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Updated: 5:56 PM Feb 3, 2009
Mayor Under Fire After Shooting Dogs
A shooting in a small southeast Kansas town leaves two pets dead, and the man behind the gun is the city's mayor.
Posted: 5:39 PM Feb 3, 2009 |
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10 Comments 
A shooting in a small southeast Kansas town leaves two pets dead, and the man behind the gun is the city's mayor.
Don Call, the mayor of McCune, Kansas says he was protecting his city. But now he could face criminal charges of animal cruelty.
Mayor Call had been dealing with many complaints over the last six months about a couple of dogs. While the dog attacks never became violent, Call says their aggressive actions intimidated many residents.
The mayor says he had warned the owner to get rid of the dogs or else he would do it himself. And the mayor was not all bark.
After receiving a complaint Sunday, that the dogs had jumped through a screen to chase some children, Call loaded up his rifle and drove to the property. Once he spotted the dogs, he fired several times from his car.
Local law enforcement says the mayor should not have pulled the trigger, but should have picked up the phone. The only 911 call made was from a witness to the shooting.
The response of the community appears to be mixed, with some offering their support to their mayor, and others who say he overreacted with an inhumane act.
The Crawford County Sheriff says an affidavit of arrest was sent to the county attorney office who will decide whether to issue a warrant for the arrest of Mayor Call.
Latest Comments
Can anyone out there see that it's the fact that these dogs were chained that was the danger to your community? The time is now for this city (and all cities in the United States) to enact an anti-chaining ordinance. We did just that thing in Austin, Texas, to protect not only our children but also dogs from an inhumane life. It's never the dogs fault; it is ALWAYS the owner (guardian) who is at fault. The dogs might be doing the attacking but the owner is the one holding the leash, or chain as it applies in this case. Visit www.chainfreeaustin.org for more information on enacting a dog-chaining ban in your community. Do it for the dogs and do it for your children.
First, how do we know the complaint call was legit? You just say it was and go out for some target practice without questioning first. He took the law in his own hands and therefore needs to be dealt with by the law. No one is above the law.
Crawford County Kansas Sheriff's Dept. Incident Report Facts: 1) The dogs were chained up. 2) He used a 9 mm rifle & fired at least 7 times. 3) The house is riddled with bullet holes. 4) The City owns a tranquilizer gun. This is an embarassment to our community. The City of McCune Kansas is a quiet, bedroom community with low taxes, virtually no crime and great schools. Most people are grateful to see him charged with (2) felonies and (1) misdemeanor. In addition, he has not filed for re-election to the office he has only held a few months--by appointment not by popular vote.
