[Wormius]

Originally Posted by WhiteTiger

Hm, a lot going on with this one.

A dispatcher didn't tell him what to do, one way or another. We don't have that kind of authority over the officer. We send them out, and how they handle the particulars of their job is their business according to their protocols. No dispatcher will be telling an officer how to do their job, or if they are, there's a bigger problem. The officer can ask for the dispatchers advice, but they are under no obligation to follow that, either.

When this happens in Calgary (and it does more often than you think) the officer just uses their sidearm. I've sent out about a dozen of these calls so far (the most recent was just last week, as it happens) and the sidearm is always used.

Personally, that was hard to watch, and it seems to me that there MUST have been a better way to end that animals suffering. I admit that while I have used guns before, I am no expert in their use by any means, and have read that perhaps the officer was worried about the high potential of a ricochet due to a bullet hitting concrete after going through the animal. I have no idea how legit that concern or issue is, and certainly couldn't speak on it. Even if that is the case, and that is a legit worry, there has to a better way.

If absolutely nothing else, this was a bad decision from a public optics perspective, and should have been considered along that line by the officer as well.

I'm going to be interested in the ASIRT report on this one.

What would a dispatcher’s advice be if it was a regular citizen who called in? I know it’s not 9-11 level stuff, but would they advise to kill the deer, or send an officer or somebody?