Edmonton Police Dog Killed

[flamingfingers]

Ranger66 wrote:

it appears that this may be a bad call by the handler.

Why was it a 'bad call' - the perp was running to escape - the handler told the dog to apprehend. The dog did what the police officer told him to do.

To my mind, the dog acted as the extension of the officer and took the place of the human in apprehending the perp. In effect, the perp attacked a police officer.

[Fancy]

A man who killed an Edmonton police dog has been sentenced to 26 months in prison.

Paul Joseph Vukmanich has also been banned from owning a pet for 25 years.

The judge said Vukmanich didn't just attack a dog, but attacked society "and what's meaningful in society."

Court heard Vukmanich was high on drugs and fleeing from police last fall when he repeatedly stabbed the dog named Quanto.

Officers had set the German shepherd loose after Vukmanich was caught driving a car with stolen plates and ran away on foot.

Vukmanich, who is 27, pleaded guilty earlier this week to animal cruelty and other offences, including evading police.

He is not getting any credit for time in custody, because he was serving out a prior sentence at the time of the offence. But he will not have to pay restitution to the Edmonton Police Service. The Crown had asked that Vukmanich be ordered to pay $40,000 for the cost of a new dog and its training.

Vukmanich also faces a five-year driving ban once he is released.

The case garnered national attention after police officers complained that the toughest charge which could be laid was animal cruelty.

"This case seems to have struck a public nerve," Judge Larry Anderson said as he gave his decision Friday.

The federal government signalled in the speech from the throne in October that it would create new legislation to protect animals that work with police and call it Quanto's Law. But it didn't specify what the law would entail.

"Our government recognizes and respects the daily risks taken by police officers and their service animals," Paloma Aguilar, press secretary for Justice Minister Peter MacKay, said in an email.

She said more details of the law will be revealed in "due course."

Quanto was the fifth Edmonton police dog to die in the line of duty.

Court heard that Vukmanich was on parole and high on cocaine and methamphetamine when police tried to pull him over on Oct. 7. He sped over a median and several curbs, blowing out three tires, before abandoning the car in a parking lot. He then took off on foot.

When he refused to stop, Quanto was deployed.

The dog bit Vukmanich on the arm and hand. Vukmanich then stabbed the animal several times in the chest.

Cst. Matt Williamson carried his bleeding dog to an emergency veterinarian but he couldn't be saved.

http://www.castanet.net/edition/news-st ... htm#110032

[Bpeep]

He's lucky.
Imo he got 18 years too few.
Canada needs to recognize a police dog as a member, and protect them with the same laws as the rest of the police force is.

[rvrepairnut]

He's lucky.
Imo he got 18 years too few.
Canada needs to recognize a police dog as a member, and protect them with the same laws as the rest of the police force is.

Iam a dog lover for sure but I don't agree and I doubt society as a whole views your opinion as reasonable
This guy was a down and out scum bag and deserved jail time no doubt.

[Bpeep]

You don't thing a police service dog should be afforded the same rights as any other police officer? It's trained for and works for the police force.
It's identified as a police dog.

[Fancy]

In many jurisdictions, the intentional injuring or killing of a police dog is a felony,[1] subjecting the perpetrator to harsher penalties than those in the statutes embodied in local animal cruelty laws,[2] just as an assault on a human police officer is often a more serious offense than a similar assault on a civilian. A growing number of law-enforcement organizations outfit dogs with ballistic vests,[3][4] and some even designate dogs as sworn officers, with their own police badges and IDs.[1][5][6][7] Furthermore, a police dog killed in the line of duty is often given a full police funeral.[7][8][9]

Wikipedia

[Fancy]

A private member’s bill to amend the Criminal Code to include such a law is also before the House of Commons.

Ontario Conservative MP Costas Menegakis has said his bill was inspired by the hit-and-run death of a Toronto police horse in 2006.

It states that anyone “who knowingly or recklessly poisons, injures or kills a law enforcement animal,” including a horse or a dog, could be subject to a five-year maximum sentence.

It’s the same sentence carried by an animal cruelty charge, but Menegakis said having a separate law for police animals would be a symbolic change.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/02/25 ... ds-guilty/
Too bad 5 years wasn't the minimum.

[rvrepairnut]

You don't thing a police service dog should be afforded the same rights as any other police officer? It's trained for and works for the police force.
It's identified as a police dog.

I think(u asked) that that's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of in my whole life

[Fancy]

Well, it's a good thing a lot of folks don't share your view. Canada should follow US and have a maximum of 10 years in prison.

[Bpeep]

The most ridiculous Ive ever heard was ''thou shall not cast pearls before swine''.
Then I learned its true meaning and realized it wasnt a sex act.
Sorry you dont hold police members in high regard.

[Fancy]

Human police officers consider the service dogs as "partners" on the job and family members off the job.

Officer Philip Lerza traveled to the Pittsburgh police bureau's canine training academy countless times in the four years since he began working with German shepherd Rocco, but none compared to Friday.

The 12-year veteran of the force, his wife and two daughters got into the back of a police van. Dozens of officers from throughout the state escorted them to Oakland for the dog's funeral, which drew an estimated 1,200 people at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum.

When they arrived, officers and their canine partners lined the walkway and saluted. The bagpipes began playing. The dogs began barking.


Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/ ... z2ufMneEX1

[cutter7]

26 months is pretty harsh for killing a dog, he must have had a poor lawyer. I would have argued that the dog did not identify itself as an officer, he had no idea it was a police dog and was stabbing an attacking animal in self defense.

[oneh2obabe]

Vukmanich, 27, pleaded guilty earlier this week to a number of charges including animal cruelty, possession of a weapon, impaired driving, resisting arrest and flight from police.

Provincial court Judge Larry Anderson sentenced Vukmanich to 18 months for killing Quanto; the remaining eight months were for the other charges he pleaded guilty to.

Anderson called the stabbing "an act of unbridled violence."

"Your attack wasn't just an attack on a dog," he told Vukmanich. "It's an attack on your society and what's meaningful in our society. The hurt from your actions was widespread. It explains why there are so many in the courtroom today."

The judge, however, refused to impose a $40,000 restitution order for the loss of Quanto as recommended by the Crown.

Vukmanich will receive no credit for 4½ months in custody as he was on parole at the time.

Crown prosecutor Christian Lim believes that the 18-month sentence is the harshest ever imposed for cruelty to an animal.

"Not only is an animal's life important but in this case, here, a police service dog, representing you, the public, as well as the Edmonton Police Service ... killing a dog while on duty is going to be considered very seriously," Lim told reporters outside court.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/ ... -1.2555139

[Fancy]

Constable Matt Williamson carried his bleeding dog to an emergency veterinarian but he couldn’t be saved.

The officer told court in his victim impact statement that although Quanto lived with his family, the dog’s primary role was as his protector, a role the animal fearlessly fulfilled.

However, Williamson said, Quanto’s death has had a profound effect on the officer’s six-year-old daughter, who came to him crying one day with a question: “If Quanto’s job was to protect you from bad guys … is a bad guy going to kill you?”

Williamson said the little girl never lets him leave for work now without giving him a hug first.

Williamson is to start training a new dog and will rejoin the canine unit in the spring.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/nat ... e17156595/

[Ken7]

http://www.behindtheblueline.ca/blog/bl ... e-animals/

Some of you might like to read this.