Chief changing policy
Updated: December 21, 2012
CHAMPAIGN -- A woman's dog was shot and killed by a Champaign police officer. Now the chief is vowing to make some changes.
Champaign police have fired their guns three times since September. Now Chief Anthony Cobb is saying changes need to be made to their policy.
But that might not be enough for some.
We first told you back in November about Kathy Saathoff. Her dog was shot by an officer. the officer was trying to stop two dogs from fighting.
For her, policy changes are good but not enough.
"It's been such a horrifying thing. Still, talking about is hard," Kathy Saathoff said.
It's been more than a month since Kathy Saathoff was at this scene. It's where her dog was killed. She says a pit bull started attacking her pet.
Champaign police showed up after getting a call. The next thing she knew, an officer shot him.
"We didn't understand why two dogs fighting would make a cop pull out a gun and start shooting." Kathy Saathoff said.
Now, she wants answers.
"I'd like to talk to Chief Cobb myself. I want to have him look me in the face and explain to our family why we no longer have our family member." Kathy Saathoff said.
Chief Anthony Cobb is in no way denying this scene was a wake up call.
"It is my goal as the chief to make sure nothing like this happens again. We didn't do any formalized training when it comes to dog encounters." Chief Anthony Cobb said.
After weeks of internal investigations, Chief Cobb is revising their policy. Under new rules, an officer can only shoot a dog if it is directly threatening a person.
"That's something our policy didn't state before it was so ambiguous," Chief Cobb said.
While Saathoff appreciates the change, she wants to be involved.
"Honestly to do an investigation an not even talk to one of the main witnesses seems a little not very thorough to me," Saathoff said.
The officer who killed her dog is not being fired, and Chief Cobb couldn't tell us if any disciplinary action is being taken.
"I guess they want to shut the book and make this go away. We're not going away," Saathoff said.
Even though Cobb is not firing this officer, he maintains that changing the policy a bit will stop this problem and that this is what's best for our community.
Champaign police have fired their guns three times since September. Now Chief Anthony Cobb is saying changes need to be made to their policy.
But that might not be enough for some.
We first told you back in November about Kathy Saathoff. Her dog was shot by an officer. the officer was trying to stop two dogs from fighting.
For her, policy changes are good but not enough.
"It's been such a horrifying thing. Still, talking about is hard," Kathy Saathoff said.
It's been more than a month since Kathy Saathoff was at this scene. It's where her dog was killed. She says a pit bull started attacking her pet.
Champaign police showed up after getting a call. The next thing she knew, an officer shot him.
"We didn't understand why two dogs fighting would make a cop pull out a gun and start shooting." Kathy Saathoff said.
Now, she wants answers.
"I'd like to talk to Chief Cobb myself. I want to have him look me in the face and explain to our family why we no longer have our family member." Kathy Saathoff said.
Chief Anthony Cobb is in no way denying this scene was a wake up call.
"It is my goal as the chief to make sure nothing like this happens again. We didn't do any formalized training when it comes to dog encounters." Chief Anthony Cobb said.
After weeks of internal investigations, Chief Cobb is revising their policy. Under new rules, an officer can only shoot a dog if it is directly threatening a person.
"That's something our policy didn't state before it was so ambiguous," Chief Cobb said.
While Saathoff appreciates the change, she wants to be involved.
"Honestly to do an investigation an not even talk to one of the main witnesses seems a little not very thorough to me," Saathoff said.
The officer who killed her dog is not being fired, and Chief Cobb couldn't tell us if any disciplinary action is being taken.
"I guess they want to shut the book and make this go away. We're not going away," Saathoff said.
Even though Cobb is not firing this officer, he maintains that changing the policy a bit will stop this problem and that this is what's best for our community.
