Anyone else heard about this?
 

San Marcos couple blames a cop for the death of their poodle

Michael Gonzales and Krystal Hernandez were driving 95mph -- headed to the vet with their dying dog -- when the officer pulled them over.
By KTRH's Scott Crowder
Friday, August 15, 2008
Gonzales says the officer wouldn't listen to their pleas and told them they could "get another dog, relax."

"Dude said, man you need to chill out it's just a dog and I said what do you mean it's just a dog? It's not just a dog it's my family."

The poodle died. San Marcos police say Officer Paul Stephens has been reprimanded and is undergoing counseling.

yes, the couple was wrong for speeding, but that officer was way out of line!!:mad:

Once he saw there dilema I think the kind thing to do would have been to escort them to the vet.

Wow, that cop was pretty heartless. What if is was a child that needed to be rushed to the hospital? Would he have told them to "get another kid"?? I can't stand people who see pets as nothing important :mad:

How very sad...:(

This is truly very sad. I highly commend the police department that took this issue so seriously - thus reprimanding the @$$hole cop. :thumbup:

I know my husband and I were speeding a few weeks ago when our girl got sick. I also know that while being at outdoor events - I have seen paramedics care for dogs. It gets life-threatening hot here.

So sorry the pup passed. I wonder if they can sue? Assuming they can show that - had the pet received treatment sooner - it would have had a better chance of survival. :animal-pa

The guy got a verbal reprimand
 

So what? I think the PD should have taken it more seriously. I don't know how PDs do it, but in most companies, verbal reprimands don't even go into your personnel file.

I had a situation a couple of months ago with a Yorkie that was almost comatose. It was around two in the morning, my husband drove us to the ER, and I kept saying, "Drive faster." He didn't want to exceed the speed limit, thinking we'd get pulled over because that's about the time the bars close. We hadn't been to any bars. As far as I was concerned, I wanted to get there as quickly as we could before she started having seizures, and if a cop got behind us, he could ticket us at the ER if that's what he chose to do.

I think this would have been the kind thing to do too!! So sad that the pup died!

what a f cker its just a dog get another one, that is terrible, people like that I want to say its only your kid have another one, and that is the way I feel, they are our family......

yeah im not a fan of the police, at my store we will give military discounts and fireman but f the police. none of them are cool and theyalways ask , i go do you give me discounts off of my tickets?

omg i cant believe that!!! u know, i always wondered what wud happen in a situation like that... i think i wud just get to where i need to go, get the person or furbaby help n then deal with the cop once i know they been taken care of.. screw that!! that dumb cop was wayyyyyyyyy outta line

I can't stand cops. They are so f-ing arrogant. My SIL's boyfriend is a cop :thumbdown
a long time ago, there was a domestic disturbance across the street, someone called the cops, and when they showed up, the people had their dog in the yard. The 2 cops got out of their car, saw the dog, one of them shot the dog (didn't kill it...right away) and the dog was no where near the cop..they had 2 cars plus a lawn between them...They left the dog lying there barely breathing as he bled to death. In the end the stupid cop ended up saying he was scared of dogs...

I don't know if I would have stopped. They could arrest my tush at the vet. :) I think a Judge would cut me a break under the circumstances.

Ditto Tig
 

You can't let unreasonable "law" get in the way of life.

:( thats sad! what an idiot that cop was! poor family!!

I am so thankful that there are some good law enforcement officers out there. There are, however, far too many that are led by their egos and the sense of power that the badge gives to them and thus become guilty of 'abuse of power'. I believe the consequences for this officer were pretty much non existant. A little slap on the hand. :mad:

Even if his lack of compassion didn't contribute to the death of the poodle, he certainly did contribute to the sorrow and grief of those folks and they will never have the answer to that question. I think they should make him work with Animal Cops Houston for a long, long while. Those officers love animals and he would either learn something or be miserable for the whole while.

By law, (at least in CA) police officers are not to 'ask' for anything. Most won't accept if offered.

I have been put in bad positions by officers when they wanted free food in a restaurant (GA) I managed when I was young. Refusal got me "Well, you'll find out how slow we can be in responding for you when you need help".....I told him he was trying to force me to break the law by stealing something that wasn't mine and giving it to him. :eek: He was not amused. But it was true!! That's exactly what he wanted.

I also believe that certain people...cops, judges, people in positions of power, should be held to a higher accounting of thier actions.

And I would not have stopped.

___________________________________________

poodle
 

Makes you wonder about those that are supposed to serve the people, doesn't it. Remember the guys in a boat that went past a dog that was swimming in the Katrina flood and just kept going and left the dog to drown?

Some thoughts:

I think the cop should have taken this more serious. He obviously does not own a pet because that comment was insensitive and out of line.

If it was a person dying in the car, that would have never happened.

The cop should have escorted them to the clinic first, and then given them the ticket there. (I read that the ticket was taken back after the news article came out....as if the price of the ticket could help with the loss of their dog)

That's all...

I would have put my blinkers on, then called 911 so they could relay to the officer it was an emergency. Poor guy:(

I feel bad and I dont think the police officer was as sensitive as he could/should have been. There are traffic laws for a reason! To keep you and other people safe on the road. What if that person would have hit another car? The people most likely would die instantly at the high rate of impact. Just think of people who would be pulling out of a side street thinking they had enough time but some car comes flying down the street at 95 mph and doesnt have time to stop or slowdown before they hit you!

That is so sad and I hate to hear stuff like this. While I understand that speeding to get to the vet might have been something the couple felt they needed to do, the excessive amount was dangerous not only to them but to others on the road, as well.

I remember rushing London to the vet once because of a puppy that wouldn't come out.

I was going 5 miles over the speed limit when I got pulled over. I explained it to the patrol man and he kindly let me go and told me to take care of her but to not speed. I thanked him, went on my way and obeyed the law.

Edited to add: I think that the patrol man that pulled this particular couple over could have been more sensitive to the situation. If anything, he could have followed them to the vet to ensure they arrived safely. JMO

It is all over the news here in Austin. While I do not agree with the first police officers actions in any way, the part of the story that is not being reported is that when a second officer arrived as backup, they attempted to assist the couple and did try to save the dog with CPR. It was too late but if you see the dash cam video, you can tell that the second officer tries to calm the female down while trying to save the dog. The first officer was way out of line and the whole situation could have been resolved in a much better way. For example, had the female in the car been in labor, the police officer probably would have led the couple to the nearest ER, lights blazing. Had the first officer acted in that way, rushing the dog to the nearest vet hospital, lights blazing, the couple would have been much calmer. Plus, upon arrival at the vet hospital, if the cop wanted to be a hardass, he still could have issued the driver a ticket but the dog would have been getting proper care.

It is very sad that the dog died but with all the outcry, I am sure they will handle it differently next time. The news here has been extremely brutal to the officers which is well deserved, but it is important to recoognize the actions of the second officer who arrived too late but tried to save the dog, instead of getting into a yelling match with the couple.

May the dog rest in peace.

thanks for shedding some light on it, seems never to get the whole story.

That is exactly what I would have done!

I heard about this on the news this morning, and there was a video too. I just can't believe anyone would say "you can get another one" about someone's beloved pet.:mad: I feel so bad for that couple.