# Tennessee family stopped by police for losing wallet **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 9, 2003, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-family-stopped-by-police-for-losing-wallet/147511 "2003-01-09T14:30:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrot)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-family-stopped-by-police-for-losing-wallet/147511/21 "2003-01-09T20:00:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duck Duck Goose \* > **God help the officers involved. They’re toast.** God help the officers? No. God help the rest of the police who are going to feel the public wrath on this one. If a stop like this stretches these idiots’ decision making skills so much, they don’t need to be carrying guns at all. ---
**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-family-stopped-by-police-for-losing-wallet/147511/22 "2003-01-09T20:05:25Z")
So, who called the cops and reported a robbery? Eunice Stone? ---
**Author:** ![B.Pants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@B.Pants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Pants)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-family-stopped-by-police-for-losing-wallet/147511/23 "2003-01-09T20:34:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by carrot \* > \*\*James, actually. \*\* One of the sons was named Jeb. The father was James. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-family-stopped-by-police-for-losing-wallet/147511/24 "2003-01-09T21:35:02Z")
How can anyone with a shred of human intelligence believe that that dog is actually “threatening” the cops. Too bad we can’t see the big shit-eating grin on the shooter’s face after he murdered the dog, it might have helped enlarge the settlement. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-family-stopped-by-police-for-losing-wallet/147511/25 "2003-01-09T21:42:29Z")
Kill the bitch who made the cell phone call, she obviously is the one who played it up. If she had simply stated the facts, and not tried to play junior-fucking-detective-drama-queen, no felony stop would have been made. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-family-stopped-by-police-for-losing-wallet/147511/26 "2003-01-09T21:48:19Z")
Now who’s over-reacting? ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-family-stopped-by-police-for-losing-wallet/147511/27 "2003-01-09T22:05:46Z")
Okay, don’t kill her, just kill her pet. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-family-stopped-by-police-for-losing-wallet/147511/28 "2003-01-09T22:21:40Z")
I’m just ill over this. I’m even more ill over the people in the GD thread saying “it’s just a dog, get over it.” Now, I’m not saying this is right or moral, but if I saw someone kill my dog, or one of my cats, I’d probably try to kill them on the spot. They are not “just” a cat or “just” a dog. They are well loved members of my family. And there is no way that Sparky, the big goober that he is, would have been able to control himself in the dark on the side of the road with his family on the ground and cops running everywhere. He wouldn’t have attacked anyone, but you can bet that “sit” or “stay” would have worked for all of a nanosecond. Then he’d be trying to shove his nose into everyone’s crotch. These officers had absolutely no clue and were 100% wrong to shoot that dog. They were also MAJOR assholes with a serious ego/control issues for not agreeing to close the car doors. I’m glad I don’t live there, as I’d have gotten myself arrested for sure by going down to the police station and screaming my head off about how I felt. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-family-stopped-by-police-for-losing-wallet/147511/29 "2003-01-09T22:28:50Z")
For the record, they are a North Carolina family, not a Tennessee family. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-family-stopped-by-police-for-losing-wallet/147511/30 "2003-01-10T00:00:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NurseCarmen \* > \*\*Okay, don’t kill her, just kill her pet. \*\* Dude, even Hammurabi is looking at you with disbelief right now. ---
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-family-stopped-by-police-for-losing-wallet/147511/31 "2003-01-10T00:57:16Z")
I’m not going to watch the video. But if it happened the way the article says, they should fire the cop and post his address on the internet so people can go to his house and break his windows. And maybe his face. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-family-stopped-by-police-for-losing-wallet/147511/32 "2003-01-10T12:46:30Z")
Most importantly,a firearm was discharged in a situation in which no violence was taking place, and which involved people innocent of any crime. If this had gone even _slightly_ different, a civilian or officer would be _dead_. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-family-stopped-by-police-for-losing-wallet/147511/33 "2003-01-10T13:12:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KneadToKnow \* > \*\*For the record, they are a North Carolina family, not a Tennessee family. \*\* South Carolina. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-family-stopped-by-police-for-losing-wallet/147511/34 "2003-01-10T13:53:22Z")
Folks - why should it come as any surprise that an officer discharged his weapon once this particular family was stopped. For everybody knows – where there’s Smoaks, there’s fire! ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-family-stopped-by-police-for-losing-wallet/147511/35 "2003-01-10T14:31:00Z")
I won’t argue with you, **Lib** , I’m just reading what the linked article says. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-family-stopped-by-police-for-losing-wallet/147511/36 "2003-01-10T14:45:22Z")
Saluda N.C. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-family-stopped-by-police-for-losing-wallet/147511/37 "2003-01-10T14:51:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Enderw24 \* > \*\*Dude, even Hammurabi is looking at you with disbelief right now. \*\* Okay, okay…I’ll admit to purposly going over the top just to fuel the thread. The point I wanted to make was the cops were going off information that some stupid hag played up and dramatized. I wouldn’t mind to see a tidbit on the news showing the woman at least charged with false reporting. ---
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-family-stopped-by-police-for-losing-wallet/147511/38 "2003-01-10T15:40:36Z")
This incident highlights something I heard about all the time when I was a crime reporter in Oregon. Police work today involves a lot more thinking and pure PR than ever before. Things like this make a whole department look bad, and sours their reputation with the public. That in turn, leads to a harder time actually enforcing the law. The thing that struck me was the the car’s occupants were ordered out at gunpoint, even though the police had no reason to believe the Smoaks were armed. This tells me the remarks about “Bubba-sim” in that neck of the woods are probably correct. This is not at all uncommom with the police departments in smaller communities, which are rarely, if ever, subject to serious media scrutiny or held accountable by an activist public. I have not seen the video yet, but I have no doubt the dog was probably not “threatening” the officer in any real way. (Hell, the Smoaks let it associate with their children; how vicious could it be?) I’ll bet this officer wasn’t very old/experienced, or else he might have had more restraint. Hopefully, this incident will force the Cookeville P.D. to take a long, hard look at their firearm handling procedures, as well as a deparmental mentality that dictates officers are free to take drastic action when they feel even remotely threatened. A better trained/more experienced/smarter officer might have simply maced the dog. For an officer to discharge a firearm during a traffic stop is a serious matter, and I think the defensive attitude displayed in the C.P.D.'s statement (linked at the bottom of the story) show that they don’t understand just HOW serious. ---
**Author:** ![Orbifold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orbifold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orbifold)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-family-stopped-by-police-for-losing-wallet/147511/39 "2003-01-10T16:10:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor \* > \*\*Most importantly,a firearm was discharged in a situation in which no violence was taking place, and which involved people innocent of any crime. > > If this had gone even _slightly_ different, a civilian or officer would be _dead_. \*\* I had a similar scary thought a few minutes ago. What if, instead of a dog, the Smoakes had had a person with Down’s Syndrome in the car? Yeesh. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-family-stopped-by-police-for-losing-wallet/147511/40 "2003-01-10T16:11:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Reeder \* > \*\*Saluda N.C. \*\* Aha! This explains why my boss got an email this morning demanding that we prosecute the officers responsible. Now, animal control doesn’t prosecute cruelty charges against law enforcement officers – probably we’d turn something that hairy over to the DA and work with the DA office on the case. And Saluda is in Polk County, not our county, even though it’s kind of close. But we were thinking the emailer wanted us to pick up operations, move to Tennessee,and prosecute there. Nice to know her ignorance was only two steps, not three steps, removed from reality. These cops should be fired. I doubt cruelty charges would stick against them under any reading of the law, but they should definitely be fired ( **Dinsdale** , congrats on the groaner! I hope the Smoakes get him fired). And I’d like to see a pain-and-suffering lawsuit against the cops, with part of the settlement involving the PD’s commitment to better training for their officers. Daniel [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-family-stopped-by-police-for-losing-wallet/147511.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-family-stopped-by-police-for-losing-wallet/147511.md?page=3)