Innocent Cat Shot and Killed by Lebanon, OH Police

Haze

On August 20, 2011, a local house cat, Haze, wandered a few blocks from his home in Lebanon. After a bystander called the police to report Haze as a stray, Officer Covey of the Lebanon Police Department arrived on the scene. After arriving on the scene, Officer Covey discharged his firearm in a residential area and ended Haze's life. Officer Covey left the scene and the bystander then placed Haze in the garbage can. Officer Covey did not contact the homeowner on whose property Haze was killed either before or after the incident even though she was at home at the time of the shooting. From the time the officer was dispatched, arrived on the scene, shot Haze and left, the police log shows the call was less than 5 minutes.

After more than a day of searching for Haze and calling all the local authorities, the Stone's finally pieced together what happened to Haze and found him in a garbage bag concealed in a trash can in the backyard where he was shot. Haze had no other external injuries besides the bullet wound to his head.

Haze was a beloved member of the Stone family. His loss has caused tremendous sadness for his owners. This tragic and unnecessary end to Haze's life was permitted under the Lebanon Police Operations Manual which allows officers to use deadly force on domestic, non-threatening animals. The provision of the Lebanon Police Operations Manual which permitted this unnecessary act of violence to occur is in direct conflict with the Ohio Revised Code and the City of Lebanon Ordinance which prohibits the malicious killing of animals.

The purpose of this petition is to persuade the Lebanon City Council, City Manager and Police Chief to require all Lebanon, Ohio Police officers to take an animal rescue training course, which the Ohio Humane Society has offered to provide. This petition also seeks to revise the Lebanon Police Operations Manual to prohibit officers from using deadly force on any non-threatening animal and to formally reprimand Officer Covey and his supervisor for using unnecessary deadly force on Haze in a residential area.

Let's help prevent this from happening to another innocent animal again!  Please sign Haze's petition at the following link:
https://www.change.org/petitions/why-did-the-police-shoot-me

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