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Thread: Policy on Weapon Selection for Downing Animals

  1. #1
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    Policy on Weapon Selection for Downing Animals

    A member of my former agency's firearms training staff (a former unit coordinator though--weirdly--not a certified instructor) received a remedial action form (supposedly non-punitive) for euthanizing an injured deer.

    Responding to the call for an injured deer, he found an injured deer, a dog attacking the deer, and a street full of horrified and vocal suburbanites. Deploying with his AR-15, he--unwisely, I felt--discharged a warning shot into the dirt in an effort to deter the dog. This accomplished nothing. He then shot and killed the deer.

    I would agree that the warning shot was a mistake. I understand he did not want to kill Fido for doing what dogs often do (especially with the dog's owner likely nearby). Pepper spray, a Taser, or simply shooting the deer would have been better options.

    The remediation, however, offered the suggestion that another firearm such as a shotgun would have been a better option. While I would have gone with a shotgun myself, I do not know if the officer had a shotgun with him.

    Any agencies with restrictions or even recommendations regarding what weapon to use when euthanizing an animal? Does the restriction vary from animal to animal?

    Thanks and be safe.

  2. #2
    Site Supporter Lon's Avatar
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    We use a .22 for anything small (cats, raccoons, etc.). Bigger animals we leave to the discretion of the Officer. Mostly we use our pistols up close for deer.
    Formerly known as xpd54.
    The opinions expressed in this post are my own and do not reflect the opinions or policies of my employer.
    www.gunsnobbery.wordpress.com

  3. #3
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    Erie County, NY
    Since I had a research interest in such, was the problem that the gun was an EBR as compared to some 'nicer' appearing gun? Or was a technical issue?

    PS, when I was a kid a dog was run over and badly injured in front of our Brooklyn apartment house. It was laid on a lawn and the officer took his 38 and put it out of its misery. No one was shocked or protested.
    Last edited by Glenn E. Meyer; 03-25-2022 at 04:06 PM.

  4. #4
    This reminds me of the time a co-worker decided to dispatch an injured cat with a mattock he found in the complainant’s garage, since it was early on a Sunday morning and he didn’t want to disturb all the neighbors. The onlookers were quite horrified when the officer couldn’t get the (still alive and wailing) cat off the end of the mattock and started slinging it about.

    Or the time another officer asked a by-stander to lay down on a deer to keep it from moving so she could shoot it with a shotgun. The guy actually laid on it, but luckily another officer showed up and put a stop to it. She didn’t last long at the department (this same officer also popped off two rounds in roll call once).

    Or the time an officer killed an injured opossum with an E-tool and found himself covered head-to-toe in opossum blood after he massacred the animal.

    This just goes to show how difficult hiring has been for LE in recent years.

  5. #5
    I always used a back up pistol because discharging duty loads was an act of Congress to get replacement ammo. Forms, trip to the academy, etc.

    In order:

    .38 special Federal Nyclad plus P
    9mm Gold Dot
    9mm HST

    All were effective with one shot to the head.

    Most here have turned in the 12 gauge and just have rifles. Metro area so a rifle shot would be frowned on unless out in the boonies.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by TC215 View Post
    This reminds me of the time a co-worker decided to dispatch an injured cat with a mattock he found in the complainant’s garage, since it was early on a Sunday morning and he didn’t want to disturb all the neighbors. The onlookers were quite horrified when the officer couldn’t get the (still alive and wailing) cat off the end of the mattock and started slinging it about.

    Or the time another officer asked a by-stander to lay down on a deer to keep it from moving so she could shoot it with a shotgun. The guy actually laid on it, but luckily another officer showed up and put a stop to it. She didn’t last long at the department (this same officer also popped off two rounds in roll call once).

    Or the time an officer killed an injured opossum with an E-tool and found himself covered head-to-toe in opossum blood after he massacred the animal.

    This just goes to show how difficult hiring has been for LE in recent years.
    How did this not make it into Roll Call Stories???😁

    pat

  7. #7
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    I'm not sure the reasoning for the administrative action. My guess would be that the warning shot likely precipitated the internal investigation. I believe the agency has used rifles to put deer down in the past so this may be an internal affairs lieutenant trying to impress his dear leader.

    I do recall hearing of officers using knives to euthanize deer on two occasions, one smoothly and successfully nd the other like the next "Scream" movie.

    Another officer used his baton to contend with a large and hostile feline of some type inside an apartment where he did not want to fire shots. That ended successfully for all but the cat, but was not a smooth or pretty operation.

    On another occasion during the holiday season, animal services and police officers were called to an apartment where a large Rottweiler named Jesus had attacked a couple of family members and was "barricaded" on a bed. Efforts by animal services to take the dog into custody were unsuccessful and the animal services people turned the matter over to their armed colleagues. It took several gunshots to include rifle round to put the animal down. This, of course, led to the headline "City Police Kill Jesus on Christmas Eve."

  8. #8
    The agency I work for mandates shotguns with birdshot for putting down animals following an incident a number of years ago in which a handgun projectile ricocheted into a house after passing though a deer on the pavement.

  9. #9
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    We usually use shotguns with a slug for deer, though there is no set policy. I have not heard of a rifle used yet but I know a couple handguns have been used.

    I witnessed the aftermath of an officer who used a baton to beat a rodent to death inside the caller’s house after the caller insisted he do something to remove the vermin. That was messy…

    I also know of an officer who used a hunting knife to dispatch a deer after he had already shot two in the last three days and he was sure his sergeant would shoot him if he had to do another use of firearms report.
    Polite Professional

  10. #10
    Member GearFondler's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TC215 View Post
    She didn’t last long at the department (this same officer also popped off two rounds in roll call once).
    2 rounds? I'm assuming throwing off the head count is considered very bad form.

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