Columbia, Missouri, SWAT kills family dog over misdemeanor marijuana possession (with video)

[Do you have a story of police killing your dog?  Do you want to tell your story on NORML SHOW LIVE?  You can remain anonymous and it only takes a ten minute phone call.  Contact me at [e-mail].]

We've told the story of drug war canicide - dog murder - before here on the NORML Stash Blog. From the LAPD dog killing during dispensary raids to the Buffalo man who pleaded with cops to let him put his beloved pets in another room before cops gunned them down, and even the mayor of a town in Maryland forced to sit handcuffed near a pool of his slaughtered black labs' blood during a SWAT raid that turned out to be in error.

This incident in Missouri happened in February and is just one of the 100-150 militaristic raids on homes every day in America, most often to serve narcotics warrants, which usually means marijuana, the substance involved in almost half of all drug arrests.  But never before have we brought you actual video of law enforcement protecting us from adults smoking a bowl in their own home and serving us by executing family pets in front of small children.

(Warning: if you love your dog as much as I love Roscoe P. Coltrane, my Jack Russell terrier, scratch its belly and get to your serenity place before you view this.  It is very disturbing.)

If you notice toward the end of the video you can see what appears to be a small bong on the coffee table.  The Columbia, Missouri SWAT team sure took down a big-time drug kingpin while he slept peacefully with his wife and seven-year-old child, huh?

(Columbia Daily-Tribune) Police discovered a grinder, a pipe and a small amount of marijuana, Haden said. Because the SWAT team acts on the most updated information available, the team wanted to enter the house before marijuana believed to be at the location could be distributed, she said.

"If you let too much time go by, then the drugs are not there," she said.

Drug distributors traditionally have a history with firearms, which is why the SWAT team is used when executing such warrants, [police spokeswoman Officer Jessie] Haden said. If the SWAT team believed they could have executed the warrant successfully during the daytime when the wife and child were not present, they would have, she said.

Well, the "drugs" weren't there, now, were they?  But let's pretend they were.  Let's say the man was holding enough marijuana to qualify for a felony charge in Missouri (over 35 grams).  Are we to understand that holding any more than an ounce and a quarter in Missouri is justification enough to send SWAT to burst into a man's home late at night and start firing weapons and slaughtering his pets and terrorizing his wife and children?

And what exactly is it that made the SWAT team believe it couldn't execute a successful warrant in the daytime?  The presence of his pit bull and corgi (yes, these cops shot a corgi) or that his wife and child would be away so he wouldn't mind going down guns blazing to protect his lucrative marijuana empire?  And if he had enough pot to have a lucrative marijuana empire worth shooting cops over, how exactly did he manage to get rid of it all in the few hours between daytime and that night?

No, folks, the justification is simple: shock and awe.  These cops are taught that "druggies" are dangerous armed hostile mentally deranged lunatics who all emulate Tony Montana from Scarface.  Then they are taught how to dominate and intimidate and that one of the quickest ways you can do so is to show them you have the power of life and death.  And they do this as a message to all the other "druggies" out there that they are not safe and that they are serious about engaging the "enemy" and winning the "war".

Radley Balko at Reason's Hit and Run (a top libertarian blog) has been following the story and promises an update from the victim's mother, who was present at the raid.  Jane Hamsher at FireDogLake (a top progressive blog which has recently begun a new campaign for legalization), Scott Morgan at Drug War Chronicle, and Pete Guither at DrugWarRant have also been following the story.

In the end the victim pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia in exchange for dropping the charges of misdemeanor marijuana possession and second-degree child endangerment.  Yes, you read that right: the police burst into this man's home, shooting weapons in his home and killing his dog with his seven-year-old sleeping in the next room and he's the one who was endangering his child by smoking pot in his own home.

Update:  News of this raid and the video has gone viral and the Columbia Police Department is scrambling to put the spin on this:

(Columbia Daily-Tribune) In response to widespread "misinformation" developing on message boards and blogs, as well as a death threat toward Columbia police officers, Columbia Mayor Bob McDavid and Burton held a news conference Thursday afternoon.

Burton said police have fielded questions from several agitated callers concerning the two dogs shot. Some callers have received incorrect information that the corgi is the dog that was killed for being aggressive toward officers, and others told police they were told the pit bull that was killed because of its aggressive behavior was in a cage.

"It's simply not true," Burton said.

The chief, who is personally conducting the internal investigation, walked reporters through his understanding of the incident. Three officers shot at the pit bull, and the first missed completely, which is when the corgi is believed to have been shot in the paw, he said. The pit bull acted aggressively toward a SWAT member again as they pushed into the home, which resulted in the animal being shot, he said. After being shot, it moved to attack a SWAT member, which is when the dog was killed.

Here it comes: the victim was a dangerous druggie, a narcotics kingpin with a lethally aggressive pit bull.  Because two confidential informants (read: snitches with something to gain by rolling on someone, true or false accusations be damned) alleged he had large amounts of marijuana and a police garbage search yielded pipes and baggies with pot residue on them.

(Columbia Daily-Tribune) "It was unfortunate timing," said Lt. Scott Young, SWAT commander.

Deputy Chief Tom Dresner, former SWAT commander, has said he is confident narcotics were in Whitworth's residence before police entry.

Columbia police spokeswoman Jessie Haden said there sometimes was a lag between the time a warrant was issued and when SWAT could execute the warrant. The problem was SWAT members' primary assignments, such as their role as beat officers or investigators, would take precedence over SWAT and they would have to work overtime to participate in SWAT operations.

So, in the police opinion, the mistake wasn't in sending automatic-weapon wielding cops into the family home, shooting up the place with a child present and killing the family pet.  It's that they served the warrant too late to catch the victim with what they believed to be large amounts of weapons of mass destruction, er, marijuana.

There is a Columbia City Council meeting on May 17th at 7pm.  Blogging's great, but in-person protesting and activism are better.  I'm calling on our Missouri NORML chapters to come out and demand an end to these tactics.  Click the link, join the one near you, and get involved in fighting back.

P.S. You'd think the ASPCA or PETA would be all over this, wouldn't you?  I did, but found no reference to any police-shooting-dog stories on either of their websites.  I once got in contact with people in their organizations but got no interest from them on addressing these clear cases of cruel and unethical treatment of animals.  I even tried contacting Bill Maher, a high-profile PETA supporter and marijuana legalization supporter to spotlight the topic, but I've never received any response.  None of these animal rights supporters seem to think a family pet has a right to be protected from police brutality if the owner is thought to be a "druggie".

P.P.S. Paul Armentano reminds me that in 2004, seven in ten Columbia, Missouri residents voted for the end of the "arrest, prosecution, punishment, or sanction" citizens for their medical use of marijuana, and six in ten voted for the decriminalization of marijuana for personal use.  So the dog was murdered and the family terrorized over something only 30%-40% of residents believe is a crime.

 

Follow Russ Belville on Twitter: www.twitter.com/RadicalRuss

Comments

[yariks]

10:33 PM on 06/24/2010

I have NEVER EVER IN MY LIFE met an honest decent cop. They are all cowards and liars. I heard someone say one time “Good law abiding folks like the police.” Horse manure. Take away the badge and the gun and you have a scared little girl.. Start banning them from your life. Don’t allow them to take part in your clubs and organizations churches etc. We have to make a stand. My buddy had a search warrant served on him by a little runt detective with some other moron cops. He broke down his door and the door was open. He insulted him, his wife and called him a religious freak for all of the Christian books he had sitting around his house. He got in his face like a tough guy and acted like a bad ass.They took him to jail and later the charges were dropped. He saw this little runt at a gym about 2 months later and challenged him to a friendly bout in the boxing ring they had there, He was polite and cordial. The little runt walked away with his tail between his legs like the coward that he is. These police are diseased mentally unstable individuals with no capacity for remorse or empathy. That’s what the majority are; they are scared little bullies who are pathetic. We need to start standing up together. Ban them from your places of business, don’t serve them in your restaurants and stores.

[mooklyn]

09:34 AM on 06/10/2010

To Qutoe Bill Hicks:

"I think it's interesting the two drugs that are legal, alcohol and cigarettes, two drugs that do absolutely nothing for you at all; and the drugs that might open your mind up to realize how badly you're being f----d every day of your life? … Those drugs are against the law. He-heh, coincidence?"

and later

"I quit smoking. It's very hard, but I'm glad I did. I'll tell you, this war against drugs in the US is the reason I quit because I got too f--kin' sick of being on the wrong side. The war against drugs, which actually is a war against civil rights, don't ever be fooled again. If they cared about us they'd get rid of the number one drug which is cigarettes; kills more people than crack, coke, and heroin combined, times 100. Legal.

Marijuana: a drug that kills...no one -- and let's put it in a time frame -- ever. illegal"

[pissedoffamerican123]

11:40 AM on 05/15/2010

Abraham Lincoln smoked cannibas and wrote about how he enjoyed it. Our constitutation was

written on cannabis paper as well as the BIBLE. Lamp oil,clothing and our first flag were

made from cannaibas. It was also used as medication, even for infants before drug

companies began making synthetic DRUGS. And before chemical and crude oil companies

decided they were intitled to more.

Taxes were payed with it and could be again today if it weren't for the weak and greedy

individules who run their towns and build their police force on the gains they obtain by

busting and proscuting individules for simple posession charges. Outragious fines are

collected for instrument of CRIME charges (smoking papers) that were purchased and taxes

paid. This injustice goes on coast to coast and in some cases where they can't find a

crime they create it and call it an accident or mistake.

I favor a quote by P.D Ouspensky.

"The number of laws is constantly growing in all countries and, owing to this, what is

called crime is very often not a crime at all,for it contains no element of violance or

harm."

AMERICANS PLEASE TAKE ACTION YOU COULD BE NEXT!

[pissedoffamerican123]

11:39 AM on 05/15/2010

It is obvious that the Natzi mentality has taken over our police force. And that
Natzi-terrositc attacks are to be the course of action when the cowards can't
find a way to make the arrest they want.

If there is a crime in what is going on it is what the government is doing not what the
people are doing. This was an act of terrorism and the bastards should pay for what they
have done.

The child should get a lawyer and press charges.
If we have no recourse for actions such as these and we sit back and let them keep their

jobs then we may as well hand over our lives to these ignorant cowards and kiss our

freedom good bye. Take a look at the other military / police controlled countries.

WAKE UP BECAUSE THAT IS WHERE AMERICA IS HEADED !!!.

[kmeccat]

03:34 AM on 05/15/2010

It appears that police don't just shoot dogs in SWAT raids. They shot family pets during Katrina--one incident was in St Bernards Parish, where 33 dogs and cats were shot by police in a school, where their owners had put them, trying to keep them safe. They also rode around in trucks, shooting any dogs they saw. There are many incidents of police shooting dogs without good reason on the web.
The police that do this are sadistic and they shouldn't be on the force. The time has come to demand accountability from our police...no more excuses.

[mikefloyd]

11:36 PM on 05/13/2010

Well....as soon as the door opens you hear a shot....AS SOON.....ANY dog,be it a pitbull or lab is going to defend it's home, not AGGRESSIVE,but PROTECTIVE.....most dog's when they hear a shot will go the other way,as many of them as there were I msure the dog's would flee...and if you view the video they DID go into another room where you hear MORE SHOTS as the swat team FOLLOWED them into the other room....why not check the room and then close the door? TRIGGER HAPPY, I love my dog's and they are my FAMILY......there would be hell to pay one way or the other...thats a fact. This is why people dont trust the police dept. anymore,Didnt know the swat motto was KILL EM ALL ,LET GOD SORT EM OUT........

[skateboard4ever]

02:39 PM on 05/11/2010

Missouri needs to change their laws and stop terrorizing families. Thanks for all the great work, Russ.

[dragonlady620]

02:02 AM on 05/11/2010

I know someone who has personal knowledge of this incident.
The dog that was killed was restrained, did NOT attack anyone, and was was shot seven times, in front of a six-year-old. Anyone who has seen this sickening video can hear the shots-they were made immediately on entry.
No one was resisting or posing any kind of threat.
The police are lying. There is no excuse for their behavior, NONE. I hope they're sued from hell to the last mile.

[nwmother]

02:11 AM on 05/11/2010

It was suggested that perhaps the pitbull was also in a cage, though the police deny this. Do you know how the video came to light?

[nwmother]

05:48 PM on 05/10/2010

This is SICK!!! This idiot war on drugs must END NOW!!! stupid effing cops...

[jayjay3031]

09:02 PM on 05/10/2010

So stupid cops, but the war on drugs should end now??? How can you have both? Are you saying we should all turn the cheek and allow people to use drugs? I mean that is the only alternative to what you're saying isn't it or in your infinate wisdome did you have a better idea??
I hope they keep fighting the war on drugs. I also hope that this sends a message to users everywhere that if YOU decide to use drugs illegally, then YOU could pay the ultimate price and so could your dog.
I would rather some idiots pitbull get capped than dealing with a crime spree because and high taxes because we decided that the war on drugs wasn't worth it.

[nwmother]

01:55 AM on 05/11/2010

During the thiry-plus year war on drugs we have seen increases in usage and addiction, importation, prices, drug-related crime, and profits for drug kingpins. Tell me exactly HOW the war on drugs, as it is currently being waged, is a benefit to society? Every statistic on the books points toward the futility of treating drug abuse as a criminal issue. It is a healthcare issue; drug addicts are sick--they need treatment not gestapo style police action. Meanwhile, alcohol and tobacco abuse resulted in over 500,000 deaths in 2000 in this country alone--and we provide taxpayer subsidies for tobacco growers. How many people died as a result of Marijuana use (the reason the cops arrested this man and shot his dogs) in 2000? NONE! As for pitbulls, I own one and she's the sweetest dog that ever lived. You are a pawn who has succumbed to the propaganda being spewed by the for profit prison industry and law enforcement agencies that get a major portion of their funding confiscating drug profits. I honestly believe that if we legalized drugs today we would not see any increase in the societal ills you mentioned and, in fact, a lot of dirtbags would be out of business.

[HarryBalsonya2]

02:14 PM on 05/10/2010

sheet is beyond crazy. Hopefully as many people as possible will see this video accompanied with the knowledge that this is not an isolated incident. All sheet like this does is put the police and the suspect in danger. Not too mention its sheet like this that make people resent cops in general. The best is when the mother is trying to walk her 7 year old to the front of the house and no less than 3 officers start yelling "WALK AROUND HIM, WALK AROUND HIM" "PASS BY HIM" "DO IT NOW". Jesus freakin christ what the fahq do you think shes trying to do. Maybe if the three large policemen in full fledge riot gear would move their fat arses out of the 4 foot hallway they would.

This is the kind of stuff that senators, representatives, presidents, etc should be forced to watch and comment on at debates instead of the typical back an forth blowing of hot air.

freakin pissed

[WaynesWorld]

11:18 AM on 05/10/2010

Protocol was followed. While law enforcement policy makers will attempt to bullshit you into believing this, the view is intentionally skewed. Police are advised to take out dogs "percieved" to be a threat. Truth be told this is a perfect opportunity to engage in selective target engagement in real life situations, an oppportunity to evaluate live fire exercises on American families. They actually do it well in most instances if you review how many of these engagements ended in the selective deaths of family pets. Or as law enforcement policy makers may ask "Would I be standing here answering these questions if that chihuaha had ripped through the officer's flack jacket and tore his heart from his chest?"

[bigxxmp]

09:07 PM on 05/09/2010

This is absolutely ridiculous, the senseless killing of a dog from the result of a failed "marijuana raid" on a household. From the video footage, upon entry into the house, it takes around six seconds for the tactical SWAT team to shoot the dog (you can hear it). The law enforcement should spend more time focusing on real crime (gang violence, hard drugs [meth, heroin, cocaine], homicide cases etc.) The process of detaining "non-violent" marijuana offenders in such a manner is sickening. The continued prosecution of marijuana related crimes is putting normal people into an unstable prison system with violent offenders. It is pathetic that these officers felt so threatened by the animal when they are geared with protective armor (kevlar, leather). Why not attempt to subdue the dog using non-lethal force (pepper spray, tazer). I hope they prosecute the trigger-happy officer with animal cruelty. The Columbia, MO police department needs to re-evaluate the procedures for arresting marijuana related offenses, hence without a paramilitary SWAT team.

It doesn't take a genius to realize how stupid the attempts to control marijuana are. Ask any police officer in the United States, which would you rather deal with, a situation where the person is under the influence of alcohol or a situation where the person is under the influence of marijuana?

I am glad to live in California where such nonsense doesn't exist, I only wish the rest of America would wake the hell up.

[Joe Marshall]

02:31 PM on 05/09/2010

As a resident of Columbia Mo I can honestly say I have a huge degree of respect for columbia police officers and the job they do, but this is beyond the pale. All the murders, rapists, and child mollesters don't get this sort of treatment. CPD should be ashamed and do everything to ensure it does not happen again.

[kmeccat]

11:14 AM on 05/09/2010

I've never smoked pot, but I feel that pot should be legalized. Period. The reasoning that marijuana is illegal because it's harmful (whether or not you believe that) is moot...alcohol and cigarettes are much more harmful than pot, and they are legal. I don't buy the old standby that pot is a "gateway drug" -- what garbage.
I don't care how much pot the police thought this guy had---a violent crime was not in progress, and there was no standoff. SWAT (paramilitary) teams should never have been used,IMHO. SWAT has it's place, but this isn't it.
I believe the police are lying....I believe the dogs were confined- either crated or behind a gate....if they had been loose they would have been at the door barking when the police knocked. They were only doing what almost all dogs will do--alerting the family of intruders.
This is a despicable display of how a police state works. All involved, including the police chief and whoever else may have ordered this raid, should be fired; and if I were Mr. Whitworth I would sue them big time for the trauma inflicted upon him, his wife and child (especially the child!) and of course, his dogs.
Legalize pot, and end all this insanity...and for god's sake--rein in those military wannabe's who feel so macho in their SWAT gear, terrorizing families and shooting their pets in the middle of the night!!!

[jimthefireman]

02:53 AM on 05/09/2010

The shooting in a family home in darkness posed a risk to everyone within range of the bullets. To do so in circumstances where the alleged crime was marijuana simply adds to the stereotype that many people have of Americans as dangerous trigger happy people that you are better a long way away from.
It is a tragedy that a Country once a beacon of liberty and freedom has now become somewhere authorities and citizens alike have good cause to live in deadly fear of each other and resort to gunfire in circumstances which simply would not be tolerated in any other Western democracy. I truly cannot think of another western democratic country where this sort of shooting would not be condemned by Police training agencies and citizens alike. It is bitterly ironic that the Constitution allows the carrying of firearms by all and sundry to prevent the very loss of liberty which has already occurred and it is astounding that anyone can believe in a worst case scenario that an armed and outraged citizenry would form a stable disciplined movement. In the rest of the civilized world we simply vote at elections. It doesn't guarantee a perfect government, but there are a lot less people (and pets) killed in the process. At least in this modern age of communication I know that eventually enough Americans will see video clips of Police operating in other countries to demand of their leaders "why can't we do that here"?

[nwmother]

05:50 PM on 05/10/2010

Thank you jimthefireman, not all publics servants are morons...