When is it constitutional for a police officer to shoot a dog during a raid? Any time it moves or barks, according to a federal appeals court.
In a ruling released Monday, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals found Battle Creek, Mich. police officers were justified in shooting two pit bulls while executing a search warrant for drugs on the home of Mark and Cheryl Brown in 2013. The Brown’s sued the police department in 2015, arguing the killing of their dogs violated their constitutional rights.
The ruling creates a similar legal standard in the Sixth Circuit—which includes Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee—that several other federal appeals courts have established, but it also appears to expand when it is acceptable for an officer to shoot a dog.
After breaking through the Brown’s door, one Battle Creek officer testified that the first dog “had only moved a few inches” toward him before he shot it. The second dog ran into the basement.
“The second dog was not moving towards the officers when they discovered her in the basement, but rather she was ‘just standing there,’ barking and was turned sideways to the officers,” the court narrative continues. “Klein then fired the first two rounds at the second dog.”
Via Reason