I'm very disappointed with the response that was given by the Arlington Police Department regarding the killing of a small dog by Officer Jesse Davis. This is more nonsense given by them to sweep the incident under the rug. They truly believe that the actions taken by Jesse Davis were justified.

This response is going to give the entire Department a bad reputation (although, I hope not), all because they're covering up for a racist, out of control cop. Please know that I respect cops and I know that their job is hard. But these excuses are inane.

Remember, we're talking about what I would consider to be a therapy dog ("emotional support dog") that was barely a foot high off the ground. We're talking about a dog that could barely cause a scratch on bare skin. In fact, the alleged 10 year old victim that Bucky [allegedly] bit had no bite marks.

This response by the Arlington Police Department is truly pathetic and so political it's sickening. This is just like the LAPD back in the day, covering up for a mistake by one of their own.

Also, here's some food for thought: this investigation took 3 months to conduct. It took 3 months for the APD to come up with this type of response?

• No neighbors were interviewed! Why would it take 3 months to conduct an investigation without interviewing ANY neighbors?
• The Fedex delivery woman was greeted by a happy Bucky moments before he was gunned down by Jesse Davis.
• The people who called 911 were unknown to Bucky's family.
• There are lies in this document. They never asked for shot records and Mr. Yandle would have never known where those items would have been.
• Here's the most interesting part of it all: Natalie, Bucky's owner, was never asked for her statement, yet she was outside with Bucky during the entire situation. 
• This is the SECOND dog that Jesse Davis has shot and killed and used the "aggressive" excuse for. We're talking about someone who clearly has anger issues. Someone who posts pictures of bullet holes in the Mexican flag and negative images of the NAACP on his Facebook page. The rest of the images are showing him with guns.
• The APD says that using your weapon around people is reckless behaviour. Davis shot this dog with a 5 year old child, Bucky's 11 year old autistic owner, for whom Bucky was a therapy dog ("emotional support dog") for, and other children all near the area. The Arlington Police Department has failed to investigate this matter, claiming he was nowhere near the children. Front yards in Arlington are not very big and the children were far too close for him to be firing his weapon 5 times (their "investigation" states that there were 6 shots).

Basically, what this means is that they took Davis' testimony as gold and waited 3 months to make it appear as if they did some type of investigation

Here's their response:

 Officer-Involved Dog Shooting 

(10/4/11 incident) 

FAQ Sheet 

Summary: An Officer-involved shooting of an aggressive dog has initiated some public attention. At the completion of an administrative investigation, it was determined that Officer Jesse Davis was justified with his actions in shooting an aggressively charging and barking dog that had cornered him. In an effort to address misinformation and detail the facts of this incident, this summary document was created. For example, the Officer did not shoot the dog and then stand over the animal, and shoot the dog again. The forensic account determined that the dog was jumping at the Officer at the time of the shooting, and that the shots were fired in quick succession. Arlington Police Department leaders recognize the vital role that pets play in homes and on the job. As an agency that has canine employees, the Department recognizes the special place that animals play in our lives. 

Timeline: 

Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at approximately 4 p.m.: 

Two Arlington Police Officers and an Animal Control Officer responded to a call about a boy being bitten by a dog in the 6900 block of Lake Jackson. While talking to the dog’s owner, the animal aggressively charged an Officer, who shot the dog to protect himself. 

January 2012: 

At the conclusion of a two-month investigation, an administrative review determined that Officer Jesse Davis was justified in the actions he took to protect himself from an aggressive dog. According to neighbors, the dog had a history of aggressive behavior. 

Investigation Findings: 

On Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2011, at about 4 p.m., two Arlington Police Officers were dispatched the 6900 block of Lake Jackson for a 911 call from a man whose grandson had been bitten by a dog while walking home after school. 

The 11-year-old boy told Officers that as he walked home the dog chased him, knocked him to the ground and bit him on his back. There was bruising on the child’s back, but the skin was not broken. 

The bitten child’s family said that in the past the same dog had been aggressive and chased other children. 

As the officers walked toward the home identified as the one belonging to the dog’s owner, an Animal Control Officer arrived and walked to the home with them. 

One Police Officer and the Animal Control Officer made contact with the dog’s owner, Robert Yandle, at the door. He had to use his foot to push the dog, later identified as the one who had bit the young boy, back into the house. Officer Davis stood in the front yard away, about 15-feet away from the front door. 

When asked if animals inside the home had vaccination records, Mr. Yandle opened the door to go back inside the house and the dog came outside. He ran past the Police Officer and Animal Control Officer at the door and began barking and charging at Officer Davis. 

Officer Davis retreated further into the yard, attempting to retreat from the threat. As he backed up, Officer Davis became trapped in a corner where a fence intersects with the home and was unable to get away as the dog continued to charge, growl and bark at him. The dog disregarded its owner’s command to stop. 

Not knowing this dog’s medical history and fearing that he would be bit by the dog, Officer Davis fired six rounds from his weapon. 

Based on forensic information, the dog was jumping at the officer at which time he was shot several times. The dog died as a result of the shooting. 

Regardless of the size of an animal, Arlington Police Officers are trained to eliminate a physical threat. In a quick-moving situation, where a dog is charging and preparing to attack, an Officer has the right to use deadly force. 

The City of Arlington offers responsible pet ownership and animal safety programs for its residents. Visit www.Arlingtontx.gov/Animals and click on Services or call 817-459-6269. 

Subsequent to Shooting: 

In the weeks following this incident, the Department was notified that Officer Davis had posted a photo of himself pointing a handgun on a personal social media page. He also made inflammatory comments to negative posts on his personal social media page. Considering the recent shooting and the fact that there had been a loss of life, the Department leaders looked into this concerning issue. 

The Department has a policy regarding social media use by employees. Anyone who violates those policies is subject to disciplinary action. While the actions of Officer Davis are in poor taste, they were not a violation of Department policy. However, Officer Davis did receive an oral reprimand, which is a permanent form of discipline recorded in an employee’s personnel file 

Living in a democratic society, people have the right to freely express themselves even with unpopular views. Taking that balance into consideration, the Department will conduct a review of the social media policy to see if there is a need to strengthen the standards that employees are asked to uphold. 

Responsible pet ownership: 

The City of Arlington offers responsible pet ownership and animal safety programs for its residents. Visit www.Arlingtontx.gov/Animals and click on Services or call 817-459-6269. 

Some suggestions for being a responsible pet owner include: 

o Leash law: The City of Arlington requires that all dogs or cats be on a leash or in an enclosure at all times. This includes at homes. If the yard is not fenced, the pet must be on a leash. If the animal is not on a leash, a ticket could be issued for having an animal-at-large. 

o Obedience training: Your dog desires structure. Teaching him the basic commands yourself or enrolling him in an obedience or training course gives him a level of organization in his life. Furthermore, teaching him certain commands also ensures that he will be a well-behaved, functioning member of your family within your home. 

The fact that this response is talking about "responsibility" is disturbing. Dog owners should be responsible, but no worries everyone, Jesse Davis won't be punished for pulling out a gun in front of many kids so he could "eliminate a physical threat."

A small dog who was barking at a "trained officer of the law," who is supposed to be trained to handle these situations-type threat. All his Facebook pictures show him training with guns and he's proud of his guns, clearly. So why wouldn't he use his gun as he's been mentally conditioned to do?

This is a grown man who carries a gun to protect our streets and he has to "eliminate a physical threat" that's jumping at him? This is a man who used his job to release his anger. "6" rounds into a small dog therapy dog, all because he was "barking" and "jumping" towards this TRAINED officer? It sounds like the Arlington Police Department needs to fix a major problem! They seem to be training (mentally conditioning) a few of their officers to shoot dogs for any reason at all.

Ignorance.

The fact that the Arlington Police Department is allowing this man to continue to patrol the streets of Arlington should be very concerning to any citizen, including anyone coming into town to visit the Cowboys Stadium, Texas Rangers (The Ballpark), Six Flags, the several popular shopping centers as well.

This is the type of response I wasn't expecting. Mayor Robert Cluck and every Arlington City Council member have ignored all attempts to contact them with their concerns over this. This is not a one-time incident, this is something that has happened before and will happen again, and needs to be stopped right now before more lawsuits hit the department and the city.

Also, let's remember that this is a man FULL of hate. He's a man who works in a city with a good amount of Mexican-Americans and he clearly does not like these people. Don't believe me? This was taken from his facebook page. I verified this myself that this was from him, and the Arlington Police Department knows it, as mentioned in the above report. It's not the only racist image he posted.

"Enough said." That's interesting. I don't believe you have to "read into it" when it simply implies that he's a racist who would love to shoot any and all Mexicans.

This is someone that the Arlington Police Department is protecting. I wonder how his co-workers feel about this? I lived in a "barrio" for many years and I can related with most Hispanic people. This image here is disturbing as hell to me, yet the APD simply said: "The Department has a policy regarding social media use by employees. Anyone who violates those policies is subject to disciplinary action. While the actions of Officer Davis are in poor taste, they were not a violation of Department policy. However, Officer Davis did receive an oral reprimand, which is a permanent form of discipline recorded in an employee’s personnel file."

If you would like to contact "the right people" about this incident, please feel free to contact the following, but be sure to be civil about it. 

theron.bowman@arlingtontx.gov, robert.cluck@arlingtontx.gov, jay.doegey@arlingtontx.gov, sheri.capehart@arlingtontx.gov, kathryn.wilemon@arlingtontx.gov, robert.rivera@arlingtontx.gov, lana.wolff@arlingtontx.gov, Robert.Shepard@arlingtontx.gov, jimmy.bennett@arlingtontx.gov, mary.supino@arlingtontx.gov

 Again, please be civil in your email, but be sure to express your concerns regarding this incident. Don't let them sweep this under the rug and use their Public Relations "Officer" feed you with BS.