It's Not Fair. I Was Only Doing A Burglary!
My attention was drawn to this story from America involving two burglary suspects who were upset because a Police Dog was used to detain them. It must have very traumatic for them (I hope).
Read the story:- http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--policedoglawsuit0728jul28,0,2519349.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime_file/2007/07/28/2007-07-28_jury_nips_nypd_dogbite_suit.html
http://allpawsbulletin.blogspot.com/2007/07/police-dog-dj-in-court.html
This story got me thinking of violent and non compliant criminals that I've dealt with over the years. As with the above story almost without exception offenders, with no thought for anyone else break into innocent peoples homes, into shops or warehouses. They attack people often for no reason other than to spice up their own inadequate lives and then, when they lose the fight and get arrested, they complain! The Policeman wasn't nice to them, the nasty Police Dog barked and frightened them. Indeed I remember one particularly unpleasant individual who, when told that he was being arrested for some serious offences, picked up a very large screwdriver in one hand and a metal bar in the other and told me that he was going to 'stab me up'. he'd obviously paid a lot of attention in English lessons. When I told him that it would be a good idea to 'moderate his behaviour or meet my dog on a more personal level.' He did drop the weapons but complained that in challenging him I was 'Out of order' and 'Over the top!'
Most of these criminals complain as a matter of course as part of their defence strategy. I'm sure that it's coincidental but often when a suspect goes to a particular lawyer the Police Officer can be sure that a complaint will be made and even guess the line of the complaint. Some like to allege Police brutality, some prejudice of some sort, either racial, sexual, religious or something else that hasn't become trendy yet. There are all manner of things that a suspect or his lawyer can do to muddy the waters. What the trial should be about is to find out if the defendant did what he is accused of doing. instead it becomes a game between lawyers with little thought for the victim. It certainly wouldn't do to admit responsibility would it? If anyone's to blame it must be Society.
I said earlier 'almost without exception.' Let me tell you about just one such exception. This is a true story and happened in the town of Aldershot in the County of Hampshire.
It was a dark and stormy night (well there had been moderate showers). I was working a late shift from 1800 to 0200 and it had been a very busy evening. It was a little after 0130 and I was looking forward to a warm bed. I had just finished arresting two suspects who had broken into a building site. To gain access I'd had to slide under a fence and so had a coating of wet mud all over my back. And then, when my mind was already in bed, the radio went and sent my body to another call.
The call was an alarm activation at the Argos store. This is now located in the local Mall but at the time of this incident it was in a basement now occupied by the Aldershot Bowl. The alarm at this premises was a regular and I had never known it to be anything other than a false activation. There were two sets of doors some yards apart so when I pulled up I let my dog, Acco, out of the van and left him to check one set of doors while I did the other. My doors were secure as I knew they would be. I turned to call Acco so that we could get on with the serious business of going to bed and there he was, gone!
I went to his door and found that the bottom pane of glass had been carefully removed and was propped against the wall. Acco had gone in and was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. I joined him and then found that the glass in the internal doors had also been removed. Being very perceptive I realised that there was something not quite right here! I stuck my head through the gap where the glass should have been and 'challenged the building.' A deep breath and a loud bellow. "Police Officer with a dog! come out or I'll send the dog!" I then instruct Acco to 'speak' to let any offenders know that I'm not bluffing, and then a final challenge. "This is your last chance! Come out or I'll send the dog!". No response from within the shop so it's 'Game On!'. I sent Acco in to search for anyone in the premises. Contrary to popular belief Police dogs do not rush about shredding innocent members of the public. They locate the hidden person and then indicate to their handler by barking. If the offender is compliant then there is no problem. If they want to fight then the world can end in pain.
Acco searched the shop and indicated to me that there was nobody still in the shop but that the offender had been to the jewellery counter. The glass display cabinets were all smashed and the complete collection of watches, necklaces, bracelets and rings had been stolen. A haul amounting to several pounds in value!
Acco then indicated the doors to the warehouse, and once again I challenged with no response. The warehouse was in complete darkness. I sent Acco to search and very quickly I heard cries of pain from within. When I followed the sound of the screams I saw a suspect laying on the shelving, hanging onto the uprights trying to resist, as Acco who had a firm grip on his calf was encouraging him to let go and come and join him. Subsequently the suspect told me that when Acco had located him he had given him 'a little shove with his foot to discourage him!' A very bad move, in that moment the suspect moved from compliant to non compliant. The consequence of that action? Pain, lots of it.
I called Acco off and escorted the suspect into the shop area where there was more light and the following conversation took place.
"Are you injured?"
"I don't know, I think so."
"Let's have a look, pull your trouser leg up."
On pulling up his trouser leg I could see a very substantial bite injury to his calf.
"When we get to the nick we'll get you medical treatment for that"
So far the conversation was nothing out of the ordinairy and I imagined him plotting the wording of his complaint or compensation claim but then his reply left me speechless.
"No, it's alright. Fair does, he's a police dog and I'm a burglar. He's only doing his job. If I hadn't kicked at him he wouldn't have bitten me. It's my fault but if I'd managed to scare him off I'd have been 'Jack the Lad' down the pub when I told all my mates about it. I tried it on and I lost so its fair enough. You've got a good dog there." (I already knew that)!
The prisoner was taken to the police station so that I could finish the search of the warehouse in case he wasn't on his own. Having concluded the search I went to the Custody Suite to deal with my prisoner. On my arrival he was being documented and a Doctor had been called to deal with his injuries. Our conversation continued:-
"How's your leg?"
"So so, quite painful but it's an occupational hazard isn't it?"
"The Doctor will be here soon to see you."
"Thanks. Do you know, there's only one thing that pisses me off about you and your dog?"
"What's that?"
"Well, when he bit me, he tore my new jeans."
"I'm very sorry about that."
And then with a huge grin he said,
"Yeah, do you know I only bought these jeans a couple of weeks ago with a stolen credit card?"
When he appeared at Court he pleaded guilty and apologised "For upsetting the Police Dog." If all criminals were like that life would be a lot better for Police and offenders alike. Even better Lawyers wouldn't be so rich.
Criminals have a saying, "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime". I would add "If you can't take the bite, you'd better do it right!"
Read the story:- http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--policedoglawsuit0728jul28,0,2519349.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime_file/2007/07/28/2007-07-28_jury_nips_nypd_dogbite_suit.html
http://allpawsbulletin.blogspot.com/2007/07/police-dog-dj-in-court.html
This story got me thinking of violent and non compliant criminals that I've dealt with over the years. As with the above story almost without exception offenders, with no thought for anyone else break into innocent peoples homes, into shops or warehouses. They attack people often for no reason other than to spice up their own inadequate lives and then, when they lose the fight and get arrested, they complain! The Policeman wasn't nice to them, the nasty Police Dog barked and frightened them. Indeed I remember one particularly unpleasant individual who, when told that he was being arrested for some serious offences, picked up a very large screwdriver in one hand and a metal bar in the other and told me that he was going to 'stab me up'. he'd obviously paid a lot of attention in English lessons. When I told him that it would be a good idea to 'moderate his behaviour or meet my dog on a more personal level.' He did drop the weapons but complained that in challenging him I was 'Out of order' and 'Over the top!'
Most of these criminals complain as a matter of course as part of their defence strategy. I'm sure that it's coincidental but often when a suspect goes to a particular lawyer the Police Officer can be sure that a complaint will be made and even guess the line of the complaint. Some like to allege Police brutality, some prejudice of some sort, either racial, sexual, religious or something else that hasn't become trendy yet. There are all manner of things that a suspect or his lawyer can do to muddy the waters. What the trial should be about is to find out if the defendant did what he is accused of doing. instead it becomes a game between lawyers with little thought for the victim. It certainly wouldn't do to admit responsibility would it? If anyone's to blame it must be Society.
I said earlier 'almost without exception.' Let me tell you about just one such exception. This is a true story and happened in the town of Aldershot in the County of Hampshire.
It was a dark and stormy night (well there had been moderate showers). I was working a late shift from 1800 to 0200 and it had been a very busy evening. It was a little after 0130 and I was looking forward to a warm bed. I had just finished arresting two suspects who had broken into a building site. To gain access I'd had to slide under a fence and so had a coating of wet mud all over my back. And then, when my mind was already in bed, the radio went and sent my body to another call.
The call was an alarm activation at the Argos store. This is now located in the local Mall but at the time of this incident it was in a basement now occupied by the Aldershot Bowl. The alarm at this premises was a regular and I had never known it to be anything other than a false activation. There were two sets of doors some yards apart so when I pulled up I let my dog, Acco, out of the van and left him to check one set of doors while I did the other. My doors were secure as I knew they would be. I turned to call Acco so that we could get on with the serious business of going to bed and there he was, gone!
I went to his door and found that the bottom pane of glass had been carefully removed and was propped against the wall. Acco had gone in and was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. I joined him and then found that the glass in the internal doors had also been removed. Being very perceptive I realised that there was something not quite right here! I stuck my head through the gap where the glass should have been and 'challenged the building.' A deep breath and a loud bellow. "Police Officer with a dog! come out or I'll send the dog!" I then instruct Acco to 'speak' to let any offenders know that I'm not bluffing, and then a final challenge. "This is your last chance! Come out or I'll send the dog!". No response from within the shop so it's 'Game On!'. I sent Acco in to search for anyone in the premises. Contrary to popular belief Police dogs do not rush about shredding innocent members of the public. They locate the hidden person and then indicate to their handler by barking. If the offender is compliant then there is no problem. If they want to fight then the world can end in pain.
Acco searched the shop and indicated to me that there was nobody still in the shop but that the offender had been to the jewellery counter. The glass display cabinets were all smashed and the complete collection of watches, necklaces, bracelets and rings had been stolen. A haul amounting to several pounds in value!
Acco then indicated the doors to the warehouse, and once again I challenged with no response. The warehouse was in complete darkness. I sent Acco to search and very quickly I heard cries of pain from within. When I followed the sound of the screams I saw a suspect laying on the shelving, hanging onto the uprights trying to resist, as Acco who had a firm grip on his calf was encouraging him to let go and come and join him. Subsequently the suspect told me that when Acco had located him he had given him 'a little shove with his foot to discourage him!' A very bad move, in that moment the suspect moved from compliant to non compliant. The consequence of that action? Pain, lots of it.
I called Acco off and escorted the suspect into the shop area where there was more light and the following conversation took place.
"Are you injured?"
"I don't know, I think so."
"Let's have a look, pull your trouser leg up."
On pulling up his trouser leg I could see a very substantial bite injury to his calf.
"When we get to the nick we'll get you medical treatment for that"
So far the conversation was nothing out of the ordinairy and I imagined him plotting the wording of his complaint or compensation claim but then his reply left me speechless.
"No, it's alright. Fair does, he's a police dog and I'm a burglar. He's only doing his job. If I hadn't kicked at him he wouldn't have bitten me. It's my fault but if I'd managed to scare him off I'd have been 'Jack the Lad' down the pub when I told all my mates about it. I tried it on and I lost so its fair enough. You've got a good dog there." (I already knew that)!
The prisoner was taken to the police station so that I could finish the search of the warehouse in case he wasn't on his own. Having concluded the search I went to the Custody Suite to deal with my prisoner. On my arrival he was being documented and a Doctor had been called to deal with his injuries. Our conversation continued:-
"How's your leg?"
"So so, quite painful but it's an occupational hazard isn't it?"
"The Doctor will be here soon to see you."
"Thanks. Do you know, there's only one thing that pisses me off about you and your dog?"
"What's that?"
"Well, when he bit me, he tore my new jeans."
"I'm very sorry about that."
And then with a huge grin he said,
"Yeah, do you know I only bought these jeans a couple of weeks ago with a stolen credit card?"
When he appeared at Court he pleaded guilty and apologised "For upsetting the Police Dog." If all criminals were like that life would be a lot better for Police and offenders alike. Even better Lawyers wouldn't be so rich.
Criminals have a saying, "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime". I would add "If you can't take the bite, you'd better do it right!"
Labels: Acco, Dogs-in-the-news, Police-dogs
posted by Robin Glover at
Saturday, August 04, 2007
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