This guy has no heart!
ABC News
Dog's Death Dogs Traffic Cop
Police Said Officer Handled Situation Poorly
By ANDREA CANNING, PATRICK DOHERTY and IMAEYEN IBANGA

Aug. 17, 2008—

A San Marcos, Texas, police officer has been accused of inappropriate behavior during a traffic stop which may have lead to a dog's death.

Officer Paul Stephens spotted driver Michael Gonzalez speeding down Interstate 35 and pulled him over for clocking 100 miles per hour. After a brief pursuit, Gonzalez pulled alongside the highway and emerged from his car, saying, "He's dying."

Tune into "GMA" Monday, Aug. 18 to catch an interview with Michael Gonzalez.

"Who's dying? Relax," Stephens said as his cruiser's dashboard camera captured the interaction.

"My dog," Gonzalez said during the Aug. 5 traffic stop.

Gonzalez and his girlfriend said they were speeding because they were rushing their choking teacup poodle Missy to an emergency veterinary clinic for treatment.

But on the video, Stephens sounded less than empathetic as he berated the driver for putting others' lives at risk as he sped down the highway.

"You're driving down the highway at 100 per hour," he said sternly. "It's a dog, it's OK. You can get another one. Relax."

For 15 minutes, Stephens kept Gonzalez on the roadside.

"He said, 'You need to chill out. It's just a dog.' And I said, 'It's not just a dog; it's my family,'" Gonzalez said.

Missy died as Gonzalez waited for the Stephens to issue a citation.

Though Stephens' supervisors found him not guilty of misconduct, they did agree he handled the situation poorly.

"His world was collapsing. And what the officer says to him, basically, is, 'I don't care,'" said San Marcos police department chief Howard Williams.

Link & video to the story here>>> ABC News: Dog's Death Dogs Traffic Cop

That is SAD! They shoulda kept going till they got to the vet (with their flashers on}

Originally Posted by splinters

That is SAD! They shoulda kept going till they got to the vet (with their flashers on}

That's what I would have done & dealt with whatever happened later on but I have a feeling that cop would have tried to run me off the road! Sad story though...I 1st seen that on another forum called maxboxing, it's amazing how fast they get the stories of things over there!

EDITED: double post.

I heard about this story a few days ago. It's unfortunate but the Officer did absolutely nothing wrong. Could he have been more tactful and sensitive? Absolutely! But not everyone is an animal lover as we are here.


The truth of the matter is, the man had no business driving at an excessively high speed, period. In addition - he was on his cell phone! Not only was he puting his own life, girlfriend and dog's life at risk but also the lives of anyone else that was on the road at that time. It's inexcusable.


I understand however where he was coming from. If it were my dog/s I'd be hysterical as well but the fact is, no one is above the law and if he had killed another driver.. Oh how irate the public would be, especially if it were your child, your sibling, your spouse or your friend.

That is the part of the story that makes it hard & makes you see the other, @ least on the speeding & reckless driving part!

[wishbone]

The driver might be somewhat wrong and didn't even make signals of emergency but the most worse is the officer, he didn't handled the situation right, blame on him.

sorry to hear that...

It's not the officer was wrong to stop the guy driving like crazy but it's the way he handled if after finding out why the couple were speeding that's the problem.

I'm thinking the cop himself could have taken the puppy to the hospital!

Definitely don't make a comment like "it's only a dog" or "you can get another one"

I was actually in San Marcos the day that happened. It was all over the radio. People couldn't stop talking about it.

I dont care what happens, no one has the "right" to endanger lives like that.
So, do you think the dog would have survived had there been a collision at 100 mph? And how many people would have been killed/injured?

Yes, the officer could have been more understanding, but the selfishness of the lawbreaking driver is inexcuseable.