Then, all of a sudden, a crashing sound.
"I turned around, and there was a cop shooting my
dog," Hall says.
That much isn't in dispute. Garland Police Department
spokesman Mike Hatfield said the SWAT team was executing a no-knock search
warrant and, in the process, shot the dog. Hall says Boyd was on the ground
when the police entered and made no move to attack. Hatfield said the
department is conducting an internal affairs investigation -- as it does
whenever an officer discharges a weapon -- but that officers don't shoot
animals unprovoked.
"There have been numerous drug raids where dogs were
present and were not shot," Hatfield said.
But Hall's was, and he's doubly upset because he doesn't
think the police had cause to raid his home. Hatfield noted that they did have
a warrant, meaning a judge had decided there was enough evidence to justify the
maneuver, but Hall's not sure what that could be.
He has never dealt drugs nor possessed them in any
quantities and, aside from a couple of misdemeanor charges in Dallas County
that were dismissed, has no criminal record. He does smoke a bowl or two of
weed from time to time, but he describes himself as "a very casual,
friendly smoker," a description that fits with the ounce or so of
marijuana officers found. (I'm waiting on a call back from Hatfield to confirm
the amount).
Hall spent the night of July 9 in jail and bonded out the next
morning. That day, he took Boyd's body to a piece of land his friend owns in
the country, dug a grave, and buried him