Many thanks to our new photographer, Michael Orrell, for helping me keep the blog updated over the past couple of weeks.
Today, I’m back with a vengeance.
The topic: Sarah, the dog that was shot and killed by the City of El Dorado this week.
Sarah died from a gunshot wound that was inflicted, according to witnesses, by an El Dorado city employee who had reportedly been chasing the dog for several hours after receiving a complaint that it had gotten into garbage and was roaming the neighborhood surrounding Anders’ house in the 1200 block of Robinson.
According to the El Dorado City Code Book, “The poundmaster or other officials as designated by the mayor of city shall have the authority to destroy any wild or tame dogs in packs that are a threat to the health and safety of the citizens of city, only after all other avenues of capture have been exhausted. The animal control division must show a reasonable effort was made to locate any owner or custodian prior to destruction of said dogs.”
The first thing that stands out in the above paragraph is the phrase “dogs in packs.”
Sarah was not traveling in a pack. Sarah was alone, in her owner’s front yard, when she was gunned down.
The second red flag is a lack of clarification when mentioning “authority to destroy.”
Does this mean that the animal control officers can use a baseball bat to beat the dog to death? Can they use a homemade bomb to blow the dog up?
The city council should have addressed the wording of this particular piece of city code Thursday during their meeting.
The city must expound upon the meaning of “destroy” in relation to animals, and they must make it clear that animal control officers are allowed to carry loaded weapons.
The citizens of this city need to know that law enforcement officers are not the only people who have the power to shoot and kill.
I doubt that many residents here knew that their animal control officers carried weapons. I certainly didn’t and was shocked when I found out.
It makes no sense for an animal control officer to have a loaded weapon. There are other ways to deal with vicious animals — much better ways. There are stun guns, tasers and special sprays that can subdue animals long enough for them to be collared.
At Thursday’s city council meeting, El Dorado Public Works Director Robert Edmonds told aldermen that the .22 caliber rifle Ray Johnson used to exterminate Sarah was a “tool of the trade,” and that a city ordinance (highlighted above) gives officers the power to destroy animals in packs.
“Tool of the trade?” I find that statement completely extemporaneous. Nowhere in the city’s code does it mention that animal control officers are permitted to carry weapons.
Do these officers go through the same training as law enforcement officials? If not, they should. And the city should take a long, hard look at this code, because as written, it seems as if what happened to Sarah was completely unlawful.
This murder of Sarah is very sad to read about. Public employees need to use common sense.
No way this should have happened.