Cops: Man Charged After Barking At Police Dog

[rockin'robin]

Man Told Officer 'Dog Started It'

MASON, Ohio -- Police say an Ohio man has been charged with a misdemeanor for barking at a police dog.

A police report says 25-year-old Ryan James Stephens was charged with teasing a police dog in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason.

Officer Bradley Walker wrote that he heard the K9 dog barking uncontrollably inside his patrol car while he was investigating a car crash at a pub early Sunday morning. Walker says Stephens was making barking noises and hissing at the animal.

Walker reported that Stephens said "the dog started it" when asked why he was harassing the animal. The officer said Stephens appeared highly intoxicated.

There was no answer to calls to Stephens' home in Mason. He is to appear April 21 in municipal court.

Cops: Man Charged After Barking At Police Dog - Jacksonville News Story - WJXT Jacksonville

 

[Babyblue]

Bow WOW!!

 

[Dixie]

Unbelievable. I would throw this charge out and tell the officer if you want to charge the man with something think of something that's legit. No harm was done to the animal and the guy was just being goofy. I would rather see charges of public intoxication with evidence by a breathlyzer test than a stupid charge like this.

 

[Jiro]

Unbelievable. I would throw this charge out and tell the officer if you want to charge the man with something think of something that's legit. No harm was done to the animal and the guy was just being goofy. I would rather see charges of public intoxication with evidence by a breathlyzer test than a stupid charge like this.

You can get charged for same thing if you do that to cop (a human being) anyway.
You can get charged for slapping on police horse's ass.

all same thing to me. I have no tolerance for a stupid drunk in public.

 

[StSapphire]

You can get charged for slapping on police horse's ass.

Wouldn't that be like starting the engine on a cop's car and then tossing a brick onto the gas pedal?

 

[Dixie]

You can get charged for same thing if you do that to cop (a human being) anyway.
You can get charged for slapping on police horse's ass.

all same thing to me. I have no tolerance for a stupid drunk in public.

1. I wouldn't bark at a police officer - that's just asking for trouble.
2. I wouldn't slap a police horse's ass - it's also stupid as you could be charged with animal cruelty and endangering an officer if it was mounted. You would also likely get kicked by the horse.

The police dog was barking uncontrollably for whatever reason, the guy just walked up and barked at the police dog to be funny. I also agree stupid drunks shouldn't go out in public. I'm just saying I'd rather see the charge of public intoxication than animal harassment here. The dog probably doesn't even remember the incident.

 

[Beowulf]

What if the guy killed the police dog? In some states he would get the death penalty. :|

 

[Glenn]

Unbelievable. I would throw this charge out and tell the officer if you want to charge the man with something think of something that's legit. No harm was done to the animal and the guy was just being goofy. I would rather see charges of public intoxication with evidence by a breathlyzer test than a stupid charge like this.

You cannot interfere with a police officer doing his/her duty...it's called obstruction. Same applies for this situation.

 

[Dixie]

What if the guy killed the police dog? In some states he would get the death penalty. :|

If the guy killed the police dog he would be serving life in prison I believe. If he had actually injured or killed the animal I can see where animal cruelty charges needed to be brought in. For example if the guy had walked up to the police dog and slapped it in the face then yes, charge him with animal cruelty/abuse. But just for barking and hissing at the dog? Come on, this is a waste of taxpayer dollars! I still say drop the animal charges and charge him with public intoxication instead.

 

[Jiro]

1. I wouldn't bark at a police officer - that's just asking for trouble.
2. I wouldn't slap a police horse's ass - it's also stupid as you could be charged with animal cruelty and endangering an officer if it was mounted. You would also likely get kicked by the horse.

The police dog was barking uncontrollably for whatever reason, the guy just walked up and barked at the police dog to be funny. I also agree stupid drunks shouldn't go out in public. I'm just saying I'd rather see the charge of public intoxication than animal harassment here. The dog probably doesn't even remember the incident.

when it comes to Police Dog and Police Horse, it won't be animal cruelty because these animals are not "civilian". They are legally recognized as Police Officer and you will be charged for assaulting police officer if you hit police animal. It's a much more serious charge than animal cruelty.

Animal Cruelty charge = it's mostly misdemeanor and you'll get a slap on your wrist
Assaulting Police Officer = it's mostly felony and that's prison time

He got what he deserved... which you agree with in your reply - #1

 

[Jiro]

What if the guy killed the police dog? In some states he would get the death penalty. :|

yup.

Police Dog is legally recognized as human Police Officer

 

[Dixie]

You cannot interfere with a police officer doing his/her duty...it's called obstruction. Same applies for this situation.

What duty was the dog doing at the time? Nothing. It was in the K-9 unit barking uncontrollably. Sounds like a lack of 'manners' on the dog and stupidity on the guy's part. The dog was not working but was in the unit waiting on the handler/officer that was investigating a traffic accident.

Would the same apply if an officer was sitting in his/her patrol car waiting on their partner and you walked up to them to talk to them would that be obstruction? I doubt it.

If the dog was out of the vehicle and working - I can see obstruction as the guy would have been distracting the dog from it's work. But the dog was in the vehicle and not working.

 

[Jiro]

If the guy killed the police dog he would be serving life in prison I believe.

only in states that have no death penalty. Killing a police officer is an automatic death penalty in many states.

If he had actually injured or killed the animal I can see where animal cruelty charges needed to be brought in. For example if the guy had walked up to the police dog and slapped it in the face then yes, charge him with animal cruelty/abuse. But just for barking and hissing at the dog? Come on, this is a waste of taxpayer dollars! I still say drop the animal charges and charge him with public intoxication instead.

waste of taxpayer dollars? what's the difference if he's charged with public intoxication? He got a misdemeanor charge anyway.

 

[Dixie]

when it comes to Police Dog and Police Horse, it won't be animal cruelty because these animals are not "civilian". They are legally recognized as Police Officer and you will be charged for assaulting police officer if you hit police animal. It's a much more serious charge than animal cruelty.

Animal Cruelty charge = it's mostly misdemeanor and you'll get a slap on your wrist
Assaulting Police Officer = it's mostly felony and that's prison time

He got what he deserved... which you agree with in your reply - #1

Animal Cruelty is a felony in many states now - it carries a 6 month to 1 year prison sentence I think.

 

[Jiro]

What duty was the dog doing at the time? Nothing. It was in the K-9 unit barking uncontrollably. Sounds like a lack of 'manners' on the dog and stupidity on the guy's part.

We don't know exactly what happened but it doesn't matter who started it. The guy was harassing and provoking him into barking uncontrollably.

The dog was not working but was in the unit waiting on the handler/officer that was investigating a traffic accident.

Would the same apply if an officer was sitting in his/her patrol car waiting on their partner and you walked up to them to talk to them would that be obstruction? I doubt it.

If the dog was out of the vehicle and working - I can see obstruction as the guy would have been distracting the dog from it's work. But the dog was in the vehicle and not working.

It doesn't matter whether or not if the dog was doing his duty or not. You do not just approach to any police officer even on his lunch break and harass/provoke him.

The guy harassed police dog. plain and simple. He didn't walk away like you should to any police officer.

 

[Glenn]

What duty was the dog doing at the time? Nothing. It was in the K-9 unit barking uncontrollably. Sounds like a lack of 'manners' on the dog and stupidity on the guy's part. The dog was not working but was in the unit waiting on the handler/officer that was investigating a traffic accident.

Would the same apply if an officer was sitting in his/her patrol car waiting on their partner and you walked up to them to talk to them would that be obstruction? I doubt it.

If the dog was out of the vehicle and working - I can see obstruction as the guy would have been distracting the dog from it's work. But the dog was in the vehicle and not working.

The dog can't do its job if it is riled up.

Police dogs are not trained to have good manners; they are there to do a job.

What that drunk was doing was not "talking" to an officer; it was harassment.

 

[Jiro]

Animal Cruelty is a felony in many states now - it carries a 6 month to 1 year prison sentence I think.

It depends on one's nature of crime. For animal cruelty to be a felony, it's mostly because the crime was so awful and disgusting (ie. dog fighting).

Barking at dog is not an felonious animal cruelty.
Slapping on horse's ass is not a felonious animal cruelty.

That's why we have "Assault On Police Officer" charge for morons who slapped on police horse's ass.... which is no different from a moron punching/slapping police officer.

 

[StSapphire]

It depends on one's nature of crime. For animal cruelty to be a felony, it's mostly because the crime was so awful and disgusting.

Barking at dog is not an felonious animal cruelty.
Slapping on horse's ass is not a felonious animal cruelty.

That's why we have "Assault On Police Officer" charge for morons who slapped on police horse's ass.... which is no different from a moron punching/slapping police officer.

What is the rationale behind "Assault on a Police Officer" being inherently worse than "Assault on anyone who isn't a Police Officer"? I understand that it is different, but I've never understood exactly why that is. My primary guess is that it's because cops often have to actually place themselves into dangerous situations, but "harassing a cop sitting in his car" doesn't seem like it should necessarily be any more felonious than, say, harassing a firefighter who's not in the process of fighting a fire.

 

[Jiro]

What is the rationale behind "Assault on a Police Officer" being inherently worse than "Assault on anyone who isn't a Police Officer"? I understand that it is different, but I've never understood exactly why that is. My primary guess is that it's because cops often have to actually place themselves into dangerous situations, but "harassing a cop sitting in his car" doesn't seem like it should necessarily be any more felonious than, say, harassing a firefighter who's not in the process of fighting a fire.

what's the rationale, you ask? none! it's an oxymoron

blame the union. they're the one who got that law to pass. same for public bus driver. :roll:

 

[Beowulf]

What is the rationale behind "Assault on a Police Officer" being inherently worse than "Assault on anyone who isn't a Police Officer"? I understand that it is different, but I've never understood exactly why that is. My primary guess is that it's because cops often have to actually place themselves into dangerous situations, but "harassing a cop sitting in his car" doesn't seem like it should necessarily be any more felonious than, say, harassing a firefighter who's not in the process of fighting a fire.

It is to instill fear in the public, pure and simple.