A hero died, the animal lived.

Im sure PETA will want this guy drawn and quartered

Tie him up to a rock and throw him back over the bridge.

"Im sure PETA will want this guy drawn and quartered"

The idiots who support and who are members of PETA will blame the police force for "forcing" the dog to perform police service (they'll call it animal slavery) and then inserting the dog into a dangerous situation that led to the dog's death. Just watch. It'll happen. You have to remember how nutballs "think".

...the suspect should be charged with killing a police officer.

Dogs are not people. One of the very rationals for police use of dogs is to reduce or avoid officer risk. We have enough people on the Left equating the value of animal and human life without the Right getting in on the act as well. Capital punishment is the appropriate remedy for murder. Not so in the case of killing a dog. The line between "kill" and "murder" should remain distinct. The man should be charged with killing a police dog.

murder
1. Law. the killing of another human being under conditions specifically covered in law.

He will be charged with killing a Police OFFICER. Under many states laws, police dogs are considered full fledged officers under the law.

Listkeeper:

Q. What are you in for?

A. I killed a police officer.

What meaning does that convey to you? To the extent that police dogs and humans are both referred to as officers, it should be obvious that the usage is deceptive and blurs the human/animal distinction. It is a bad idea.

WTF. First it's death sentences for drunk driving with fatalities. And now it's "cop killing" charges against a guy for trying to escape getting bitten by a freaking dog trained to attack human beings and the dog dying instead.

Jeff, [your not so] Blogworthy, your out to lunch:

California -Penal Code 600

(a) Any person who willfully and maliciously and with no legal justification strikes beats, kicks, cuts, stabs, shoots with a firearm, administers any poison or other harmful or stupefying substance to, or throws, hurls, or projects at, or places any rock, object, or other substance which is used in a manner as to be capable of producing injury and likely to produce injury, on or in the path of, any horse being used by, or any dog under the supervision of, any peace officer in the discharge or attempted discharge of his or her duties, is guilty of a public offense. If the injury inflicted is a serious injury, as defined in subdivision (c), the person shall be punished by impreisonment in the state prison for 16 months, two or three years, or in a county jail for not exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2000.00), or by both a fine and imprisonment. If the injury inflicted is not a serious injury, the person shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding one thousand $(1000.00), or by both a fine and imprisonment.

The link provides the laws and penalties in other states.

marc:

Nice ad hominem.

I note there is nothing in your citation that defines a dog or a horse as an "officer." In fact, there is a clear distinction between the "peace officer" and the animal. The perp will be punished for harming "any dog" or "any horse." So what is your point? Maybe next time you can address what I actually wrote.

Jeff, marc; Its California! Killing a Police Dog will get the asshole more jail time than killing a Police Human!!!

Then you only skimmed the entire article.

Indiana for example calls Striking, Interfering with a law enforcement animal a class A Misdemeanor (1 year/$5,000 + or -)

Iowa they are called "Police Service Dogs."

You can split hairs all you care to in the eyes of various jurisdictions they are considered active members of their respective police forces.

And you're FURTHER out to lunch than previously.

BlackDog - "Jeff, marc; Its California! Killing a Police Dog will get the asshole more jail time than killing a Police Human!!!"

And you're so far out to lunch as to be not even sitting at the table.

Opps... look kill a Police Dog and get chared with murder, five counts of attempted murder of a police officer, burglary and resisting arrest. Killing a police dog is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Marc:

Opps... look kill a Police Dog and get chared with murder

And this proves... that I was right. I never asserted that no such law exists. I still am not sure that it does, however. The use of "murder" looks like journalistic license to me. Regardless, I said:

We have enough people on the Left equating the value of animal and human life without the Right getting in on the act as well.

And then...

To the extent that police dogs and humans are both referred to as officers, it should be obvious that the usage is deceptive and blurs the human/animal distinction. It is a bad idea.

Are you literate? I am saying that, to the extent that the killing of an animal is equated with the actual killing of a human, it is wrong and disastrous. Which part don't you understand? Any such law that may exist should be repealed. It is a bad law. You haven't addressed my argument once. You act as though if you can find a law you have proved something. You haven't.

I wonder what consequence an officer should face for unnecessarily killing the dog of a civilian as it wags its tail? A video of the incident was released not long ago.

I wonder if this police officer should be charged with the murder of a fellow officer?

Do you support abortion Marc?

Only a jerk would have anything to do with a organization as stupid as PETA and hollywood is full of them

JB - "Are you literate? I am saying that, to the extent that the killing of an animal is equated with the actual killing of a human, it is wrong and disastrous. Which part don't you understand? Any such law that may exist should be repealed. It is a bad law. You haven't addressed my argument once. You act as though if you can find a law you have proved something. You haven't."

On the contrary, I read just fine. And OK to.

I also proved your original assertion was wrong, you just want to nit pick over the semantics of the words/phrases "officer" and "Police Service Dogs" or "law enforcement animal" as some of the statutes on the books describe them.

Various jurisdictions very plainly disagree with you and they are afforded special protection as a result of the jobs their trained for.

When your nit picking failed to sway me you try to equate the killing of a non police dog or divert attention by asking a totally irrelevant question about abortion.

Nice try, but on a scale of 1 to 10 you score -5

Marc:

Another quote from me above, just to show how incredibly obtuse you are:

"The man should be charged with killing a police dog."

This is from my very first post.

Calling a dog an officer is not "semantics." Officer derives from "office holder" - esp. an elected office. An officer is a human. Dogs need not apply. This is what my original point is all about, and what I have reiterated in nearly every word.

Mmm hmmm, but if the law shoots your dog - and it happens often enough, check Radley Balko's site - they don't get charged with shit.

Anyone kooky enough to jump 200 feet from a bridge deserves what they get. It's a shame about the dog because I like dogs. But capital murder charges? No way in hell.

Okay. Forget about whether the dog is a police officer and the suspect can be charged with killing a police officer.

Let's say the dog is property as defined by the law. First, this dog was a pure bred Belgian Malinois. We're talking maybe $2,000. The dog then sucessfully passed training as a police dog. How much is that? Now add that the dog had 6 years of successful service. I'm thinking we're getting into 6 figures. So...sue the druken redneck for the cost of replacing the dog. That will keep him sober for years. He won't be able to afford so much as a beer.