Binghamton, NY – A video was uploaded to Facebook this week showing two police officers tasering and then shooting a young woman’s dog after it bit an intruder.
In an interview with The Free Thought Project, Estavia Cron tells us that she was at work when her brother and a group of friends broke into her home without permission. When Estavia’s brother entered, her dog ‘Gotti’, attacked the intruders biting one of them on the ankle.
Estavia also said that her brother was aware that Gotti had been abused in a previous home, and was extremely protective. However, instead of immediately leaving the house, Estavia’s brother called the police. When officers arrived they admittedly failed to properly investigate the incident, and rather than arrest a trespasser, killed an innocent dog for protecting his home.
According to witnesses, Gotti was trapped in alleyway outside of the apartment and posed no threat to anyone. During the 30 minute encounter police tasered the dog twice before shooting him. The final moments of the encounter were caught on eyewitness’ video.
Estavia told us that she arrived home to a bloody mess and a note informing her that her dog was dead. The note also stated the health department had disposed of Gotti’s body in a landfill before notifying her of the incident, denying her the ability to say goodbye to her beloved pet.
Below is a video Estavia uploaded showing the horrific scene she came home to after police executed her dog.
https://www.facebook.com/estavia.cron/videos/vb.100002068495369/2208831175862477/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab
According to the police report obtained by WBNG, Estavia’s brother told officers when they arrived that the apartment and dog were his. Officers, however, failed to verify this information because there was “no indication at the time that the situation was anything more than it appeared.”
In response to her beloved dog being shot by police, a month before his first birthday, Estavia has started a petition calling for ‘Justice for Gotti’. In the petition Estavia poignantly asks,
Why should a police officer who is trained to deal with dogs be able to shoot one dead with no action other then assumptions? Why can the health department despose [sic] of a dead animal body in a land fill with no call to the owner???
When asked what she hopes to accomplish with her petition, Estavia echoed the frustrating sentiment of so many families whose pets have been killed by police, saying simply, “I just hope with enough signatures something will give.” Sadly, ‘Police kill dog’ is not an uncommon news headline around the country. As TFTP’s Matt Agorist reported last year, “
According to some estimates, as John Whitehead points out, a dog is shot by a police officer “every 98 minutes.” The Department of Justice estimates that at least 25 dogs are killed by police every day. The Puppycide Database Project estimates the number of dogs being killed by police to be closer to 500 dogs a day (which translates to 182,000 dogs a year). Because not all police departments keep track of canine shootings, these numbers vary widely.
However, whatever the final body count, what we’re dealing with is an epidemic of vast proportions.” Perhaps it’s time for police officers to follow the lead of UPS drivers and US postal employees around the country, who faithfully deliver packages on a daily basis without claiming they ‘fear for their lives.’