By Ariel Rothfield, Reporter
Everyday Ginger and Jeremy
Sweat make a trip to a memorial in the back of their Mason County home.
“When I lay my head down at
night I pray that it doesn't happen to anyone else,” said Ginger.
The memorial is a tribute to
their 7-year-old dog Willy Pete who was shot and killed by West Virginia State
Police in late June.
“He was my best friend, there
is no other way around it,” she said. “When we come home from somewhere I
expect to see him come galloping towards me, to greet me. I expect him to come
when I'm feeding my other dog.”
According to Ginger, Willy Pete
was an arthritic beagle-basset hound mix. The dog was shot three times in front
of his house as police were conducting a manhunt for a suspect accused of
shooting at a Mason County deputy.
“Not only the fact that my dog
is dead. They killed my dog unnecessarily. They also took away something that
could never be replaced. My sense of security has also been taken away,” said
Jeremy.
The incident Ginger witnessed
is part of a growing national concern over police confrontations with dogs.
Stories of pet dogs killed by police have been posted on social media sites and
videos have gone viral on YouTube.
“The bar is set quite low.
Generally the policy is if an officer feels that he or she is threatened with
bodily harm, or the public is, then that shooting is considered justified,”
said Dr. Randall Lockwood, the senior vice president with the American Society
for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Lockwood has been studying
police confrontations with animals for 15 years. He's helped train police
departments across the nation.
“It is a lot like hostage
negotiation. You need to calm the situation down, find out what is needed to
gain control and act accordingly,” said Lockwood.
According to documents 13 News
received under the Freedom of Information Act, 15 dogs have been killed in the
last four years by West Virginia State Troopers. The summaries say each dog was
acting “aggressively.”
According to the reports, Willy
Pete charged from behind the house. He “growled and barred his teeth.” However,
the Sweats have argued that is not true.
“He was a larger dog. He had
bad hips,” said Jeremy.
“Oh his hips were bad. It would
take him awhile sometimes to get up,” said Ginger.
After the incident, West
Virginia State Police apologized for shooting Willy Pete but stood by the
decision to shoot him. Troopers helped the Sweats bury the dog and gave the
family a voucher to use to adopt a dog from the shelter.
West Virginia State Police
would not comment for this story. Troopers denied 13 News' request for
information regarding trooper training, citing the material would “disclose
techniques, procedures and/or guidelines for law-enforcement investigations
and/or prosecutions.”
However, other state police
agencies have publicly instituted measures to help police handle aggressive
dogs. For example, in Kansas police have special stun guns. In Maryland, they
have catch-poles so officers can control the dog without harming it.
Both Jeremy and Ginger say they
would like their story to spark conversation about what can be better done.
“I think this is an opportunity
for them to step up and say this is something we need to address,” said Jeremy.
