I have a certain inclination to stand behind SWAT guys who neutralize dogs as a matter of course. It really is a matter of officer safety and that is primary.

I'm very aware of the increasing propensity of foul-ups, which have long been the case in the city are getting more attention lately since they've become more frequent in the semi-suburbs. Still, the guys going through the doorway are just average Joes. They don't know when they're at the wrong address, or they're working off bullshit information. And they'd be doubly stupid to give any situation the benefit of the doubt.

You can't blame them for the exec running the show. When they come in and a there's a dog they have to put it down, because it just isn't safe to allow for the possibility of a mistake in the immediate moment. Better safe than sorry; and that really is the best policy for all parties concerned.

That notwithstanding, I for one do take issue not only with some agencies' lack of accountability in the wake of foul-ups, but also the often determined shirking of any suggestion of error. That is wrong. It's wholly unacceptable. I don't buy into the it's-best-in-the-long-term mantra.

Also, most agencies do reimburse for doors and property when they fuck up. When they don't, it's usually because the CA realizes that the family in question doesn't have the initiative or the know-how to file a claim without encouragement; so they cut their losses. Coordinated raids are unbelievably expensive.


Yet, my friends have told me how in Iraq they always reimburse households for destroyed property after forced entries that yield nothing, and that they're well practiced in the paperwork. Iraq. Figure that one out.

Could it be that someone at the Pentagon can perform basic mathematics? You know, like figuring out that there are about 114 Iraqis for every single US soldier assigned there. Anyone capable of doing complex figgerin' like that probably has a good enough memory to realize that a lot of households were allowed to hang onto an AK variant of some sort for protection.

Math like that makes it more likely that you'd be willing to eat the cost of some doors and windows don't ya' think.

Some of us think our taxes pay the cops to work for us, so the real primary is Citizen Safety. And we think the "average Joes" all are licensed "Officers", not just average Joes, and that licensed Officers should independently verify their paperwork, and be independantly responsible for their actions, like any licensed professional.

"The exec running the show?" That went out at Nuremberg I think.

I directly blame the "average Joes". They should go down when this happens. Real hard.

Sietch - I concede that guard/attack dogs are becoming commonplace, especially in no-knock environs, but the difference in my scenario being the police have been summoned to my residence with foreknowledge that I am armed and my dog is trained and engaged with the BG. Unless I am already dead, he will not need to be neutralized. Shooting my canine with this information already a matter of record (911 call and departmental knowledge) will result in the same charges as tapping a known retired LEO. Nevertheless, it is still one of my fears given the pervasive shooting errors that litter the news these days.