A word of warning - this video is graphic and shows a dog being shot, including her agonizing suffering as she writhes in pain on the pavement.
The video starts seconds before the dog - a healthy looking Pit Bull named Star is shot. You see an alert dog barking while her guardian lays unconscious on the ground. A bystander attempts to help the man and guess what? The agitated dog chases her off.
This is important, chases her off. Star does not chase the woman down and rip open her stomach. She attempts to do the same with the aggressive police officers, but before she can get five feet, they both shoot her.
In front of a crowded bus and a large crowd of people.
If you are like me, you will react the same way the crowd does - with abject horror and shock.
After Star is shot, guess what?
Not one officer attempts to help the unconscious man. To, you know, at least see if he is breathing.
Not one. Instead, a barrage of officers arrive on the scene to deal with those pesky onlookers.
For the next five minutes, no one provides medical care or checks to see if the man is alive.
This has become acceptable in our nation. We allow our public safety officials to carry dangerous weapons and use them whenever they deem fit. Allowing lethal action based on the feelings of a person in a stressful situation seems ill-advised.
Even more frightening is how we've permitted officers to act towards nonviolent people. Police physically move onlookers away. If I physically shoved you away, that's assault. But we've enabled police officers to do just that without any culpability. The officers are seen trying to actively get people to stop videotaping or to move onlookers out of sight of the downed man and dog. There really isn't anything legal about that.
At one point, the videographer is threatened with arrest. Arrest! For taking a video!
We should all be horrified by this video. By what happens to Star, a dog who is only guilty of trying to help her guardian. By what happens to her guardian, who is never rendered ANY medical assistance in at least the first five minutes of the video by the swarm of officers on scene. By what happens to our fellow citizens who choose to videotape or bear witness or just stand there and observe.
Star is alive, by the way. According to the Lexus Project, Star is recovering well. She is now legally in custody of New York City Animal Care & Control, who plans on transferring custody to the Mayor's Alliance of New York City.
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