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Stunned dog owners and residents of a Severn neighborhood are shocked that authorities won't be charging a federal police officer who shot and killed a Siberian husky Monday night at a community dog park.

Bear-Bear, a brown and white husky that was about 3 years old, was playing in the Quail Run dog park at about 6:30 p.m., running off leash inside the fenced-in area, when the officer and his wife arrived with a German shepherd, who was kept on a leash. When the dogs began to play roughly, the federal officer asked Bear-Bear's guardian, his owner's brother, to call off the dog. But before he could do anything, the officer pulled out a gun and shot Bear-Bear, according to the husky's owner.

Bear-Bear, who belongs to Rachel Rettaliata, died of his injuries a few hours later. County police did not name the federal officer.

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"I've been bawling my eyes out since 7 p.m. last night," Rettaliata said. "It's grief mixed with anger. We're so angry this guy was able to take our animal for what we feel was no reason at all.

"We still don't believe that he's gone. We just want so badly to be diligent about this. [The officer] has to pay some sort of consequence for his foolishness."

A spokesman for the Anne Arundel County Police Department said no charges will be filed and investigators found no evidence of criminal activity.

Rettaliata adopted Bear-Bear about two years ago from a husky rescue. He'd been seized from a Delaware home where people had tied him up outside, largely leaving him to fend for himself in the elements.

Tiffany Greco, who fostered the young Bear-Bear and placed him with the Rettaliata family, said the husky had led a hard-knock life, starved and neglected, with mats in his long fur the size of softballs. But even though he was mistreated, she said he never became aggressive around people or dogs.

"He was a very lovey-dovey, happy-go-lucky guy," Greco said, adding that Bear-Bear at least had a taste of a good life with the Rettaliatas. "All this dog wanted to do was curl up on top of you."

She said that huskies have a rough way of playing that, to people who don't know them, can seem intimidating.

"They have a much different play style than other dogs," she said. "They're a rough-and-tumble breed. They're mouthy. Often people interpret that as being aggressive when it's really them just playing."

In the Quail Run community of townhomes, a number of residents have dogs that they walk to the community dog park. Neighbors say the park is generally an easygoing place where well-mannered dogs play with one another.

Bear-Bear was a regular there.

Tarnna Hernandez saw Bear-Bear all the time. She lives two doors down from the Rettaliatas and Bear-Bear plays with her children and Marshmallow, her year-and-a-half-old Dalmatian/Australian shepherd mix.

"I've never personally seen him be aggressive toward any dog or human or anything, for that matter," Hernandez said. "My two very young children love Bear-Bear and would attack him every time they saw him with hugs and love."

She can't believe Bear-Bear would ever do anything to deserve being shot.

"I have not seen that dog hurt anyone. Or snarl. He's never even barked," she said. "His only way was to get out a gun out and shoot him? Uh-uh. It's completely unbelievable."

Dorothy Pearce, the homeowner's association manager, was appalled that someone would fire a gun in the community dog park — at dinnertime.

"This is tragic," she said. "A community of homeowners with children playing around should not have gun-crazy, off-duty policemen shooting in their area, especially a dog in a controllable situation."

Rettaliata said that after the officer shot Bear-Bear, the dog didn't yelp or cry, just lay down in the grass, bleeding heavily. "He just went and laid down," she said. "I just can't get over it and I don't think it's being taken seriously because it was an animal involved."

Carolyn Kilborn, chairwoman of the organization Maryland Votes for Animals, based in nearby Annapolis, thought the authorities should be investigating the case thoroughly.

"The killing of the dog in Severn is a sad situation that should be investigated carefully to determine if the incident was caused by a dangerous dog or a dangerous person," she said.

SEVERN, Md. - Anne Arundel County Police are trying to figure out why an off-duty federal police officer shot and killed a husky inside a dog park.

It happened Monday around 6:30pm in Quail Run Community Dog Park. Police say a Husky named Bear was playing with a German Shepherd named Asia.

Asia's owner was the federal officer. According to the officer, Bear began to bite his dog. The off-duty police officer told police that he yelled to the man with Bear to get his dog. The officer says Bear tried to bite him, so fearing for his life, he shot the dog.

But the man with Asia and a witness we talked to tell a different story. They say Bear and Asia got rough and when they turned around the officer had shot Husky.

Bear was taken to the hospital and died.

Gil Dobie wrote:Sounds like the dog turned on the officer...............

Link

SEVERN, Md. - Anne Arundel County Police are trying to figure out why an off-duty federal police officer shot and killed a husky inside a dog park.

It happened Monday around 6:30pm in Quail Run Community Dog Park. Police say a Husky named Bear was playing with a German Shepherd named Asia.

Asia's owner was the federal officer. According to the officer, Bear began to bite his dog. The off-duty police officer told police that he yelled to the man with Bear to get his dog. The officer says Bear tried to bite him, so fearing for his life, he shot the dog.

But the man with Asia and a witness we talked to tell a different story. They say Bear and Asia got rough and when they turned around the officer had shot Husky.

Bear was taken to the hospital and died.

danefan wrote:3 stories -
1. the cop's story
2. the dog owner's story
3. the truth

89Hen wrote:

danefan wrote:3 stories -
1. the cop's story
2. the dog owner's story
3. the truth

Isn't that how it always is? People do love to jump to conclusions, especially when there's a cop involved.

Ursus A. Horribilis wrote:I've yet to see one dog owner that didn't think there dog was perfectly innocent either.

I've kicked at least two dogs in the fucking head/ribs that the owner told me were completely docile and never bite anyone so don't worry about them...then they weren't complete docile and were willing to bite after all.

Fuck you, your dog gets a god damn Doc Martin treatment. I wasn't carrying a gun.

blueballs wrote:There is no excuse for discharging a firearm in a public place unless human life was threatened. Period.

89Hen wrote:

Ursus A. Horribilis wrote:I've yet to see one dog owner that didn't think there dog was perfectly innocent either.

I've kicked at least two dogs in the fucking head/ribs that the owner told me were completely docile and never bite anyone so don't worry about them...then they weren't complete docile and were willing to bite after all.

Fuck you, your dog gets a god damn Doc Martin treatment. I wasn't carrying a gun.

"I thought you said your dog doesn't bite."

"That's not my dog."

Ursus A. Horribilis wrote:

89Hen wrote: Isn't that how it always is? People do love to jump to conclusions, especially when there's a cop involved.

I've yet to see one dog owner that didn't think there dog was perfectly innocent either.

I've kicked at least two dogs in the fucking head/ribs that the owner told me were completely docile and never bite anyone so don't worry about them...then they weren't complete docile and were willing to bite after all.

Fuck you, your dog gets a god damn Doc Martin treatment. I wasn't carrying a gun.

JohnStOnge wrote:It wasn't just one person's word against one other person. There was a witness:

"But the man with Asia and a witness we talked to tell a different story. "

Me, I think there is a problem with automatically believing a law enforcement officer. I think it even extends into the legal system. To me, if what you have is a police officer's word vs. the accused word the accused should prevail. Automatically putting more credibility on the police officer's word is not consistent with the principle of "innocent until proven guilty." Yet we have a system where the same agent of the State who accusses someone of a crime can testify that his accusation is correct then the accused is put into the position of having to prove the agent of the State is either lying or in error.

Again: Totally inconsistent with the "innocent until proven guilty" concept. And there is no reason to believe that a law officer's word is any more reliable than anyone else's just because he or she is a law officer. There really isn't.

Gil Dobie wrote:

JohnStOnge wrote:It wasn't just one person's word against one other person. There was a witness:

"But the man with Asia and a witness we talked to tell a different story. "

Me, I think there is a problem with automatically believing a law enforcement officer. I think it even extends into the legal system. To me, if what you have is a police officer's word vs. the accused word the accused should prevail. Automatically putting more credibility on the police officer's word is not consistent with the principle of "innocent until proven guilty." Yet we have a system where the same agent of the State who accusses someone of a crime can testify that his accusation is correct then the accused is put into the position of having to prove the agent of the State is either lying or in error.

Again: Totally inconsistent with the "innocent until proven guilty" concept. And there is no reason to believe that a law officer's word is any more reliable than anyone else's just because he or she is a law officer. There really isn't.

One story left out the officers side of the story with a sympathetic story about the life of the dog, the other had both sides and was less biased. The witnesses, from what I've read, never saw the officer shoot the dog, just saw the dog shot after they turned around. Yes there are 2 stories, but no evidence or witness's to the dog turning on the officer. The officer is innocent until proven guilty.

Rob Iola wrote:The officer fired his weapon in a public park, that much is undeniable. What was his justification? And what if he missed the dog and hit a person?

The officer says Bear tried to bite him, so fearing for his life, he shot the dog.

Gil Dobie wrote:

Rob Iola wrote:The officer fired his weapon in a public park, that much is undeniable. What was his justification? And what if he missed the dog and hit a person?

From the link above

The officer says Bear tried to bite him, so fearing for his life, he shot the dog.

Upon arrival, officers observed a light-colored Husky dog (Bear) wounded on the ground. Officers spoke with a 32-year-old off-duty federal police officer, who advised that he and his wife were at the dog park with their leashed German Shepherd dog (Asia) when Bear approached and jumped on his dog. The off-duty federal officer advised that he yelled for the male subject with Bear to come get his dog. According to the officer, Bear began to bite his dog. The off-duty federal officer stated he attempted to get Husky off his dog, but the Husky turned and attempted to bite him before biting his dog a second time. The off-duty officer stated that he feared for the safety of himself, his wife and their dog and subsequently shot the Huskie with a handgun he had in his possession.

Officers then spoke with the male subject who had the Husky at the park. He stated that Bear and the off-duty federal officer’s dog appeared to be playing with each other at the time and that his dog was friendly and never had any problems before at the park.

Gil Dobie wrote:

Rob Iola wrote:The officer fired his weapon in a public park, that much is undeniable. What was his justification? And what if he missed the dog and hit a person?

From the link above

The officer says Bear tried to bite him, so fearing for his life, he shot the dog.

Rob Iola wrote:

Gil Dobie wrote:
From the link above

Fearing for his life? C'mon...

Any dog owner going into a dog park with a German Shepherd should know how to handle things without lethal force. If anyone else pulls out a gun and shoots a dog in a dog park, don't you think they'd be hauled right into court?

blueballs wrote:There is no excuse for discharging a firearm in a public place unless human life was threatened. Period.

Franks Tanks wrote:

blueballs wrote:There is no excuse for discharging a firearm in a public place unless human life was threatened. Period.

Agree 100%. The trigger happy cop has the right to defend himself but firing a gun in a crowded dog park is also incredibly reckless.

This guy should not be able to carry a firearm.

Appaholic wrote:

Franks Tanks wrote:
Agree 100%. The trigger happy cop has the right to defend himself but firing a gun in a crowded dog park is also incredibly reckless.

This guy should not be able to carry a firearm.

Agree.....also agree if he shot my dog, I'd rape his wife in front of him right before I skull-fucked his lifeless corpse....but that's just me.....