The Tribune

By Malcolm Strachan

THE shooting of a dog by an officer in uniform, as seen in a video that circulated on Friday, has caused plenty of outrage on social media at the weekend. There has been anger at the way the shooting took place, while many have also pointed out that the dog that was shot should not have been loose. Both things can be true.

A friend sent me the video on Friday with an angry note saying the authorities have to do something about it.

If you watch the video, the situation begins even before the dog appears in the picture. A funeral was taking place for a retired corrections officer, Andrew Sears. And as you would expect, the uniformed services were there in force to pay tribute to their colleague. As part of that group, corrections officers from what appeared to be the canine unit were taking part.

The video shows several officers with dogs walking along Soldier Road – with one of the officers clearly seen to have his gun in hand even before the group arrives at a spot where two dogs are on the grass outside a property with no fence, by the road, barking at all the passing people.

A musician walks by first, with the dogs barking at him, but he passes without incident.

Then comes the group with dogs, including one officer leading the way with gun in hand. At this stage, in the video at least, the dogs in the yard have done nothing other than bark at passers-by.

From what I could see, a second officer also had a gun in hand – though that was less clear. Both were also walking dogs, as was another officer at the rear of the group.

As they passed by, the two dogs from the yard approached closer and followed the dog unit, whereupon the officer at the front of the unit turned and pointed his gun.

The dogs from the yard initially ran back before one ran forward and a shot is heard. The group of officers then proceeded to walk on without stopping to check on the dog or to inform the residents of the property what happened.

A picture circulating later showed the dead dog still lying on the grass some considerable time later. Reaction was swift, certainly on social media, with its mix of responses both reasonable and far from reasonable.

The Bahamas Humane Society posted a list of email addresses to contact where you could “demand accountability,” adding: “This dog was not attacking anyone. This dog belonged to a family. Violence against animals must never be normalised.”

The Humane Society of Grand Bahama said there was a “pattern this incident reflects”. “Over the years,” it states, “our clinic has treated numerous dogs who were shot by police. In almost every case, the firearm was used as a first reaction rather than a last resort. This most recent incident appears to follow that same troubling pattern.”

The society knows what it’s talking about when it comes to animals, of course, so it’s worth listening to what it says.

“The officers had clear visibility of the dogs and could have crossed the street to avoid passing directly in front of them,” the society stated. “They did not. Even so, the dogs did not appear to leave their property. At least one officer is seen holding a handgun as they approach. As they pass, an officer then raises their weapon and shoots one of the barking dogs in a manner that appears both unnecessary and disturbingly casual. It does not appear from the video that the officers even stopped or attempted to render or call for aid. They simply continued walking.”

The society asked several questions: what training officers receive in use of firearms? Why are they not equipped with non-lethal options? What protocols exist when encountering loose or barking dogs? And why is there nothing to render aid after an animal is shot?

There was also a swift series of responses on official platforms. The Department of Corrections issued a notice that said the incident was being investigated, but then also pre-judged that investigation by stating--complete with a typo--that the two dogs “appeared to me charging at the Department’s canines.”

The Royal Bahamas Police Force jumped on social media after the incident to share a flyer warning people to secure their dogs and of possible prison time for owners who don’t.

No mention of possible penalties for shooting a dog, however.

The Director of Agriculture also issued a statement. “It’s important that the matter be properly investigated before any final conclusions are drawn.”

Seriously? The Director of Agriculture? When was the last anyone heard from them?

Apparently, we’ll hear from them again, as “further updates will be provided once the investigation has been completed.”

This is not the first instance of a dog being shot by uniformed officers. In June last year, police shot and killed a dog during a foot chase in Key West Street. A suspect fled into a yard, police pursued, and an officer shot a dog there, reportedly after being attacked, though residents say it did not. One resident said: “It was a potcake. You go in somebody yard, of course the dog will bark.”

In July the year before, officers shot and killed a dog at a home when they came looking for a suspect. It was the wrong house. By October, it was determined that no charges would be brought against the officers. “It’s not fair to know that they came into my house unexpectedly. It wasn’t the house they were supposed to come to, and they’re not going to be held accountable for it,” the dog’s owner said.

There have been other incidents over the years. Back in 2019, police shot two dogs in a yard, despite the dogs being tied up at the time. Bahamas Humane Society president Kim Aranha at the time said “our ambulance driver had to undo the leashes that restrained the dogs in order to put them in the ambulance”.

There is an issue in our society with dogs not being secured properly. Plenty of times I see joggers and even sometimes cyclists carrying sticks as they go about their exercise just in case they encounter an aggressive dog.

We absolutely should be doing something to properly secure our pets and to prevent roaming packs of animals on the streets. It’s something that’s not only is an issue for us as a daily encounter, but that draws criticism from international visitors.

We do not want to put young children at risk, for example, or limit where people can go and exercise or play because they are wary of loose dogs.

However, we also should not be treating the shooting of a dog as a commonplace event. The way in which the officers just walked on, as if they had brushed a piece of lint from their uniform and nothing more, seemed callous. If a gun needs to be discharged – on a busy public road – then stay and deal with the aftermath.

The swift public statements from authorities--especially the police putting up a warning to owners, rather than pledging an investigation--raises questions about how seriously the investigation will be treated.

Even if something had happened with these dogs earlier (and we don’t know if there was anything that prompted officers to be wary) calling out a unit to restrain them would have been the right thing to do.

Not to just walk along with your gun already in hand.

The outrage is justified – but answering those pointed questions from the Grand Bahama Humane Society is even more important.

I hope they get some answers.