Can't imagine spending the better part of my life in prison for killing someone who shot my dog. Beating the living piss out of them.......sure.
It would be entirely different if some dude walked up to his police dog and started stabbing it. The guy likely perceived himself to be in a struggle for his own life when he pulled his knife in self-defense. A dog is a lethal weapon, and that's how the cop used it. A man who's presumed innocent has every right to defend his life from persistent and deadly attack. That said, I perfectly understand the state of mind that led the police officer to do what he did. The question is whether that's enough. I doubt it.
