The US has gone whacko...

[jitagawn]

Hutchinson, 33, of Lebanon, N.H., was charged with cruelty to a police animal and resisting arrest after a July 31 incident in West Fairlee in which police were called to a market to investigate a report of a brawl. They were approached by Hutchinson, who told one officer she had been assaulted the day before by one of the men involved.

 

She asked Vermont State Police Sgt. Todd Protzman to take her statement but he refused, telling her she smelled like alcohol and was drunk but that he would take her statement at another time.

 

After a heated exchange, she approached Protzman's cruiser, where his dog Max was waiting, putting her face within inches of the window and "staring at him in a taunting/harassing manner," Protzman wrote in an affidavit.

 

"While the defendant taunted my canine, Max was focused on the defendant and the perceived threat she presented to him," the affidavit said. "He was no longer focused on me and the other officers at the scene."

 

Officers arrested Hutchinson, adding the resisting arrest charge because she pulled her arms and upper body away during the arrest. She registered 0.21 percent blood-alcohol content on a breath test, more than twice the legal limit for drivers in Vermont.

 

On Tuesday, two days before Hutchinson was to go to trial, Orange County State's Attorney Will Porter decided to drop the charges, after viewing a videotape of the incident over the weekend.

 

"I think it was going to be difficult to prove her conduct changed the dog's behavior," Porter said. "Most of the time (in harassment cases) people would come tell the court what it felt like. Dogs can't do that."

 

Without the cruelty charge, jurors would be unlikely to convict her on the resisting arrest, Porter said.

 

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[Julian2]

Go for it Max, I reckon being stared at by Ms Hutchinson would have drastically changed my behavior as well. (And taken a year or two off my life )

[unit731]

Yes, Gestapo Dogs are quite popular here/there.

 

An old writer/friend now living in Moultonborough, New Hampshire USA stated that his small rural community dedided to get a police dog. US $55,000.00 later the town had the dog. That price/cost included the cost of the dog and the cost of a special police car/SUV for the dog.

 

Oh, did I mention that the dog was purchased in the Czech Republic. Yes, the local police officer had to travel to the Czech Republic from US to pick up the dog. And the local police officer had to learn the Czech language as the dog was trained in his/her native tongue. The dog does not understand anything but Czech.

 

Yes, dogs are popular now. Police dogs. Every municipality has to have one. And the one listed above in Vermont USA - well, a must have for any drunk person arrest.

 

 

[Bangkoktraveler]

The moral of the above story is that if you are victimized in the USA and you are stupid enought to call the police, the police will probably check out the victim to see if they can arrest the victim. So as to lower the crime rate, it is better to not call the police.

 

Back in December some shit happened which made me call the police. I told the police that one plain clothes policeman told me his was a cop and he was going to beat the shit out of me. Some others held him off so he couldn't. The police asked me how did I know he was a policeman. I told him he said he was and then he produced a badge which he put in my face to see. The policeman asked me how did he put the badge into my face. I said with his hand. He then asked me to show him how he did it. I went and put my hand into his face just like the other cop did. When I did that, the policeman's partner grabbed me by the shoulders from behind, and said I couldn't do that and that I was going to be arrested. He took me over to a car and then slammed my body, head first, into the trunk of the car twice. Then he made me get down on the pavement and put my hands behind my head and sit there. Fuck. Then his partner said, "Now you are going to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas in jail!" To make the story short, I had to sit there for about 1/2 hour. I didn't get arrested but they did nothing about the other person except to tell me he wasn't a policeman.

[Flashermac]

Easiest way to lower the crime rate is to make everything legal.

 

 

[Khunhunter]

Little boys, if you read the whole article you have found that all charges against the person were dropped and an investigation into the policeman's conduct was begun.

 

Man, the amount of silliness on this board just jumped again.

[Bangkoktraveler]

Soooo, the charges were dropped but how much did it cost her in lost time, lawyer, anxiety, etc?

 

 

aaaand, where did it say the policeman was being investigated?

 

 

Aaaaand, what happened in regards to the person who assaulted her?

 

 

 

Unfortunately, in the USA the victims become the next catch for the day.

[foreigner]

>And the local police officer had to learn the Czech language as the dog was trained in his/her native tongue. The dog does not understand anything but Czech.<

 

 

i'd learn czech for sylvia saint..

[shygye]

Where is the connection to Thailand?

[Flashermac]

There are lots of dogs in Thailand!