Halt in the Name of the Law

Thousand Oaks, Calif., Sheriff’s Sgt. Al Moussa had to think fast. He had discovered a break-in at a high school, and his appearance at the scene flushed out three teen-aged boys, who quickly ran off down the football field. “Here you had these young kids able to really run and an older officer loaded down with all his equipment,” said sheriff’s spokesman Dave Paige. Moussa, 38, used to be on the K-9 squad, and knew that people are afraid of being bitten by police dogs, so he yelled to the kids that he’d sic his dog on them if they didn’t stop. They didn’t stop. Since he didn’t actually have a dog, he just started barking himself. “He has a good bark,” Paige said. Upon hearing the “dog” barking, all three boys quickly surrendered. (Los Angeles Times) ...The cop’s bark is worse than his bite, but the judge is another matter.