Police Shoot Family's Pet Dog During Mistaken Stop
Dog Appears To Be Wagging Tail Before Being Shot
POSTED: Thursday, January 9, 2003
UPDATED: 10:13 am EST January 10,
2003
A family has filed several complaints after police mistakenly pulled them over as robbery suspects, then shot and killed their pet dog, according to a Local 6 News report.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol released video tape Thursday of the traffic stop where three Cookeville police cars pulled over James Smoak and his family as they drove home Jan. 1 from a vacation.However, during the stop the family's bulldog-boxer mix dog named Patton jumped from the car and raced toward Cookeville police officer Eric Hall, who was holding a shotgun.The tape shows that Hall stepped back and fired just before Patton reached him.The dog appeared to be wagging its tail as it ran toward the officer, the tape shows.The dog died from the shotgun blast.Police had suspected the family of a crime after getting a report of money flying from their car as it sped down Interstate 40.Investigators later discovered Smoak had left his wallet on the car while pumping gas and was innocent of any crime.Smoak is pursuing legal action and has been advised not to discuss the case.The officer who shot the dog has been reassigned to administrative duties pending an independent review.
Copyright 2007 by Internet Broadcasting Systems and Local6.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Copyright 2007 by Internet Broadcasting Systems and Local6.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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