One faulty premise builds on another until the inescapable conclusion is reached. When the smoke clears, it turns out everything one knew was wrong.  It’s a good thing the K-9 was the brains of the outfit. Minnesota.cbslocal.com/2017/02/07/grandmother-attacked-by-k-9

It’s five A.M. you neighbor hears something go bump in the night and calls the police. It can only be a burglar. The police arrive and quietly begin stalking their prey. Noise from a neighbor’s shed, a flashlight beam from within. The challenge, “We’re the Pol-ice, and you’re not. Come out with your hands up.” Repeated for ten minutes. Hmmm, what else could we do with ten minutes?

Knock, knock, “Half the police force is in your backyard, surrounding your shed, somebody is inside. Any ideas?”

“Damn it; it’s my mother she crapping in the shed again, thinks it’s an outhouse. We’ll take care of it, thank you, officer.”

Dispatch, all units 10-8 add to location notes resident’s 82-year-old mother is senile and occasionally goes outside to crap in the shed. She speaks no English. 

The officers didn’t do this because the odds are greater that it is a burglar or thief rather than a little old lady. Continued and obstinate silence is what burglars do, not little old ladies.

The officers talked themselves into a tactical solution by not obtaining all the information available to them. I have no idea what the old gal was doing in the shed. It doesn’t matter; she had a right to be there.

As to the K-9, Taz did a good job. His handler told him to get the bad guy, so he did. He latched onto a wrist and forearm and decided that was all he needed. It is difficult to tell from the video, but it appears most of the discoloration on her arm is from bruising rather than penetrating bite marks. Taz used just enough force to get the job done.

There is something to be said for imagination in police work. An off-duty Sheriff’s deputy dumped a little old Asian lady off on me. She was wandering around in the 105-degree heat and would have soon been in extreme distress, had he not intervened. She spoke no English. I speak no Asian languages or dialects. I don’t know whether she was being obstinate or didn’t have a number to call, but she refused a phone. I took her to the nearest Chinese restaurant. I thought that even if the employees didn’t speak the same language, they could point me to somebody who did. Hit it right the first time. The first think the little lady said, “there I was walking down the street minding my own business when these crazy white folks….”