Reptile & Amphibian Forums

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/06/boy.killed.ap/index.html
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AIM sn: z10silver

>>http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/06/boy.killed.ap/index.html
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>>AIM sn: z10silver

Those Keystone cops should get 10 years hard time and never be allowed to play at being policemen again.
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Sickening, pointless tragedy.
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That's what I think.
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Gus
A. Rentfro
RioBravoReptiles.com
www.riobravoreptiles.com

"Perfectly healthy animals are a minimum requirement.. everything else is just salesmanship" gus

THE OKLAHOMAN (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) 08 August 07 Snake was no rattler (Jennifer Griswold)
Noble: A police bullet that killed a small boy last week had been aimed at a black rat snake, a Norman animal control officer said Tuesday.
After the shooting on Friday that killed Austin Haley, 5, Norman's animal control department was called to collect and store the dead snake, Noble City Manager Bob Wade said.
Noble doesn't have an animal control officer, he said.
The snake has been frozen and stored for investigators, Norman Police Chief Phil Cotton said.
The incident started when Noble police officers responded to a call from a resident who thought a rattlesnake had slithered up into a birdhouse.
One of the two shots fired by police hit Austin while he was out fishing with his grandfather. His funeral is today.
Noble Police Chief Ben Daves said the city has been without an animal control officer for about a month, so police responded.
The Noble Police Department's Police and Procedures Manual says "firearms may be used to destroy an animal that represents a threat to public safety.”
The manual states "firearms shall not be discharged when it appears likely that an innocent person may be injured.”
The three officers involved in the shooting are on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of investigations by Noble and the OSBI.
The names of the officers involved have not been released.
In the meantime, the seven officers remaining on the police force are working overtime to cover the shifts, Daves said.
About black rat snakes
"I can't say they wouldn't bite, but they're not venomous,” said Mark Howery, a state wildlife biologist. Their other traits include:
•Common in Oklahoma.
•Adept at climbing.
•Often confused with bull snakes, water snakes, diamondback rattlesnakes or cottonmouths because of their color pattern. They may mimic rattlesnake behavior.
•Eat birds, small wildlife.
Snake was no rattler