Man is usually the target of police abuses of power, but man’s best friend is under fire these days, too — literally. Policeman are killing family pets right and left, often without good reason.

From Hit & Run, a blog that might be more aptly named Shoot & Run for this troubling story:

What’s troubling is how often in these stories the police officer’s first reaction is to fire his weapon at the animal. I suppose that reaction might be understandable if the dog is, say, a pit bull, given that type of dog’s (not entirely deserved) reputation. But black labs? Dalmatians? Springer spaniels? A Jack Russell?

Something’s clearly amiss when a police officer can stroll onto the private property of someone who’s doing nothing illegal, be confronted by a dog who’s merely doing what dogs do — defending his territory — shoot the dog dead, and get nothing but full support from his superiors. Moreover, many of these shootings have happened in neighborhoods, inside of homes, and in a few cases, directly in front of children. … Police departments should be training officers how to deal with dogs in ways other than filling them full of bullets.

I tend to give policemen the benefit of the doubt when it comes to sensational allegations of abuse, and I defend them when troublemakers with cameras get in their faces. But there really is no defense for many of these attacks on dogs.

Unless a dangerous dog is attacking a police officer or threatening to do so, there is no reason to pull a weapon. If a tiny dog attacks, a stick or a kick can do wonders to end it. There’s no need for the ongoing glut of “puppycide” by police forces across the country.