| Motor City Muckraker |
| James Woods explains how Detroit police killed his three dogs |
“Don’t hurt my dogs!” screamed James Woods during a mid-October marijuana raid in Detroit. The police didn’t listen; they fatally shot three of his dogs, reportedly as two of the animals ran to get away. The third dog — a young pit bulldog named Tank — was shot in the face at close range by a 12-gauge shotgun, despite being confined inside a locked fence outside where he was unable to harm anyone.
Woods was forced into a corner last week when the first shot rang out. Fearing police would hurt his two other dogs — who were inside the house — Woods cried out, “Please! They won’t hurt you! Stop chasing them! They’re just scared.”
Witnesses report that the other two dogs, Hump and Janey — in what could only have been a grotesque and nauseating scene — were chased around by police and then shot as the dogs fled.
| Motor City Muckraker |
| Hump was one of three dogs killed by the police |
“They shot her four times as she was trying to get away,” Woods said of his dog Janey, an older pit bull mix who was “dragging a trail of blood around the house until she finally collapsed,” reports Steve Neavling at the Motor City Muckraker.
“She didn’t have a chance,” Woods said, his eyes filling with tears. “It just isn’t right.”
Neighbors said the three dogs, which also included the German shepherd mix Hump, were tame and friendly. “They were good dogs,” a neighbor said.
Woods spent the next two days in jail. His friend, Scott Kraz, photographed the dogs’ carcasses, hoping to prove that police shot the fleeing dogs from behind.
“From the position of the two dogs inside the building, they were running away from the door, away from the police,” Kraz said.
“The raid is the latest example of the destructive impact the U.S. war on marijuana has on people’s lives,” wrote Alex Kane at AlterNet.
“They killed my dogs,” Woods said, shaking his head. “The Detroit Police Department murdered my dogs.”
