We're regressing: KCMO sics police dog on African-American

I don't have a link for this, since I just saw it on the local news.

Last night, an African-American man skipped out on a $9.00 cab fare - the cabbie called the cops, who arrived and found the suspect uncooperative, so they called for a canine unit.

When the guy saw the dog and freaked, they let the German Shepherd loose and set it on him. The news showed the guy with his shirt off, blood everywhere, with a massive bite wound on his right arm.

While the dog was attacking him, the man bit the dog on the ear (so it obviously was right in his face - terrifying). The cops were actually bitching about the bite wound on the dog, saying that these dogs are 'very expensive' but assuring us that the wound to the dog was 'slight'. NO MENTION of the wound to the man, or if it's now KCPD policy to use police dogs on human beings.

What happened to using mace on an uncooperative suspects? Are we now just going to call out German Shepherds a la Birmingham in minority communities? I couldn't believe what I was seeing this morning.

Things like this have been happening all along -- think of that poor man in New York who was sodomized with a plunger while several officers sat around and laughed -- but most of them don't get media play.

Damn, I used to live there. That's awful!


For those who don't know, perhaps those from other countries: There are two Kansas Citys, one in Missouri and one in Kansas. They are separated by the Missouri river. Kansas City, Missouri is, oddly enough, the bigger and more famous Kansas City. The song "Goin' to Kansas City...Kansas City here I come" is referring to the Missouri city, which has a great tradition of jazz and blues. The Royals baseball team and Chiefs football team are based in the Missouri city. It's a Blue city in a Blue county in a Red state. I don't know if Kansas City, Kansas went Blue, but the county it's in sure did, which is amazing for a major Red state (only 2 counties in Kansas went blue and Wyandotte was one of them).

Also for those who are from other countries, don't ask why Kansas/Kansas City is pronounced can-zuz (man, fan, tan - buzz, was, does), while Arkansas is pronounced r-can-saw. We're just way weird. Btw, Missouri is pronounced mizz-ur-ee (fizz, liz, biz - burr, fur, cure - be, see, fee). People who pronounce it mizz-ur-uh are usually Republicans. NO ONE ever pronounces it mizz-ur-eye. :-)

It sounds like Abu Ghraib revisited, and it also sounds like the SS, particularly the German Shepherd part.

When will the cops start using the more modern Rottweilers and Pit Bulls as their attack dogs, I wonder.

Actually, the guy asked for it. He bit the dog and a police officer when they caught him.

Is this the kind of security that makes you feel comfortable and protected? Is this the kind of country you want?

According to what I saw this morning, he bit the dog and the officer after he was mauled by the German Shepherd. I think he took a swing at one of the cops, which was when they said they 'popped open' the K-9 unit door and let the dog loose on him - the dog was not being used in a search for him, they had the guy on the street and the dog was in the car. And again, this raises the question if it's now KCPD policy to set an attack dog on an uncooperative subject, or if they don't use mace or any other form of non-lethal force. A dog can easily rip your throat out.

I found a small link to the story - it's here:

http://www.wdaftv4.com/fullstory.asp?ID=6345

First, resisting what Murka's Finest Heros was telling him to do, then secondly, having the unmitigated GALL to bite one of Murka's very expensive Hero Dogs!

So did he have to be treated later for multiple fractures that happened when he "fell" on his way to the processing room?

Oink!