Trophy Club Police Shoot Dog

The Killian family of Trophy Club is distraught. Jennifer Killian says, "It was heartless.

[Dog Lover]

As a responsible owner of 4 dogs, I take extra measures to ensure they are secured on my property at all times. If they escape, I take full responsibility for their actions or incidents resulting from them. In the past I have had one escape only to be killed by being run over in front of my house. Whose fault was that? It was my fault, not the driver of the car and not the dogs.

[--TC Dog Lover]

Unless the officer was being viscously attacked, he should not have killed the dog. And only then as a last resort! There are other means available to him - common sense for one! Has this officer ever done anything like this before? Maybe a bit of background checking should be done to find out. It is doubtful deadly force was required. I'm not sure I want this guy around me or my family!

[tx police officer]

easy to arm chair quaterback isnt it mr TC Dog Lover, when you were not there and not dealing with things that police officers deal with. So short sighted.

[Tx Police Officer]

First off, the dogs (both of them) tried to attack the NOT OFFICER, But a Supervisor. Second, the dog literally chased the Supervisor and tried to bite the Supervisor until he had no choice to stop the threat and use deadly force.
Also, from my understanding, officers get called out there on a weekly basis because the dogs are attacking people. One neighbor keeps a baseball bat in the garage so when he walks out to his car in the morning he will have some type of protectiong against the 150 pound bull mastiff.
Open Records request can be made at the Trophy Club Police Department of the video. Funny, the video, I was told, was sent to the news media, but they didnt want to air that part.
Like tx police officer said, its easy to Arm Chair Quarterback it with only once side of the story, and funny thing, the next day an officer was bit by a dog, sending him to the hospital. That officer had to stay several nights and almost had surgery cause of the infection from the dog bite.. But no one cared about that...

[Rebekah]

I know people would like to think it's probably because the dog was a pit bull, but I blame the owners. If the dog attacks, it's because the owners, or someone in the past has mistreated the dog or trained it to attack. It's sad that the dog had to be hurt as a result of carelessness.

[kingstons friend]

wow!!!....so many opinions!!!.....i knew kingston the mastiff puppy....he was a sweet, gentle dog that belonged to six little girls.......he was of no harm to anyone......and it was deemed so by the trophy club animal control officer.....the owners are very responsible pet loving owners.
the officers in trophy club are a bunch of bullying yahoo's.......they harass residents and have nothing to do here in such a low crime town.......
have you seen the police video? i have and the officer taunted the dog into the street and shot it twice, murdering kingston. it was use of unecessary force to the full extent. the officer tried to cover his ass on the video and afterwards is seen joking and laughing about it.......
how would you tell your children if this happened to you dog? i am very disturbed by the whole event......it was very ugly.
trophy cliff a great place for your dog to get shot.......move on in dude cop....

[kingstons friend]

Tx Police Officer wrote:

First off, the dogs (both of them) tried to attack the NOT OFFICER, But a Supervisor. Second, the dog literally chased the Supervisor and tried to bite the Supervisor until he had no choice to stop the threat and use deadly force.
Also, from my understanding, officers get called out there on a weekly basis because the dogs are attacking people. One neighbor keeps a baseball bat in the garage so when he walks out to his car in the morning he will have some type of protectiong against the 150 pound bull mastiff.
Open Records request can be made at the Trophy Club Police Department of the video. Funny, the video, I was told, was sent to the news media, but they didnt want to air that part.
Like tx police officer said, its easy to Arm Chair Quarterback it with only once side of the story, and funny thing, the next day an officer was bit by a dog, sending him to the hospital. That officer had to stay several nights and almost had surgery cause of the infection from the dog bite.. But no one cared about that...

Not true.......the neighbor who called is out there by religion........the video was quite brutal....kingston would have never bitten anyone......the bunch of police officers in trophy club are not properly trained on how to handle animals......

[Kingstons Owner]

Tx Police Officer wrote:

First off, the dogs (both of them) tried to attack the NOT OFFICER, But a Supervisor. Second, the dog literally chased the Supervisor and tried to bite the Supervisor until he had no choice to stop the threat and use deadly force.
Also, from my understanding, officers get called out there on a weekly basis because the dogs are attacking people. One neighbor keeps a baseball bat in the garage so when he walks out to his car in the morning he will have some type of protectiong against the 150 pound bull mastiff.
Open Records request can be made at the Trophy Club Police Department of the video. Funny, the video, I was told, was sent to the news media, but they didnt want to air that part.
Like tx police officer said, its easy to Arm Chair Quarterback it with only once side of the story, and funny thing, the next day an officer was bit by a dog, sending him to the hospital. That officer had to stay several nights and almost had surgery cause of the infection from the dog bite.. But no one cared about that...

Sir, You really have no clue about any of this. You're understanding is completely wrong of what really happened with Kingston. You can't make judgements off what you hear, you need to know the facts not just what the officer claimed at the time of the incident. I will be posting soon the facts about our Kingston.

[Kingstons Owner]

Hello to all,
I appreciate ALL the comments and I just wanted to clear up facts about what happened and the facts about Kingston himself. We purchased Kingston from a registered ENGLISH MASTIFF breeder at 8 weeks old and we raised him along with our South African Mastiff (boerbol) Sadie. He has never been aggressive with anyone before although his bark and size was intimidating, he has never bitten or attacked anyone including passerby's in our neighborhood or next door neighbors who claimed he attacked her. Now, he was not a pit bull, nor a bull mastiff, nor was he 150 lbs; he weighed 119 lbs @ 1 yr old (Sept. 8 2009) and he was an English Mastiff. I see how the claims from the Officer/Sergeant on the video that he was sure he was 150 lbs and was sure he was a British Mastiff or Bull Mastiff have seemed to made up minds of people already and the rumors that both dogs attacked the officer but, neither of them two rumors are true. Kingston was BARKING with a wagging tail the whole time more so to let the officer know that he needs to keep away from the property. Sadie never even went to the property line; although she did bark from the top of the driveway. Kingston was also very much provoked when the officer admitted to stomping at him (King) and also admitted later in the video that he "just figured since he's had so many problems with this guy". Yes, Kingston got out of our backyard on only a few occasions and we fixed the problem every time but, he managed to find a different way. Also, how on one of those occasions the officers were able to enter our home with BOTH DOGS and even able to put them in our back room and close the door; And if Kingston was so vicious per one of the statements, why was it not documented on the date of the "attack" on the neighbor who NEVER spoke to us about Kingston's behavior and kept from us that her father has to carry a bat to the car when he comes and goes. Why was it that they claimed this happened on Sept. 12 (per the statement) and yet the actual statement was written on the night of Kingston's murder on Sept. 23rd? Also, why did THE ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER call me on Sept. 18th to tell me that our dogs were NOT DANGEROUS because they got out the prev. Sat. and all they do is BARK. He said, "They never even leave the property, they just stand there and bark and go back up the driveway." He also stated that the officer that responded left us a message,(which we still have) stating he was leaving because they are no harm. These are the facts people.......

[Kingstons Owner]

con't...

Kingston guarded and protected his property like most other dogs do and he was provoked by the officer and something else to think about: The officer had another officer go get the tranq. gun from the police station for our other dog (Sadie) who witnessed the whole thing happen and ran 2 houses down to hide in the backyard until I was able to retrieve her because he was afraid she would come out again. Why didn't he show up with the tranq. gun in the first place for Kingston? Also, the officer pulled up with video showing the home and the street but moved the camera only to show the house and 1/2 the neighbor's house with the street view completely off camera and after he shot and killed Kingston he moved his vehicle and camera back to the street view and our front yard.??? Kingston came down to bark at him and per a witness, the officer got out of the police car with the gun already drawn on Kingston. The officer was at his vehicle and was able to shew Kingston up the driveway. Why did he persist on walking as far away as he did knowing he wasn't going to be able to get back to his car if Kingston came back down? This shows me a lack of training on the officers’ part. It was evident that he doesn't know much about dogs either or he would of been able to understand Kingston's body language which clearly showed he was wagging his tail. I've had many officers offer support due to this and they've assured me they've come across very vicious dogs before and the most they've done is maced the dogs and even took the dogs to the vet after to get their eyes cleaned out. Animal Cops don't even shoot and kill dogs. There is a reason for Animal Control which is for animals and Police officers for humans. Both this incident with Kingston and the other with the dog who bit the other police officer (different case) proves that officers have NO business responding to these sort of calls. The officer (on the video) admitted to having our phone# and never called us to even see if we were home (like they did on all prev. calls) once. We have 6 girls that sometimes stay home when we leave to the store. What in the world was he thinking to put himself in a position where he would be away from his car, knowing he would use his gun after Kingston came down and barked at him the 1st time? He could of called to see if we were home, not provoke him to the street and then use the excuse that he was going to walk all the way up to our door and attempt to make contact. I know that he could of taken a complete different approach to handling this issue with Kingston but, wasn't he a "supervisor" I'm sorry, I mean, a high ranked Sear gent and he shot off 2 rounds not even knowing if we were even home or our girls? Again, lack of training for both dogs and humans and these incidents’ were allowed by the good Lord and when he allows things to happen it's usually for a reason or more so a lesson to be taught. We have certainly learned ours and just keep our dogs indoors while we're gone. I believe that just because things aren't in the budget for the town, doesn't mean they should continue doing the wrong thing and allowing police officers to respond to animal control calls. Oh, and we did fix the issues with the dogs getting out when they did on the prev. calls. We aren't sure how they escaped the backyard on the last call. We are just as much responsible for them getting out of the yard but, not for being murdered like he was. There's so much I can't mention for the sake of legalities at the moment but, I can assure you, things have got to change in the Dept. of Police for Trophy Club regarding animal control calls or more officers, innocent bystanders, and loving family pets protecting because that's all they know to do (their dogs) will get hurt.
Be Blessed,
Kingston's Owner

[Kingstons Owner]

Hello to all,

I appreciate ALL the comments and I just wanted to clear up facts about what happened and the facts about Kingston himself. We purchased Kingston from a registered ENGLISH MASTIFF breeder at 8 weeks old and we raised him along with our South African Mastiff (boerbol) Sadie. He has never been aggressive with anyone before although his bark and size was intimidating, he has never bitten or attacked anyone including passerby's in our neighborhood or next door neighbors who claimed he attacked her. Now, he was not a pit bull, nor a bull mastiff, nor was he 150 lbs; he weighed 119 lbs @ 1 yr old (Sept. 8 2009) and he was an English Mastiff. I see how the claims from the Officer/Sergeant on the video that he was sure he was 150 lbs and was sure he was a British Mastiff or Bull Mastiff have seemed to made up minds of people already and the rumors that both dogs attacked the officer but, neither of them two rumors are true. Kingston was BARKING with a wagging tail the whole time more so to let the officer know that he needs to keep away from the property. Sadie never even went to the property line; although she did bark from the top of the driveway. Kingston was also very much provoked when the officer admitted to stomping at him (King) and also admitted later in the video that he "just figured since he's had so many problems with this guy". Yes, Kingston got out of our backyard on only a few occasions and funny how on one of those occasions the officers were able to enter our home with BOTH DOGS and even able to put them in our back room and close the door; And if Kingston was so vicious per one of the statements, why was it not documented on the date of the "attack" on the neighbor who NEVER spoke to us about Kingston's behavior and kept from us that her father has to carry a bat to the car when he comes and goes. Why was it that they claimed this happened on Sept. 12 (per the statement) and yet the actual statement was written on the night of Kingston's murder on Sept. 23rd? Also, why did THE ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER call me on Sept. 18th to tell me that our dogs were NOT DANGEROUS because they got out the prev. Sat. and all they do is BARK. He said, "They never even leave the property, they just stand there and bark and go back up the driveway." He also stated that the officer that responded left us a message,(which we still have) stating he was leaving because they are no harm. These are the facts people.

[Kingston cont]

Kingston guarded and protected his property like most other dogs and he was provoked by the officer and something else to think about: The officer had another officer go get the tranq. gun from the police station for the other dog (Sadie) who witnessed the whole thing happen and ran 2 houses down to hide in the backyard until I was able to retrieve her because he was afraid she would come out again. Why didn't he show up with the tranq. gun in the first place for Kingston? Also, the officer pulled up with video showing the home and the street but moved the camera only to show the house and 1/2 the neighbor's house with the street view completely off camera. Kingston came down to bark at him and per a witness, the officer got out of the police car with the gun already drawn on Kingston. The officer was at his vehicle and was able to shew Kingston up the driveway. Why did he persist on walking as far away as he did knowing he wasn't going to be able to get back to his car if Kingston came back down? This shows me a lack of training on the officers’ part. It was evident that he doesn't know much about dogs or he would of been able to understand Kingston's body language. I've had many officers offer support due to this and they've assured me they've come across very vicious dogs before and the most they've done is maced the dogs and even took the dogs to the vet after to get their eyes cleaned out. Animal Cops don't even shoot and kill dogs. There is a reason for Animal Control which is for animals and Police officers for humans. Both this incident with Kingston and the other with the dog who bit the other police officer (different case) proves that officers have NO business responding to these sort of calls. The officer (on the video) admitted to having our phone# and never called us to even see if we were home (like they did on all prev. calls) once. We have 6 girls that sometimes stay home when we leave to the store. What in the world was he thinking to put himself in a position where he would be away from his car, knowing he would use his gun after Kingston came down and barked at him the 1st time? He could of called to see if we were home, not provoke him to the street and then use the excuse that he was going to walk all the way up to our door and attempt to make contact. I know that he could of taken a complete different approach to handling this issue with Kingston but, wasn't he a "supervisor" I'm sorry, I mean, a high ranked Sear gent and he shot off 2 rounds not even knowing if we were even home or our girls? Again, lack of training for both dogs and humans and these incidents’ were allowed by the good Lord and when he allows things to happen it's usually for a reason or more so a lesson to be taught. We have certainly learned ours and just keep our dogs indoors while we're gone. I believe that just because things aren't in the budget for the town, doesn't mean they should continue doing the wrong thing and allowing police officers to respond to animal control calls. Oh, and we did fix the issues with the dogs getting out when they did on the prev. calls. We aren't sure how they escaped the backyard on the last call. We are just as much responsible for them getting out of the yard but, not for being murdered like he was. There's so much I can't mention for the sake of legalities at the moment but, I can assure you, things have got to change in the Dept. of Police for Trophy Club or more officers, innocent bystanders, and loving family pets protecting because that's all they know to do (their dogs) will get hurt.

Be Blessed,
Kingston's Owner

[kingstonsfriend]

well guys, after a comment on the trophy club dash cam #700 on september 23, 2009.....i do care more about "animals" than the trophy club police!....i am disgusted by what i saw from your actions and attitudes on that tape.....

[hmph __]

Some of you ... are idiots.

(1) Do your computers not have 'spell check' or 'grammar check'? The command of the English language in some of these posts is astounding.

(2) The majority of you have NOT seen the video. FOR ME the bottom line is this: YOU need to keep YOUR dog under control. If YOU can't control YOUR dog YOU have NO ONE to blame but YOURSELF for what happens. For what happens to YOUR friends and neighbors. For what happens to YOUR dog that YOU failed to control. How do YOU explain this to YOUR children? Blame someone else? How about telling them, "Mom and Dad are horrible pet owners for allowing Kingston and Sadie to run loose in the neighborhood time and time again." How about that? I didn’t think so. How can you say, "We are just as much responsible for them getting out of the yard but, not for being murdered like he was." If YOU are responsible for Kingston getting out, then YOU are responsible for what happened to him.

(3) Several of YOUR friends and neighbors have rallied behind this Sergeant and have shown him copious (look it up) amounts of support. I’ve heard that some even baked him cookies.

(4) I would encourage anyone to request a copy of the video and base your opinion on what you see for yourself. You might not get a copy of the video, but at least you can say you tried.

(5) YOUR dog was not on protecting YOUR property when this happened. YOUR dog left YOUR property and WAS acting aggressively towards this Sergeant.

[kingstonsfriend]

hmph __ wrote:

Some of you ... are idiots.
(1) Do your computers not have 'spell check' or 'grammar check'? The command of the English language in some of these posts is astounding.
(2) The majority of you have NOT seen the video. FOR ME the bottom line is this: YOU need to keep YOUR dog under control. If YOU can't control YOUR dog YOU have NO ONE to blame but YOURSELF for what happens. For what happens to YOUR friends and neighbors. For what happens to YOUR dog that YOU failed to control. How do YOU explain this to YOUR children? Blame someone else? How about telling them, "Mom and Dad are horrible pet owners for allowing Kingston and Sadie to run loose in the neighborhood time and time again." How about that? I didn’t think so. How can you say, "We are just as much responsible for them getting out of the yard but, not for being murdered like he was." If YOU are responsible for Kingston getting out, then YOU are responsible for what happened to him.
(3) Several of YOUR friends and neighbors have rallied behind this Sergeant and have shown him copious (look it up) amounts of support. I’ve heard that some even baked him cookies.
(4) I would encourage anyone to request a copy of the video and base your opinion on what you see for yourself. You might not get a copy of the video, but at least you can say you tried.
(5) YOUR dog was not on protecting YOUR property when this happened. YOUR dog left YOUR property and WAS acting aggressively towards this Sergeant.

have you seen the police dash cam video's? i have an the officer taunted the dog and had his gun drawn with all intention of shooting the dog......

this forum is not an english exam and if you do not like what you read and how it is all spelled out......move on......

[hmph __]

kingstonsfriend wrote:

<quoted text>
have you seen the police dash cam video's? i have an the officer taunted the dog and had his gun drawn with all intention of shooting the dog......
this forum is not an english exam and if you do not like what you read and how it is all spelled out......move on......

Yes, kingstonsfriend, I have seen the video. If you have as well, then you know that you CAN'T see the Officer or Kingston at the time either shot was fired. If you have seen it, then you know that Kingston was off the Killian property and about five or six feet out into the street, bounding towards the Officer, just prior to the first shot being fired. If you have seen the video WITH the accompanying audio from the Officer's microphone, then you can hear Kingston clearly. THAT, in my opinion of course, was no "yappy, I'm in a playful mood" bark. You can also hear what the Officer said during the majority of the incident, including prior to any shot being fired. He didn't taunt Kingston in any way, shape or form. He made no comment or command to Kingston in attempt to lure him into the street or goad Kingston towards an attack.

That Officer did NOT get out of his car with "all intention of shooting the dog ......" as you stated. That Office got out of his car with the intent of protecting himself against the threat he perceived at that time. Unless you have a crystal ball, a magic mirror or have asked the Officer involved personally, then you have NO idea what was going through the Officer’s mind at the time. Don’t pretend that you do.

Again, FOR ME, the bottom line is relatively simple: NO ONE is responsible (in all aspects) for Kingston EXCEPT his owner(s). It is NOT the responsibility of ANYONE else to make sure Kingston stayed on the Killian property EXCEPT the Killian family. That goes for any dog owner in that town, or any other town / city for that matter. The Killian’s knew, from past experience, that keeping Kingston and Sadie secure inside the backyard was a tough chore.“Again, lack of training for both dogs and humans and these incidents’ were allowed by the good Lord and when he allows things to happen it's usually for a reason or more so a lesson to be taught. We have certainly learned ours and just keep our dogs indoors while we're gone.”- Kingstons Owner (Kingston cont post). It’s sad to me that only after what has happened do they now decide that they should keep their dogs inside the house when they are not around to control them. While you’re at it … the horses are out, go ahead and lock the barn door now. How about an apology to your neighbors for allowing your dog(s) to create an atmosphere of fear in the immediate area? I doubt that will come in any public, recorded and documented forum. To do so would likely be viewed, by most, as some level of acknowledgement of responsibility. Couldn’t have that, could we? That just might caste you in a negative light “… for the sake of legalities …”.

It is unfortunate that this turned out the way that it did. For EVERYONE involved. It didn't have to be this way. Placing the blame on someone else and failing to admit less than full responsibility seems to be a common trend these days.“I know I did something wrong here … but … look what THEY did!”– A lot of people. Don't let your love of animals, particularly Kingston, skew what is on that video.

[kingstons friend]

hmph __ wrote:

<quoted text>
Yes, kingstonsfriend, I have seen the video. If you have as well, then you know that you CAN'T see the Officer or Kingston at the time either shot was fired. If you have seen it, then you know that Kingston was off the Killian property and about five or six feet out into the street, bounding towards the Officer, just prior to the first shot being fired. If you have seen the video WITH the accompanying audio from the Officer's microphone, then you can hear Kingston clearly. THAT, in my opinion of course, was no "yappy, I'm in a playful mood" bark. You can also hear what the Officer said during the majority of the incident, including prior to any shot being fired. He didn't taunt Kingston in any way, shape or form. He made no comment or command to Kingston in attempt to lure him into the street or goad Kingston towards an attack.

That Officer did NOT get out of his car with "all intention of shooting the dog ......" as you stated. That Office got out of his car with the intent of protecting himself against the threat he perceived at that time. Unless you have a crystal ball, a magic mirror or have asked the Officer involved personally, then you have NO idea what was going through the Officer’s mind at the time. Don’t pretend that you do.
Again, FOR ME, the bottom line is relatively simple: NO ONE is responsible (in all aspects) for Kingston EXCEPT his owner(s). It is NOT the responsibility of ANYONE else to make sure Kingston stayed on the Killian property EXCEPT the Killian family. That goes for any dog owner in that town, or any other town / city for that matter. The Killian’s knew, from past experience, that keeping Kingston and Sadie secure inside the backyard was a tough chore.“Again, lack of training for both dogs and humans and these incidents’ were allowed by the good Lord and when he allows things to happen it's usually for a reason or more so a lesson to be taught. We have certainly learned ours and just keep our dogs indoors while we're gone.”- Kingstons Owner (Kingston cont post). It’s sad to me that only after what has happened do they now decide that they should keep their dogs inside the house when they are not around to control them. While you’re at it … the horses are out, go ahead and lock the barn door now. How about an apology to your neighbors for allowing your dog(s) to create an atmosphere of fear in the immediate area? I doubt that will come in any public, recorded and documented forum. To do so would likely be viewed, by most, as some level of acknowledgement of responsibility. Couldn’t have that, could we? That just might caste you in a negative light “… for the sake of legalities …”.
It is unfortunate that this turned out the way that it did. For EVERYONE involved. It didn't have to be this way. Placing the blame on someone else and failing to admit less than full responsibility seems to be a common trend these days.“I know I did something wrong here … but … look what THEY did!”– A lot of people. Don't let your love of animals, particularly Kingston, skew what is on that video.

hey, are you wes tyler?

[hmph __]

kingstons friend wrote:

<quoted text>
hey, are you wes tyler?

No, I'm not.

[kingstonsfriend]

it's obvious, you're a trophy club insider of sorts, perhaps a police force member.......

why did the officer get out of the car?.........that was not very smart if he were in fear of his life........there WERE other options!

[hmph __]

kingstonsfriend wrote:

it's obvious, you're a trophy club insider of sorts, perhaps a police force member.......
why did the officer get out of the car?.........that was not very smart if he were in fear of his life........there WERE other options!

"Why did the officer get out of the car?” How could you even take the time to type in the captcha code numbers after posing a ridiculous question like that? You aren't serious. Are you? Why did a POLICE OFFICER get out of his / her car IN THE FACE OF A POTENTIALLY LIFE THREATENING SITUATION? Does it look silly to see someone else ask the question?

“it’s obvious, you’re a trophy club insider of sorts, perhaps a police force member…….” There’s that crystal ball of yours again. Do tell us all where it was that you were able to purchase such a miraculous device that allows you to be omniscient (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/omnisc... ). It appears as though you’re trying to grab handfuls of smoke in an effort to denounce any opinion(s) not shared by yourself.

Jim Carrey: "I OBJECT YOUR HONOR!"
The Judge: "On what grounds?"
Jim Carrey: "BECAUSE IT'S DEVASTATING TO MY CASE!"
The Judge: "OVERRULED!"
- from the movie “Liar, Liar”

“……..there WERE other options!” I believe that “tx police officer” spoke directly to this point in the Sunday Oct 11 post on this page:“easy to arm chair quaterback isnt it mr TC Dog Lover, when you were not there and not dealing with things that police officers deal with. So short sighted.”(tx police officer, three words for you ... "proofread" and "spell check") Of course, this quote is not specifically directed at you, kingstons friend, but the message remains the same.

How about these for options:
(1) The Killian’s (and other pet owners) keep their dogs under control and do their part to allow their neighbors to feel safe during leisurely walks around the block.
(2) Call your local law enforcement dispatch center and give them YOUR phone number. Instruct them to notify you immediately of any potentially life threatening situation that may arise in your neighborhood so that YOU can respond …

“Men sleep peacefully in their beds at night because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.”– George Orwell