Hello everyone! I was very moved yesterday when I heard about the Cobb County police officer who shot and killed a chocolate lab. I find it very unlikely that this lab posed any threat whatsoever to the police officer who shot and killed it. I do not blame the police officer, but instead blame the Police Chief in charge, Chief John Houser. It is under Chief John Houser that police officers are trained in how to handle these types of situations. I believe the Cobb County police policy on how to engage animals, and in particular when deadly force is justified, needs to be changed. In addition, officers should be trained on how to identify through body language when an animal poses a threat so that they can properly determine what force is necessary.
This is something that is already happening in other police departments across the nation. In the city of Austin, TX, under the leadership of Chief David Carter, the police department has recently changed their policy on when an officer can use deadly force against an animal and has required multiple hours of training on how to identify when an animal is a threat. Something similar needs to happen here in Cobb County.
I have already emailed Cobb County Police Chief John Houser with my concerns. I implore you to do the same. If you haven’t heard about this story, check out the article I wrote on PolicyMic about it here and share the message with your friends. In addition there is a Facebook page dedicated to getting the word out about this tragedy called Justice for Luke.
This type of thing can be prevented with additional training and changing the policy. It must be changed, but Chief John Houser won’t change it unless enough pressure is put on him to do so. Please let him know you want something done and tell everyone you know to do the same!
Contact information for Chief John Houser:
Cobb County Police Chief:
John Houser
(770) 499-3902
john.houser@cobbcounty.org
and for regular mail:
John R. Houser
Chief of Police
140 North Marietta Pkwy
Marietta, GA 30060
