Re: Jake Tapper’s article on the off-duty D.C. cop who shot her next-door neighbor’s puppy to death (“Shoot to Quell,” 3/19). It is important to note that this is not the only recent incident involving a D.C. cop going haywire over an innocent animal.
About a month ago, it was reported that another off-duty D.C. cop, also living in Prince George’s County, got upset because her next-door neighbor’s dog had allegedly defecated on her lawn. The cop kicked the dog. When the dog’s owners knocked on her door to discuss what she had done to their dog, the police officer pulled out her service revolver and pointed it at them. The officer was suspended (unlike in the Anderson case, where the dog murderer remains at her job, albeit without a gun).
What is going on with these cops? As I pointed out in a call to the chief’s office, there is a serious callousness and/or stress problem going on here, and they had better deal with it in a swift and preventative way, before another innocent animal or citizen is abused or killed. Furthermore, there needs to be consistency in the way the misbehavior of police officers is handled. Officer Anderson should be suspended from the force immediately.
Finally, it is outrageous that the police took action against Officer Anderson and the cop who kicked the dog and brandished her weapon only after the officers’ cruel and dangerous behavior was exposed by the news media. Sweeping problems under the rug only makes things dirtier and harder to clean upand leads to citizen mistrust of the government. Both Chief Ramsey and Mayor Williams would do well to use these cases as examples of situations they will not tolerate.
Silver Spring, Md.
via the Internet