Dog dies after police use Taser on him
Toolbox
By DAPHNE LARKIN Times Argus Staff - Published: August 30, 2007
WARREN — A member of the Vermont State Police Tactical Unit, who was one of several troopers executing a search warrant at a Warren residence earlier this month, killed a dog with a Taser while attempting to gain entry to the residence, according to police.
At the Warren home police found marijuana plants and a dog they said was threatening. Police said they did not know why the dog died, but it was shocked by the device more than once, they said.
Police use of Tasers — control devices that deliver a severe electrical shock — has stirred controversy over when their use is justified. Police have recently used Tasers on two peaceful Brattleboro protesters and a man with a mental condition who was dodging traffic on Interstate 89 in Waterbury.
The dog's death was a side effect of an investigation that began after a single-vehicle accident, involving driver Lindsay Stafford, 29, of Warren. The accident led police to discover that both Stafford and her husband, Thomas Stafford, 29, had warrants out for their arrest.
Police said evidence of drug use at the scene of the accident, which occurred on the morning of Aug. 9, led them to obtain a search warrant for the Stafford residence. Police would not say what the evidence was that led them to the home.
Both Lindsay and Thomas Stafford were taken into custody and a search warrant was obtained and executed Aug. 9.
Thomas Stafford said he told police how to get around his dog, 7-year-old Maxamus, a black and white Staffordshire terrier, or pit bull.
Maxamus was a dog that was raised on a horse farm, lived with cats and was friendly with people, according to Stafford.
"They talked to me beforehand and I told them what to do to get into the house," said Thomas Stafford. "Then they left (the dog) for dead on my porch."
Police said they discovered 91 marijuana plants in and around the house, seized the plants and cited the couple for cultivation of more than 25 marijuana plants, a charge that carries a maximum of 15 years' imprisonment or $500,000 fine.
Trooper Scot Sawyer, who initially investigated the vehicle accident, referred reporters' questions about the death of the dog to Lt. Paul White, who did not know all the details.
White said the dog was outside when police approached the house, and he did not know if the dog was chained. Thomas Stafford said he left Maxamus inside the house before he left for work that day.
"My understanding is it's a pit bull, and it was acting in a threatening manner, and troopers believed they needed to do something to control it," White said.
Only the tactical unit of the Vermont State Police uses Tasers, and they have only used them for the past year or so, White said.
"They Tased (the dog) — it produces an electrical shock — and the first shock apparently wasn't effective to stop it so it was shocked more than once" and the dog stopped breathing, White said.
White did not know how many times the dog was Tased, but he said the dog was carried into the mud room of the house, and that police informed the Staffords. Thomas Stafford said he heard from police that they didn't mean to kill the dog, but that he still has not spoken to investigating officers about the incident.
"Why wouldn't you call animal control to have the dog removed?" he said. "There was no rush to get into the house."
When asked if Tasing a dog is normal protocol, White said: "It's one of the tools that law enforcement has to control a situation. It's intended to be short of deadly force, (such as) night sticks and pepper spray … Tasers are just one more tool."
White said police do not know if the dog had a medical condition that contributed to its death.
"In this particular case with the dog, (Tasing) turned out to be lethal, and there wasn't any type of autopsy so we don't know why (the dog) died," White said.
"Losing my dog is the most important thing to me, I haven't even gotten a sorry from them," Thomas Stafford said. "They Tased and killed my dog on the way into my house; they didn't need to."
13