Authors note: On July 2nd 2023 at a approximately 12:58 hrs. Officer Palmer stopped on Oberlin Ave. Lorain, Ohio 44052 – less than 2 minutes later the world had changed for an animal and the Lorain Police Department Officer.
July 6th 2023 the Lorain Police Department released the body camera video of the shooting. ( without any text explanation)
July 8th 2023. The body camera video was hitting the media and individuals in Social Media and Face book pages were sharing that footage with text that was wrong as to the sequence of events.
Due to this uploading erroneous information the story of those 2 minutes flamed across the Internet . Threats to the Officer, his life, his family , the Lorain Police Dept even his animals- calling the Officer to most disgusting and obscene names.
Since people are still believing and continue to spread erroneous information from the first wave of outrage and lack of reasonable thought. I have decided to cover using the facts from the Investigative Report – shared September 7th 2023 put out by the City of Lorain – Office of Professional Standards and outside experts in the field of law enforcement . The report is very lengthy , therefore most of the Social Media audience are NOT reading the report and or scanning. I will also be linking to video footage, stills and other links within this series.
INVESTIGATIVE REPORT IA-23-031 FINAL REPORT for Public Release 9-7-23
Also the Power Point presentations give to the mainstream Media
We will begin the first of these articles on what happened with the animal Dixie and the fatal encounter :
A Golden Retriever / Yellow Labrador NOT A THREAT?
The past few weeks since the shooting of the canine “Dixie” has people all over the internet and beyond stating a Yellow Labrador (sometimes referred to as a Golden Retriever depending on the writers) is of a breed that is inherently a loveable trustful breed that was only running toward the officer as a” happy puppy” , a breed that is gentle, placid in nature, a good family pet, not meaning any harm and shot needlessly “
From Channel 8 “ : Channel 8 coverage “The owner of the dog, a yellow Labrador retriever named Dixie, told FOX 8 News, however, that the dog was “harmless”…………… ‘Justice for Dixie’: Investigation into dog shot by Lorain, Ohio, police concludes (fox8.com)
Dixie, is NOT a pure bred Labrador, Dixie is registered by her owner with the Lorain County Auditor as a “mixed breed” January 2023 . Page 83 of Investigative Report Dixie is registered along with 7 other dogs, all stated as mixed breed, in the single family dwelling ( 710, Oberlin Avenue, Lorain Ohio) the pack ( more than 3 dogs) consists of 5 Males of mixed Breed and 3 females ( including Dixie) . Dixie shares a look of a Yellow Labrador.
According to Page 4 of the power point presentation, Press Conference ) Sept 7th, 2023. Lorain Police Dept.
“Pit Bulls have the greatest frequency of bites 25.07% followed by Labrador Retrievers – 13.72 %”
****Note: My personal research threw up the following and my “lone” dog is a German Shepherd.
The German Shepherd produced 20 deaths in total while mixed breeds accounted for 17 deaths https://topdogtips.com/statistics-on-dog-bites
Labrador Dog Breed – Powerful Large Dogs – Bisnar Chase (bestattorney.com)
- Labrador bites are not considered to be a common occurrence, because this breed is widely regarded as friendly, good-natured, and even-tempered. Generally speaking, that’s all true. Labrador’s are energetic and enthusiastic, as well as being loyal and friendly companions. They are also highly intelligent and show a single-minded focus when they find something that sparks their interest.
- All of these qualities make it seem highly unlikely that you will ever become the victim of a Labrador biting incident. But Labrador attacks do happen and are more frequent than many people know.
One of the downsides of the Labrador’s loyal nature is that it will be protective of its owner and family. A Lab is not a natural guard dog, but its instinct will still be to respond if there is a perceived threat or danger. This is not specific to Labradors and is true of many dog breeds. But it explains why you may sustain a dog bite injury from an otherwise good-natured pooch in some instances.
Labradors also famously have ‘soft mouths’. They were bred for retrieval – both in work and hunting for sport – without leaving marks in the objects they are retrieving. But do not let this fool you. A slightly lower bite force and a so-called soft mouth will not stop a Labrador biting when it is aggravated.
NOTE******Please bear in mind that Dixie is not a pure bred but a mixed breed with other traits of whatever parentage she has.
To me there are other factors to be looked at apart from general interpretation of the breed – “Yellow Labradors are harmless, happy FAMILY PETS who will not attack”. Upon research of the breed and especially “mixed breed” some of which are linked here) THAT DOES NOT SEEM TO BE THE CASE.
From the research I have looked at over the past 24 hours even the most mild mannered dog can turn,
- If they feel the need to protect
- If a situation is chaotic and confusing
- If they sense danger to their “pack” -especially the female dog (of any breed)
- If they are in pain
So it follows that actually NO dog including Labrador Retrievers ( especially with a “mixed breed) can turn on a dime if they are in pain or protection mode
Let us look at this from Dixie’s point of view, How does this happy, loveable harmless pet go to this ( page 25 Investigative Report ) as perceived by the LPD Officer Palmer
- You are housed and fed and loved with your mistress, master and family in a family home. A home that is yours to share with the rest of the pack of 7 other dogs.
2.Your very nature as a loyal animal is to protect that space of home and your humans and yes members of your pack (Especially in the female of the species).
3.You escape the confines with apparently 4 other of your pack on a lovely summers day, free to run and interact. Page 4 Investigative Report
And then it all goes wrong. There is a chaotic scene a cacophony of confusing sounds, people are yelling, grabbing your tail which is painful – NOTE ***** and should never happen in order to control a dog!
*** Page 4 of Investigative Report Office Palmer observed approximately FIVE large yellow dogs running – at – large . The dogs were not wearing any collars, were not on a leash, and were not otherwise contained. Officer Palmer also observed THREE PEOPLE , TWO FEMALES AND A MALE ATTEMPTING TO CONTROL THE DOGS BY GRABBING ONTO THEIR TAILS. (EMPHASIS MINE- L.R.) )
Can Dogs Feel Their Tails? Vet Approved Facts & FAQ | Pet Keen
“Therefore, it is not recommended to pull on a dog’s tail ever. It isn’t a nice way to get their attention and can cause the dog to become aggressive. Instead, it is best to find a different way to get your dog’s attention or correct their behavior.”
Why Dogs Don’t Like Their Tails Touched – Wag! (wagwalking.com)
“The tail, for example, is one area that dogs almost always prefer that you stay away from. While you might think that touching or grabbing onto your dog’s tail is a fun way to play, your dog would sorely disagree with you. Grabbing a dog’s tail—something that children are particularly tempted to do—can be very painful and terrifying for your dog.
Dog tails are made of vertebrae, muscles, cartilage, and nerves. There are anywhere between 6 and 23 caudal vertebrae in a dog’s tail, with an average number of 20 vertebrae. A dog’s tail also consists of muscles that attach to the vertebrae that help to control the conscious movement of the tail .
NOTE: Obviously I can’t speak for Dixie but I can put my knowledge of having dogs all my life and coming from a culture and country ( England) that is well known for being “bonkers” about their animals.
Dixie and the escaped part of the pack probably were enjoying the game of running and being outside and out of confinement. There was a lot of commotion and chaos and people all running after them.
If you were a dog confined to a certain area and then the freedom of running around with your housemates and family this I imagine was enjoyable.
Then the situation becomes even more chaotic from an animals perspective.
1.People are still yelling, and they are people you know and recognize. Then a man arrives and is possibly yelling over the noise or with a raised and commanding voice at your owners. A dog would not understand the words just the tone,
An alert signal is triggered in her brain
Is this a threat? She has job to protect her area, her family and her pack and at the same time your tail is being pulled painfully,
What is happening in the thoughts of this animal. Presumably she notices that the man (stranger) is directing his tone and his voice to her mistress and then one of her pack goes toward the officer ( see slow motion footage )
lorainpolice.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/slowest-with-magnification-1.mp4
The strangers hand goes up and points at one of your pack…..12:59 and 02 seconds
Figure 6 -the timing is: Figure 6 time stamp = 12:59.06 pm
Figure 7 time stamp = 12:59 pm (the seconds are unreadable) BUT the next frame is Figure 8 can be read at 12.59 and 06 seconds therefore Figure 7 in the sequence is still .06 seconds – FIGURE 7 IS WHEN DIXIE MAKES HER RUN…
Figure 8 = 12:59.06
The start of the sequence of the event 12.59 pm and 02 seconds and then .03 seconds later (also from Page 27 Investigative report ) Figure 5 ( 12:59.05)
****** NOTE: due to the white writings some of the timings in SECONDS are unreadable in a couple of the still photos . However, and we are talking about “SECONDS” from THE TIME IS 12 PM AND 59 MINUTES ON July 2nd 2023…
It is the “seconds that count in this timing NOT THE MINUTES, THE MINUTE TIMES REMAIN THE SAME because all this happens in seconds NOT MINUTES!
Timings :
Figure 6 -the timing is: Figure 6 time stamp = 12:59.06 pm
Figure 7 time stamp = 12:59 pm (the seconds are unreadable) BUT the next frame is Figure 8 can be read at 12.59 and 06 seconds therefore Figure 7 in the sequence is still .06 seconds – FIGURE 7 IS WHEN DIXIE MAKES HER RUN…
Figure 8 = 12:59.06
Fig. 9 = 12:59 .07
Fig. 10 = unreadable (First shot being fired) Again the time frame FOR Figure 10 would be between…. Figure 9 12:59 and .07seconds and Figure 11. Figure 11 12:59 and 08 seconds ..– THE First shot was between .07 and .08 seconds
Fig. 11 = 12:59.08
Fig. 12 = 12:59.09 – Page 31
Figure 13 – 12:59 and 09 seconds
Figure 6 -the timing is: Figure 6 time stamp = 12:59.06 pm. Page 28
Figure 7 time stamp = 12:59 pm (the seconds are unreadable) Figure 7 is when Dixie Makes her run
BUT the next frame is Figure 8 can be read at 12.59 and 06 seconds therefore Figure 7 in the sequence is still .06 seconds –
At 12:59 minutes and .07 seconds – Figure 9 Page 29
Figure 10 At 12:59 and ( see timings information following ) Figure 10 Page 30
At 12:59 minutes and .08 seconds ) Figure 11 Page 30
Figure 12 page 31- 12:59 minutes and 09 seconds-page 31
Lastly Figure 13 page 31 – 12:59 minutes and 09 seconds
From the start of Dixies run. See Figure 7 at 12:59 minutes and 06 seconds
Until the 2nd shot fired 12:59 minutes and 8 seconds … is TWO SECONDS ( BY MY MATH .. I had it confirmed by LPD … 2.5 seconds .. THAT is SECONDS – NOT MINUTES!
ACCORDING TO THE INVESTIGATIVE REPORT Page 51
‘In the case before the OPS ( Office of Professional Standards) Ops took the frame where the dog appeared to be changing directions ( **Note Figure 11 –LR) to when Officer Palmer’s last shot left the firearm (**Figure 12 LR) OPS determined the frame rate, from the time the dog changed direction to when the final shot was fired it took 44 Frames. With the video being 29.97 frames per second it would equal 1.47 centiseconds or 1.47 seconds
I CAN’T REITERATE THAT ENOUGH AS WHEN I SEE PEOPLE MAKING CLAIMS ON THE INTERNET .
“I WOULD HAVE DONE THIS, HE SHOULD HAVE DONE THAT!”
THEY HAVEN’T A CLUE AS TO HOW LITTLE TIME IT TOOK IN SECONDS. YOU CAN’T EVEN MELT TOW OUNCES OF BUTTER IN A MICROWAVE IN 2.5 SECONDS… PLEASE THINK AND READ……
Was Dixie triggered in to protect mode from her happy harmless self by an inbred instinct to protect as she processed what she believed was a threat to her family and pack by a stranger processed in milliseconds…… ?
I believe that is what happened with Dixie. For further reading I would suggest the story of Max:
Why Does A Dog Attack Unprovoked? The Psychology Of Dog Attacks (k9magazine.com)
“The aim of this article as I see it s to try and explain the psychology of a dog attack from the dog’s perspective.
“There are no hard and fast rules here, but dogs often attack humans for their own reasons – and while those reasons are never justified using human rules and conventions, the first lesson here is to understand that dogs don’t tend to always obey human rules and conventions” K9 Magazine .
This article is MY OPINION, after reading as much as I could from more than one perspective and pertinent information sources. I have tried to PUT ANY EMOTIONAL PULL TO ONE SIDE.
***** NOTE: The tragedy of this is that an animal died trying to follow her instinct to protect and with a job of work to do despite the pain and confusion.
And an Officer’s reaction whilst trying to follow his training and instinct and doing his job to protect himself and residents, drivers and pedestrians from a chaotic situation that took place in the matter of 2.5 SECONDS has resulted in yet more threats , chaos, and opinions based on sound bite information…….. .
It continues……….
OH Her Again! 
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