recent years, in which officers had to "dispose of" pit bulls as well. He did not have any statistics involving the number of aggressive pit bull encounters or how many of the dogs have been shot over the years.
On Friday, Sullivan County Assistant District Attorney Barry Staubus said the TBI investigation of Johnson's shooting of another pit bull on June 21 was still ongoing.
http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9015903
By Kacie Breeding
Kingsport Police Chief Gale Osborne says he's looking into alternatives to a city-wide ban on pit bulls that would protect officers and citizens from the possibility of an attack.
"The jaws are like an alligator once they get ahold of you," said Osborne, adding that his greatest concern is not necessarily for police officers, who are armed, but for children or any other person who would be defenseless against a charging pit bull.
"(Pit bulls) might be required to be on a certain size cable or in a fenced-in lot. That would be a consideration prior to banning," Osborne said.
"Most of us are pet owners and dog lovers too, so it'd be nice if we could reach a happy medium," he said.
"We don't want to hurt any animals either," Osborne said, "But when (officers) have got a set of teeth like an aggressive pitbull may have" coming at them, they've got to protect themselves.
Meanwhile, KPD's Capt. Ed Swayze said Monday morning that Officer Darrell Johnson's latest shooting of a pit bull appears justified.
Swayze said Monday that an internal review of Johnson's actions was conducted and it was determined that Johnson had acted well within the bounds of departmental policy.
KPD Sgt. David Moore said Thursday that when Johnson arrived at 2425 Jennings Drive while investigating a call, the dog's owner, Stacy Gibson, had told him, “Let me go around here and put my dog up because he bites.â€
Despite Gibson's efforts to restrain the dog, when Johnson went around back of the residence, it broke free of its cable and went after him, Moore said, adding that Gibson's father told him the dog was snapping at Johnson.
Johnson then fired a single round at the dog. It was later euthanized due to its injuries.
According to Osborne, during his history with the department, officers' encounters with aggressive dogs have most frequently involved pit bulls. There have been other occasions, though none in recent years, in which officers had to "dispose of" pit bulls as well. He did not have any statistics involving the number of aggressive pit bull encounters or how many of the dogs have been shot over the years.
On Friday, Sullivan County Assistant District Attorney Barry Staubus said the TBI investigation of Johnson's shooting of another pit bull on June 21 was still ongoing.
http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9015903