
Annoncering
Jill Ryther: It was my partner David [Edward Burke’s] idea, actually. We had been having a discussion about how in the vegan community it's like there are two types of events: events that cater so much toward vegans that non-vegans don't want to come, and events that are so meat-heavy – like traditional Oktoberfest – that vegans are discouraged from coming. So we were like, "let's bring them together. Let's have a Vegan Oktoberfest to make it really lively and accessible and authentic, so that everybody wants to come. Let's make sure we have good food to get the best of both worlds and have a good time and have a clear conscience".
Annoncering
They really found me. I am the leading animal rights attorney in LA right now, so if anyone looks up "animal rights attorney", it's going to be my office. And so I started getting phone calls from people who had their dogs shot by police.So I looked into it a little further and I was horrified at the numbers, how often it happens, and I was contacted by the guardian of Chico Blue - which was a pretty notable case we just settled – and that case got a lot of attention and really put us on the map for handling these types of cases. My office is just inundated with people who who have animals who have been shot by police. We just took on another case where this woman’s two dogs – one of them was only 35 pounds - were both shot in her front yard. It's horrible. It's a huge problem and there aren’t a lot of attorneys fighting it and the police are getting away with it, so we are making that our top priority right now.

It's always the same story. It's always, "the dog was aggressive and the officer was in fear for his life". It doesn't matter if they were on a leash, it doesn't matter if they were in a fenced-in yard. It's always the same story. We have been lucky to work with, recently, some officers and some precincts who are interested in making some positive changes. I think a lot of it is because of the media attention it's getting.
Annoncering
He didn't lose pay as far as I know. I mean, he was forced to undergo the training that we made him go through, but we forced him to do that as a part of the case. I don't even think he would have had to do that. I mean I know he didn't lose his job.Have you faced any pushback from the precincts?
Yeah. Tons. Officers for the most part don't want you to tell them how to do their jobs, and they're certainly not quick to stand up and say, "we made a mistake". Some officers have been willing to work with us, because they see that we really are trying to give them tools so that this doesn't keep happening. Like, it doesn't look good for you to keep shooting dogs. If the officers give us a chance, we end up building a good relationship, but usually it's like door slams. They don't want to touch it. They don't want to even admit that they shoot dogs.
Annoncering
Yes. I think cops are realizing that what they are doing is going to be recorded. I think that's helped us in our cases to put pressure on different precincts to say, "look: work with us, because we want to give you training so this doesn't keep happening".To learn more, visit the Expand Animal Rights Now website here.More on Police Brutality: Seattle's Former Police Chief Speaks Out About Police BrutalityEveryone's Tweeting Photos of Police Brutality Thanks to a Failed NYPD Hashtag
