Saturday, June 28, 2014

Reality is that Utility Workers, Cops, and Others do Enter Fenced Yards

   The biggest name in town right now is that of Geist. Okay, maybe that is a little over the top, and not just because this is the week of the NBA draft and there is Dante Exum to contend with.
   But, Geist looms large, what with him being shot and killed by Salt Lake Police Officer Brett Olsen, the same Officer Olsen who was a hero in the 2007 Trolley Square mass shooting.
   Geist, who you may have heard, is a dog. Officer Olsen was out searching for a missing three-year-old when his search took him into a back yard, and an angry Geist was there to protect it.
   Now, as to whether Olsen should have been in someones back yard without permission, Salt Lake Tribune columnist Robert Kirby points out: "Lots of people have legal access to our yards without our permission, including city workers, mail carriers, meter readers, fire-and rescue people and cops. Our dogs don't get a free pass at them."
   So, it might boil down to whether Olsen could have backed away and left peacefully, or whether Geist was about to sink his teeth deep into Olsen's flesh. Let's see what the internal investigation determines.
   Now, it does seem officers (and meter readers and others) ought to be trained to take pepper spray or some such with them when they enter fenced areas. A fenced area often means a dog, and often that dog is of the biting variety. So, common sense says bring something besides a gun if you are to enter such a yard.
   Geist is an international martyr. His cause is being taken up on the Internet around the world. His owner is calling for Olsen's termination. "Justice for Geist," says some of the signs at the protests.
   Should Olsen be fired? Probably not. If it becomes clear he could have backed away and left peacefully, then perhaps fire him. If he was truly protecting himself from being bitten, then definitely do not fire him.
   And, give some consideration to the fact he was doing his duty. 
   While it is true officers ought to think to carry mace or pepper spray whenever entered fenced areas, it is also true homeowners ought to realize there are those who will need to be coming into their yards who may need to shoot their dogs if the dogs get violent. That is not a pleasant reality, but it is reality. Reality is that fire and rescue people, meter readers, utility workers, and cops should be afforded the right to protect themselves.
   Maybe it should be policy that they carry mace or pepperspray. Either way, we should not take away their right to protect themselves.

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