Please don't let this turn into an anti-LEO topic. I just thought it was a bit funny because it reminded me of some of the actions of a cop I was always at loggerheads with when I was a teen.
Man injured when officer fires shotgun at skunk
Stray pellets strike passer-by in ankle, thigh By Sam Martino and Linda Spice of the Journal Sentinel staff Last Updated: Aug. 1, 2000
Sporting two wounds from stray buckshot fired by a police officer, a Waukesha man says the decision to use a 12-gauge shotgun in a residential area stinks more than the foul odor of the skunk targeted by the officer.
"The police could have done this a little bit differently. It was done poorly from protecting the public," said Gary V. Strasburg, who was struck twice while out walking with his wife and their dog.
"I heard the shot and shouted, 'I'm hit!' " Strasburg said.
He yelled at the police officer: "You shot me!"
Strasburg said the officer called back, "I'll be with you in a minute. I have to put the skunk in the bag."
The reply angered Strasburg.
"Who's more important, a dead skunk or me?" he said. "I'm very lucky. I could have been hit in the eye."
Although the buckshot missed his eye, Strasburg, 57, was hit in the left thigh and right ankle by the stray pellets Sunday morning. His wife, Georgia, and their black Labrador, Boone, were not injured.
Strasburg was transported to Waukesha Memorial Hospital, where he was treated and released. On Tuesday, he was still limping.
"It all can't be right in my opinion any time someone gets hurt. Something is wrong," Strasburg said.
Police, meanwhile, were tight-lipped about the incident and neglected to mention it when a reporter made periodic checks with the Police Department this week. Only after being asked about the incident did police issue
a terse response.
The incident occurred about 10 a.m. Sunday in the 1800 block of DeWitt Court.
A police officer was dispatched to the neighborhood after residents reported that a skunk appeared to be rabid.
The officer found a skunk that appeared to be sick near homes on DeWitt Court.
After consulting with a supervisor, the officer used the Police Department shotgun and "dispatched the skunk," according to a statement issued by the department.
Deputy Police Chief Wayne Dussault said Tuesday that the incident was under investigation. The officer, a five-year veteran, remained on duty, he said.
Dussault declined to name the officer or comment further.
Strasburg said police used poor judgment. The officer shot the skunk near two houses, he said, adding that he was about 40 yards away when he was hit as he walked on Jennifer Lane behind the homes.
"I've taken hunter safety courses," he said. "You learn to know your target and beyond. You do not shoot into cement or concrete. That is the one thing you learn in hunter safety. The bullets ricochet, and you don't know where they are going."
Strasburg noted, however, that the officer told children in the neighborhood to go into their homes before he fired at the skunk.
Waukesha County District Attorney Paul Bucher said he would review the shooting.
"I'm not reviewing it for a particular charge," he said. "If I determine there's criminal negligence or liability
present . . . I will certainly take a look at that.
"It could be absolutely proper. I have to ask why the officer felt he took that action in that particular location at that particular time. Every circumstance is different. Until I see why the officer felt he had to do it . . . it would be really premature for me to pass judgment on it."
Alberto Garay heard the shotgun blast from his home and ran outside in time to see the officer take a shovel and a bag from his car to cart the skunk from the street.
"The smell from the skunk made everyone sick," Garay said, adding that skunks have long been a problem in the neighborhood.
Mark Hess, executive director at the Humane Animal Welfare Society of Waukesha County Inc., said his agency usually handles cases of rabid or sick animals. But the society's employees generally aren't on duty on Sunday
mornings.
"I'm sorry for the Police Department we weren't able to respond to that one," Hess said. "I don't think it's the Police Department's fault of the fact that they were called to deal with a wild animal, and they removed the animal to protect the public under the circumstances. Unfortunately, there was a mishap in it."
In such cases, the group usually will anesthetize the animal with a tranquilizer dart before employees euthanize it with an injection on the scene, Hess said.
Mayor Carol Lombardi said that police had informed her of the shooting.
"I've have had no follow-up since the alert yesterday," Lombardi said. "I know there was going to be an internal investigation. As far as what that has revealed, I don't know."
Mike Johnson of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.
******************
Dick
Want to send a message to Bush? Sign the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/monk/petition.html and forward the link to every gun owner you know.
Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Aug. 2, 2000.
Man injured when officer fires shotgun at skunk
Stray pellets strike passer-by in ankle, thigh By Sam Martino and Linda Spice of the Journal Sentinel staff Last Updated: Aug. 1, 2000
Sporting two wounds from stray buckshot fired by a police officer, a Waukesha man says the decision to use a 12-gauge shotgun in a residential area stinks more than the foul odor of the skunk targeted by the officer.
"The police could have done this a little bit differently. It was done poorly from protecting the public," said Gary V. Strasburg, who was struck twice while out walking with his wife and their dog.
"I heard the shot and shouted, 'I'm hit!' " Strasburg said.
He yelled at the police officer: "You shot me!"
Strasburg said the officer called back, "I'll be with you in a minute. I have to put the skunk in the bag."
The reply angered Strasburg.
"Who's more important, a dead skunk or me?" he said. "I'm very lucky. I could have been hit in the eye."
Although the buckshot missed his eye, Strasburg, 57, was hit in the left thigh and right ankle by the stray pellets Sunday morning. His wife, Georgia, and their black Labrador, Boone, were not injured.
Strasburg was transported to Waukesha Memorial Hospital, where he was treated and released. On Tuesday, he was still limping.
"It all can't be right in my opinion any time someone gets hurt. Something is wrong," Strasburg said.
Police, meanwhile, were tight-lipped about the incident and neglected to mention it when a reporter made periodic checks with the Police Department this week. Only after being asked about the incident did police issue
a terse response.
The incident occurred about 10 a.m. Sunday in the 1800 block of DeWitt Court.
A police officer was dispatched to the neighborhood after residents reported that a skunk appeared to be rabid.
The officer found a skunk that appeared to be sick near homes on DeWitt Court.
After consulting with a supervisor, the officer used the Police Department shotgun and "dispatched the skunk," according to a statement issued by the department.
Deputy Police Chief Wayne Dussault said Tuesday that the incident was under investigation. The officer, a five-year veteran, remained on duty, he said.
Dussault declined to name the officer or comment further.
Strasburg said police used poor judgment. The officer shot the skunk near two houses, he said, adding that he was about 40 yards away when he was hit as he walked on Jennifer Lane behind the homes.
"I've taken hunter safety courses," he said. "You learn to know your target and beyond. You do not shoot into cement or concrete. That is the one thing you learn in hunter safety. The bullets ricochet, and you don't know where they are going."
Strasburg noted, however, that the officer told children in the neighborhood to go into their homes before he fired at the skunk.
Waukesha County District Attorney Paul Bucher said he would review the shooting.
"I'm not reviewing it for a particular charge," he said. "If I determine there's criminal negligence or liability
present . . . I will certainly take a look at that.
"It could be absolutely proper. I have to ask why the officer felt he took that action in that particular location at that particular time. Every circumstance is different. Until I see why the officer felt he had to do it . . . it would be really premature for me to pass judgment on it."
Alberto Garay heard the shotgun blast from his home and ran outside in time to see the officer take a shovel and a bag from his car to cart the skunk from the street.
"The smell from the skunk made everyone sick," Garay said, adding that skunks have long been a problem in the neighborhood.
Mark Hess, executive director at the Humane Animal Welfare Society of Waukesha County Inc., said his agency usually handles cases of rabid or sick animals. But the society's employees generally aren't on duty on Sunday
mornings.
"I'm sorry for the Police Department we weren't able to respond to that one," Hess said. "I don't think it's the Police Department's fault of the fact that they were called to deal with a wild animal, and they removed the animal to protect the public under the circumstances. Unfortunately, there was a mishap in it."
In such cases, the group usually will anesthetize the animal with a tranquilizer dart before employees euthanize it with an injection on the scene, Hess said.
Mayor Carol Lombardi said that police had informed her of the shooting.
"I've have had no follow-up since the alert yesterday," Lombardi said. "I know there was going to be an internal investigation. As far as what that has revealed, I don't know."
Mike Johnson of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.
******************
Dick
Want to send a message to Bush? Sign the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/monk/petition.html and forward the link to every gun owner you know.
Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Aug. 2, 2000.