UCPD officer shoots dog in People’s Park

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A dog was shot by a UCPD officer in People’s Park early Saturday morning.

At 12:14 a.m., a UCPD officer was conducting a standard patrol of the park when he noticed an individual sleeping on the ground, said Capt. Margo Bennett. According to Bennett, an unleashed dog was by the individual’s side.

“The officer made several attempts to get the individual to wake up,” Bennett said. “The dog was not leashed and approached the officer, then jolted on the officer with teeth drawn. The officer drew his weapon and fired two rounds, both of which hit the dog.”

The dog’s owner, Wesley Simmons, was proclaimed “heavily intoxicated and very difficult to wake.” Once he did wake, he gathered his belongings and left the area, according to Bennett.

Richard “Scully” Knowles, a People’s Park resident and acquaintance of Simmons, was at the corner of Telegraph Avenue and Channing Way at the time of the shooting, but he said he heard both rounds fired. He said he has not seen Simmons since the shooting.

Knowles, who said he had been a licensed gun owner in the past, added that “there’s a time and a place to pull the trigger,” and was adamant that this was not it.

Bennett said the last time a UCPD officer shot a dog was on August 8, 2008 when an aggressive dog attacked an officer at University Village — a campus family housing community — in Albany.

The last time a UCPD officer fired a gun was last year on Nov. 15 at the Haas School of Business, when Christopher Travis, an undergraduate transfer student, was shot and killed after he brandished a loaded gun at officers in a computer lab.

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46

Archived Comments (46)

  1. kid who lives in berkeley says:

    Not very smart of the police officer to aggravate the dog, but I can understand why he shot the animal. Dogs, especially the kind the homeless seem to bring around, are scary when they’re pouncing on you. No one is in the right here.

    • ArwenUndomniel says:

      Kid….no problem. I am sure we can have Officer Kevin Doughty come to your house and kill your dog to see if you feel the same way. Make sure your dog is tied up so he cannot hurt the officer.

      • kid who lives in berkeley says:

        I don’t have a dog. Also, “No one is in the right” means what it says. Police officer should be penalized. The homeless should leash their dogs like everyone else. And I do not think it is smart to catch our officers on every little thing (because however much you’d like to disbelieve it, this is a little thing). It was a tense situation, they’re overworked, and they don’t deserve some Internet junkie judging them. Because as if you wouldn’t make a thousand and one more mistakes than he.

      • howie says:

        better yet, let’s have the cop kill ArwenUndomniel .

  2. B says:

    IT’S NOT A BIG DEAL ! GO GO UCPD

  3. I_h8_disqus says:

    Not a very progressive group posting here, when so many are calling for the killing of people and equating the killing of a dog with the killing of 12 people in Colorado. Being progressive means nothing if you have no respect for life.

    • Calipenguin says:

      It’s the bigotry of the Left.

    • ArwenUndomniel says:

      Who said we are equating the kiling of a dog with the killing of 12 people? Both are innocent victims of violence and both deserve respect for their lives. We cannot do anything for the 12 people who were killed by James Holmes. But we can do something to the person who killed the dog whose name was “Dude”.

      • I_h8_disqus says:

        I think you did. In response to enasmaniatis’ post, where he says cops are worse than people like James Holmes, you say that you totally agree. Since you were talking about the officer who killed Dude, it stands that you equate the officer’s killing of Dude with James Holmes’ killing of 12 people. In fact, since you agree with the “worse” statement, you do more than equate the two. You think the killing of the dog is worse than the killing of 12 people.
        I understand being upset about the shooting of the dog, but I think it is going overboard with the talk about officers escalating the killing. It is very rare for a UCPD officer to use a gun.

        • Howie says:

          Oh IH8, it’s so cute the way you think people take you seriously.

          • I_h8_disqus says:

            Howie, I don’t think the heartless take me seriously at all. I just hope you don’t kid yourself that you care about the world while you actually just want to shoot everyone who makes you angry.

          • howie says:

            It’s cute guys who need to worry about me roofing them. Being an ugly fuk, you have no reason to worry.

          • I_h8_disqus says:

            Sorry, howie. I didn’t realize you were gay. I will change my statement. I hope the guys watch their drinks when you are around.

  4. Promontorium says:

    Let’s see. You have pepper spray, a taser, a baton, and a dog that hasn’t even touched you. Now you have 1 option. Regardless of how many children are within bullet’s range, you are an officer of the law, and police shoot dogs. Period. It’s in their contract. Shoot all dogs that you don’t like. Safety is irrelevant. Danger is irrelevant. No cop has ever gotten in trouble for doing it. And they do it ALL the time.

  5. enasmaniatis says:

    Today he gets away with killing a dog. Tomorrow he starts shooting humans. Cops are worse than people like James Holmes.

    • ArwenUndomniel says:

      I totally agree. Officer Kevin Dougherty is the cop who killed the dog whose name was “Dude”. This is yet one more act of intimidation by the UC Berkeley Police letting people in the Park know that they can kill their pets without any accountability and get away with it. It is one step from killing humans expecting no accountability as well. This is James Holmes, the mass murderer in Aurora, Colorado with a badge.

      • howie says:

        And you think intimidating the scum of people’s park is a bad thing? The sooner all of those people die and get eaten by their dogs, the sooner the park will again be a place for everyone, not just scum.

    • Howie says:

      If the people he shoots are the ones who live in the Park, not much of a problem.

      • ArwenUndomniel says:

        Howie you are a violent crazy person who believes that somehow people in the Park do not deserve to live and you do. Get a grip and throw yourself off a cliff so the human race does not have to have you in its midst. You are another James Holmes, the killer in Aurora, Colorado who massacred 12 people. You are the serial killer who lies in wait in dark alleys waitng for what you think are hookers ready to take their lives because you are somehow superior. You are a fucked up psycho who does not deserve to be called “human” because you are not. You are the loner, like Holmes, who hates the human race and is just waiting to massacre innocent victims, human or otherwise, to get your rocks off and enjoy a killing spree. Turn yourself into prison and tell them to throw away the key. They are waiting for you.

        • Howie says:

          Yes, you have it right. The “people” in the park should die. Soon. And please meet me in the park so i can shoot you and watch you slowly die. That would be cool.

  6. Current student says:

    I support the UCPD.

  7. THIS PAPER IS LYING says:

    THE DOG WAS LEASHED.

    THE DAILY CAL IS HELPING THE UCPD COVER UP THE KILLING OF A DOG EXECUTION STYLE.

    THE DOG WAS LEASHED AND THIS PAPER IS LYING TO HELP THE POLICE.

  8. ArwenUndomniel says:

    Tell Officer Dougherty and Captain Bennett to take their revolvers, put them in their mouths and pull the triggers so they can have the same justice they gave the dog, Dude in this instance. They are the crazy, violent humans who justify their conduct of killing and covering up the killing of an innocent dog and they should be held accountable for their actions. FIRE DOUGHERTY AND BENNETT IMMEDIATELY!!!

  9. ArwenUndomniel says:

    I have interviewed several witnesses who all say the dog whose name was Dude was not unleashed but was chained to the water spigot at the west end of the Park. Officer Dougherty(sp?), the officer who shot the dog, is lying as well as Captain Margo Bennett and both should be fired.
    The police have been harassing people in the partk for a long time and this is but one more act of intimidation against them letting them know they can even murder their animals which is one step away from murdering them.
    These police officers have no place in Berkeley and need to be terminated. Justice for Dude!!

  10. Che Guevara says:

    why not taze the dog ? using lethal force just gives the UCPD a bad image considering that the dog was simply trying to protect it’s master from what it perceived a threat.

  11. Calipenguin says:

    The key word is “unleashed”. Blame the homeless bum for putting his dog and the entire public in danger.

  12. Outraged but not surprised says:

    The police officer was an idiot to try to approach a possibly unconscious person being protected by his dog when it became clear that repeated verbal efforts to wake the person were upsetting the dog. He should have called Animal Control to handle the dog, and possibly the paramedics to handle the intoxicated person. To shoot a dog who was protecting his human is morally reprehensible.

    • 1776 says:

      How could the officer know for sure the man was intoxicated and not in fact seriously hurt or ill without approaching the unconscious man? The Officer did the right thing

      • ArwenUndomniel says:

        The officer’s story is a lie. I interviewed several witnesses who said the man was sleeping and that was all. Also the dog was chained to a water spigot. If you like, perhaps Officer Doherty can come over to your house and shoot your dog. Then you can tell us if you feel the same way.

    • ArwenUndomniel says:

      This is more than morally reprehensible. It is criminal. Officer Dougherty should be prosecuted for animal cruelty and fired!!

  13. Guest says:

    That pig had alternatives and karma will soon be giving that sonofabitch what he deserves because the universe has a funny way of making the deserved pay. Actually, it’s not so funny at all. At least, it won’t be for that guy. The rest of us might enjoy hearing about it, though. We can hope the DC keeps us informed about his soon to be sad life.

    • I_h8_disqus says:

      Maybe you should worry about your own karma. Using your karma logic, your angry disposition will come back to bite you harder than that dog would.

  14. Person says:

    If an unleashed dog attacks a police officer, then it is the time to utilize lethal force.

    • Guest says:

      Yeah, the police isn’t used to being on the receiving end of unleashed attack dogs…

    • enasmaniatis says:

      If a Cops’ ArschenLecker equates a dog protecting its master with attaching a cop, he should be shot down like a dog.

      • I_h8_disqus says:

        This is the best reply yet. Not only does he think the officer is worse than the guy who killed all those people in the movie theater, he thinks we should kill people who equate a dog protecting his master with a dog attacking a cop. And enasmaniatis doesn’t even really like dogs, because he thinks “Person” should be shot like a dog, which is something a dog lover wouldn’t say.