Salem Police: Officer shoots pit bull, wounds man
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Salem Police say one of its officers shot and killed a pit bull as it attacked him Saturday, and a man who apparently tried to intervene was shot in the foot.
Lt. Dave Okada says Darren Buchholz and Travis Brossard were interviewing people in a home Saturday afternoon when they were attacked by the dog.
Okada says Buchholz tried to push the dog away but shot the animal when it continued to attack. The Statesman Journal reports that as the officer was firing, 38-year-old Steven Deleon jumped in the middle and was shot in the foot. He was taken to Salem Hospital.
The officers were placed on administrative leave while the shooting is being investigated, a standard procedure.
The Oregon State Police is investigating.
 UGH.And here we go again with the vague reports from media about a pit bull attack.    Maybe this family's dog was aggressive, or maybe the officer was mishandling his weapon - we don't know because of the lack of reporting done on the story. All they see or hear is 'Pit Bull' so they start writing a story they hardly have any facts on. I mean, we know they weren't writing the story because dude got shot in the foot. The people who are talking about banning dangerous breeds, I'm wondering if you realize where these 'vicious' characteristics come from with this breed... Maybe I should video tape the Yorkshire that likes to chase me down three houses past its own snapping at my heals while I walk my dogs, to give you a better idea on the 'aggressive instincts' of dog breeds.  Some of you are just so bright it hurts. *End of sarcasm Reading everyone's comments is starting to make me wonder if we should just all jump on PETA's bandwaggon and ban pets all together. There are far too many ignorant and irresponsible owners and they effect ALL types of breeds. people with smaller breed dogs a lot of times don't understand the trauma their small dogs can inflict on people and often times they are careless, letting their dogs run free and off leash - chasing people halfway down the street, biting ankles and traumatizing little kids - but THESE dogs aren't dangerous because they're small and don't inflict as much damage... ??????????? Really?! Here is a newsflash people: THE SIZE OF DOG YOU HAVE DOES NOT GIVE YOU A RIGHT TO BE NEGLIGENT OR CARELESS. Period!  Banning one breed of dog isn't going to solve the problem of crappy owners - they'll just move on to another breed and it will fall victim to man's arrogant ignorance.     The issue with Law Enforcement using lethal force on family pets is not a small one, and it hasn't been only pit bulls who have fallen victim to trigger happy police officers. It is in fact a major problem and you can do a quick browse through YouTube and see, its not a new one at all. From personal experience, people need to crate their dogs while talking to police. We've had an officer threaten one of ours while in our home and he was a 10 lb Schnauzer, showing no 'signs of aggression' what so ever, just merely walked up to the woman to sniff at her shoes and she went reaching for her gun telling us to get that dog away from her. We were lucky to get a warning - too many people aren't.   We now have a standing rule in our family that we will not allow police into our home to speak to us for any reason, and our girls are to be kenneled as a precaution before we even answer the door if they come knocking.      Â
And here we are again hearing another story of an attack pitbull. Ever wonder why these are the only dog stories we hear about? I am the proud owner of a black lab and a pitbull and I will only comment once because I have better things to do then the person who has time to not only call a pitbull worthless but the owners as well. And let me guess????? Boomer... your a big man who owns a little fluffy ankle biter?
More terrorism from the police state.
And again, the pit bull supporters will be out in force adamantly denying that agressiveness in the breed is instinctual. Yeah. That is why Corgis that have never been trained herd small children or ducks in the yard. Or why a retriever loves the water and will play fetch until he drops. Or maybe it's why a Spaniel needs to be taught to point or a blood hound to use its sense of smell. Right.Â
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No, the pit bull is doing what it was bred to do over the last few hundred years - attack and thrash. If you want a pet, get a dog from any number of breeds that isn't instinctually aggressive. If you want an attack dog, then keep the animal in your junkyard and be prepared to deal with the consequences (and lawsuit) that will follow if you don't. But maybe you'll get lucky and your dog won't attack anyone. Or maybe the dog will do what comes natural and the rest of us can read about why you must be such a terrible owner.
 @Finally Perhaps you'd like to expand your horizons and do a little poking around the internet as long as you're sitting in front of a keyboard anyway. Pit bulls have long been notorious for caring for small children, just like the Corgi. My two pits have no issues with any of our other household animals, curling up with the other dog and the cats constantly (though my 101-pound AB/APBT mix is not a big fan of the hedgehog). Raising and keeping pits that won't attack anyone has *nothing* to do with luck. As with any other breed, a pit bull that would attack without provocation is an anomaly, and should absolutely be destroyed -- they cause my well-trained and perfectly-behaved pit bulls to be viewed with a jaundiced eye. Fortunately, this description fits precious few pit bulls. Dachshunds, on the other hand...now *there's* a vicious little critter. Watch out for them. ;)
If you're pit bull is attacking a police officer,it's lights out for your vicious animal.Attempting to intervene is a very foolish mistake.
Bummer, guy try to help put and gets shot in the foot.
I'd like to know why the officer was interviewing at the home. Â If he had no business being there, then this all could have been avoided. Â If he was called there to investigate, then the home owner is responsible for controlling his dog. Â Either way, I've never read a story about a police shooting where the police were held accountable, so I'm sure this cop has nothing to worry about. Â
@Daniel C A police officer was most likely not just Interviewing the occupants of the home for model citizen of the year award.If a vicious animal is attacking the officer,he has every right to destroy the animal.As a CWP holder who carries most of the time,I also have the right to euthanize a vicious attacking animal with a bullet to the head.
@noneofyourbizzness Apparently you dont know SQUAT. My dog is very friendly to people she knows but does not like strangers. She and I live here. If you come over uninvited, heed the signs that say "BEWARE OF DOG". If you shoot my dog, its already too late for you to BEWARE OF OWNER because I too carry and I have the right to defend myself and my property including my dog. By the way, my dog is NOT a pitbull but is a 70 pound Ridgeback.
@noneofyourbizzness  Apparently you cant even read your OWN post. The cop was " Interviewing the occupants of the home" and "I also have the right to euthanize a vicious attacking animal with a bullet to the head", prompted my respinse of "not on my property".
@scared_citizen FWI I'm not a police officer so why in the hell would I come on your property uninvited???Do you think I'm stupid?Now if I was on public property and your dog attacked me then I would absolutely do what I need to protect myself regardless if you are carrying or not.What are you going to do? Shoot me for legally protecting myself?
It's hard to say which is the more worthless, pitbulls or their owners.
I'll vote for neither. I think the most worthless are those ill-informed, ignorant, sanctimonious twits who know nothing about pit bulls, and are always willing to prove it on internet message boards. But that might just be me.
Sounds like you are the one who is worthless! Get a life
Maybe the UK has done something right...
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http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1991/65/contents
Probably not. They're wrong about so many things...why would this be any different?
I have a pack of wild hyenas locked in my basement that I am trying to break and turn them into suitable pets. any advice from pitbull owners how to do this?
 @Phuzz Yeah...don't feed them for a week, then go lay down in the middle of the pack.
@Mikey maybe i'll just release them in the neighborhood. i'm running out of bunnies to feed them anyways
It would be nice if the news covered stories about other types of dogs that have attacked people, and not just pit bulls. I hope everyone is okay and learns that it's not always the "dangerous" dogs fault. I hope some of the people who commented negatively below get some education about the breed and not just from watching the news.
@NDfan4ever Don't forget about all the serious but non-fatal attacks on humans and the many, many maulings of other dogs. It seems that under your set of justifications that pits could account for 100% of the dog bite fatalities, and you wouldn't think them an especially dangerous breed.
That is because 20 of the 30 people killed by dogs in the US so far this year were PittBulls and 14 of those were by the owners own dog.
I second your comment. Â I know a lady who is a dear friend - had a Pit Bull she adopted as a puppy. Â It was well trained, well mannered. Â But one day it saw a cat out on the lawn and took the front door off going for it. Â She had the dog put down the same day...could not trust it. Â I shudder when I hear about people with little kids talking about getting a Pit Bull... Two summers ago I single-handedly pulled pit bulls off a neighbor. Â God was with me that day as I was not inured; she was.
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My pit bulls are the best family dogs we've ever owned. That your mileage may vary does not make yours a universal experience. Pit bulls *can* be more prey aggressive than some other dogs. Why would they not be? They're terriers. This is not a trait typical only to pits.Â
 @NDfan4ever It's because pit bulls do it more frequently. I know pit bull owners raw about don't judge the breed judge the deed.. but most these stories are always "they were such a loving dog, great with kids, never done this before". Pit bulls were created / bred back in the day to be a fighting tough dog. So there is a genetic component. Also its another reason why pit bulls are banned for on base military housing and communities. I hear about a story like this every week. My brother was attacked as kid being a paper boy. It happens.
My kid was attacked by a Labrador retriever. Can we ban them, too?
@Liberty4_WA  You are wrong. I have been bitten several times and its ALWAYS the little dogs that do it. The reason you dont hear about it is because they dont inflict much damage.
We need to ban dangerous dogs.
@sortbait We need to ban dangerous pigs.
@sortbait Can you define what should be classified as a 'dangerous dog'? If your talking about dogs that attack or bite then be sure to include smaller breeds as well i.e Doxen, Chiwawas, ect.
 @NDfan4ever  @sortbait NDFan...I THINK you meant to say dauchound,,,
Small dogs (terriers for example) do bite.  They tend to Nip, though - not grab someone by the head, shake it, and not let go.  Dangerous dogs - several breeds make the grade.  It isn't just based on size; it is based on statistics.  And Pit Bulls are among the top of that list.  This year's fatalities include Presna Carnarios, Cane Corsos, Rottweilers, Shepherd and Husky  and a lot of Pit Bull and PIt mixes.  In fact, from 2006 to now, Pit Bulls lead fatal dog attacks in our country, by a margin of about 3 or 4 to one (i.e. 18 Pit to 4 Rottweiler, for example).  In those same years ONE small dog, (a terrier), killed a a very young infant. Â
 @BCH mom  @NDfan4ever  @sortbait You fail to take into account the simple fact that your statistic does not include the number of dogs by breed. There are approximately 5 million registered and 5-10 million unregistered pit bull type dogs in the US alone, a number that far exceeds the majority of all other breeds. If you take into account the # of bites to # of dogs percentage, the pit bull type dogs actually have one of the LOWEST bite percentages. Don't throw around statistics without showing the whole story.
All dogs Bite but not all dogs have killed people. Just make the Owners 100% responsible and put them in jail for murder.
 There is a simple solution : Dogs of a certain size must have - as part of their license - a bond that is purchased by the owner.  A $5,000 bond might only cost $100 and would insure not only an injured person - but it would insure us that the dirt bag scum who like these dogs would not be able to afford them.  Most of these people who own these beasts could not qualify for the bond.  This would eventually reduce their population and make our state a safer place.  If we let the pit owners continue - more kids with scarred faces will be the result.
What is the purpose for owning and breeding these dogs as pets? Perhaps they are going for the "bad ass" title?I also noticed its a favorite breed of the street anarchist/bums/trash.
 @noneofyourbizzness There is a simple solution : Dogs of a certain size must have - as part of their license - a bond that is purchased by the owner.  A $5,000 bond might only cost $100 and would insure not only an injured person - but it would insure us that the dirt bag scum who like these dogs would not be able to afford them.  Most of these people who own these beasts could not qualify for the bond.  This would eventually reduce their population and make our state a safer place.  If we let the pit owners continue - more kids with scarred faces will be the result.
 @perkatu  @noneofyourbizzness "Most of these people who own these beasts could not qualify for the bond." Not all bully breed owners are inbred schmucks who can barely tie their own shoes. Every bully breed owner that I know (we're talking over twenty, here), is very responsible with their dog. Training, socialization, spaying/neutering, exercise... Oh, and FYI - I do have coverage for any dog attack for my three dogs (one bully breed, a chocolate lab, and a lab/mastiff/german shephard/chow mix), $100k. I've had this coverage since I got my first dog, the lab, because she's a larger dog and you never know.
 @noneofyourbizzness They should be highly regulated. So many people like to have them just because they look mean and never bother to get them training properly.
 @Jamie  @noneofyourbizzness I have my bully breed dog because a friend was about to have a disabled baby brought home from the hospital, so it was either to me or the pound. I had my reservations about the breed, but my dog has been a dream and has forever altered my perception of a "blame game" breed. I detest that so many people are irresponsible when it comes to owning ANY dog, it takes responsibility, time, and effort to take care of any dog. Particularly one that has such a negative media stigma. Proper training, exercise, socialization, and spaying/neutering is VERY important.
 @noneofyourbizzness  The dog she had was a puppy (6 weeks old), and the baby she was due to bring home had been born 3 months premature with a load of medical issues. i.e... she would not have enough time to take care of the baby and a puppy at the same time. (Sorry for the late response.)
@advocatus diaboli @Jamie @noneofyourbizzness I know people who haven't had to get rid of their dog because of brining a new baby home and have small children.Why was your friend willing to take the dog that she raised since it was a puppy to the pound?
Here are the restrictions in the UK...
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http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1991/65/contents
Let the canned statements begin, "He was the sweetest dog ever. He wouldn't hurt a fly. We raised him from a puppy and he would just lick you to death. I'm sure the owner beat it every day and never trained it right."
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Okay, whatever.. next Pit Bull attack in 5 minutes . Stay tuned.
"The Statesman Journal reports that as the officer was firing, 38-year-old Steven Deleon jumped in the middle and was shot in the foot."   (from the story)
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Well, if this part is accurate, I would say that Mr Deleon used incredibly poor judgment in jumping in between a dog and a police officer who was in process of firing a gun that was aimed at said dog... Â Â
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I think the issue here is, did the man interfere with a police procedure, or did the officer fail to use his weapon in a safe manner as to see that no one else got injured. Now, if the officer shot the dog and then the bullet ricocheted and then hit the man then I would see where the officer did not perform his duty in a safe manner and endangered the public. I would shutter to see what would have. .Question though? How many shots were fired? was it the bullet that went through the mans foot the same round that hit the animal? If so..That might open up a can of worms as the officer shot the person first.That would indeed be an unjustifiable shooting. Not enough information to Warrant a decision on my part.
Why is the AP reporting on a story that is (semi) local? Have all the local stations given their interns the weekend off?
 @Jamie MAYBE becayse it is newsworthy?
 @Jamie Maybe they are still busy with a murder case that happened Friday!
@Jamie Maybe they're all attending a writing and editing seminar?
 @jpk We could only hope.