New Jersey police were recently forced to shoot and kill a pit bull while making a drug raid at a particular residence. The dog attacks occurred while police were conducting an investigation at the residence, and the continued in its pursuit of several different officers while police attempted to retreat from the animal.

Though we can only guess as to what may have provoked the dog to attack, since police were present for a raid it is likely that the dog was placed there in an attempt to scare the officers away. As it turned out, a considerable amount of cocaine and heroin was located by the police.

If the dog was trained to attack, it would seem almost inconceivable that an owner would not have the dog restrained – especially in a major metropolitan area. Instead of attacking arresting officers that were armed, such an animal could just as well have attacked and even killed a small child or elderly person – and this is the reason why dog bite cases should be taken seriously.

Criminal penalties and fines have not yet been a successful deterrent to individuals that allow such dangerous animals to roam free. Unfortunately, fines and other penalties will do little to help anyone that is actually attacked since the injuries caused by dogs (and especially pit bulls) can be devastating.

People injured in a dog attack may wish to seek the advice and counsel of an experienced personal injury attorney. Such attorneys can hold dog owners responsible for such dog attacks because they ultimately are the ones responsible for keeping the animal restrained.

Source: NJ.com, “Essex County detectives are forced to fatally shoot pit bull during drug raid,” by James Queally, May 3, 2012