# Black Bear Shot By Policeman In Uniontown



## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

I live just north of Hartville. We feed animals and birds on the edge of my woods which is a part of a larger woods near Quail Hollow SP. A couple days ago, the feeders were all torn apart, a 30 gallon trashcan with whole kernal corn that we keep bungeed to a dead tree was ripped off (as well as the dead tree knocked over!) and opened, a couple suet feeders were ripped off trees and gone, and there were deep scratch marks from a couple feet off the ground to 15-20 ft up some of the bigger trees. We could only assume we'd had a visit from a bear! Turns out the next day we hear there were four confirmed bear sightings in the area and today heard on the news that a Uniontown(couple miles west of Hartville) policeman killed a 250# black bear because it wouldn't cross a busy fourlane highway he was directing it towards and when it turned back to where it had just came from (towards the cop) he "took it down "! I understand from the report they had the bear under surveillance for quite some time prior to the shooting. I guess I can't grasp why the ODNR wasn't contacted and why they couldn't have tranquilized the bear and relocated it to one of our Natl. Forests or something besides killing it?? As far as I can determine, it wasn't acting in a menacing manner, just thrashing some backyard birdfeeders.


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## M R DUCKS (Feb 20, 2010)

guess they could have used the bear trap that is for sale in the market place forum....too bad the bear was killed...........


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## Erieangler51 (Sep 24, 2012)

That bear was shot not far from where I work and not far at all from my buddies house. I work between sweitzer and 619 in uniontown. I get a lot of animals in my backyard in hartville ( deer, squirrels, rabbits, turkeys, and ground hogs which are the only ones I trap/ shoot) but would of never imagine a bear within 5 miles of my house. 


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## jonnythfisherteen2 (Mar 5, 2011)

about time bears started making their way into northeast ohio.


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

c. j. stone said:


> I live just north of Hartville. We feed animals and birds on the edge of my woods which is a part of a larger woods near Quail Hollow SP. A couple days ago, the feeders were all torn apart, a 30 gallon trashcan with whole kernal corn that we keep bungeed to a dead tree was ripped off (as well as the dead tree knocked over!) and opened, a couple suet feeders were ripped off trees and gone, and there were deep scratch marks from a couple feet off the ground to 15-20 ft up some of the bigger trees. We could only assume we'd had a visit from a bear! Turns out the next day we hear there were four confirmed bear sightings in the area and today heard on the news that a Uniontown(couple miles west of Hartville) policeman killed a 250# black bear because it wouldn't cross a busy fourlane highway he was directing it towards and when it turned back to where it had just came from (towards the cop) he "took it down "! I understand from the report they had the bear under surveillance for quite some time prior to the shooting. I guess I can't grasp why the ODNR wasn't contacted and why they couldn't have tranquilized the bear and relocated it to one of our Natl. Forests or something besides killing it?? As far as I can determine, it wasn't acting in a menacing manner, just thrashing some backyard birdfeeders.


Just like the debate over the guy who shot himself and let all his exotic animals run loose, shooting a wild animal with a tranquilizer in a populated area doesn't necessarily work out like you see on the discovery channel. My sister is a vet tech at the Akron zoo and has 15 years experience with a tranquilizer gun. Even in captivity, it's a rare occurrence for an animal to go down peacefully. And the dart may take up to a half hour to knock an animal down. A pi$$ed off, 250# black bear can do a lot of damage in that kind of time. As for the cop that shot it, cudos to him for at least making an attempt to move the bear away from harm. His job is to protect the people of the community. The bear was a threat regardless if it was acting in a threatening manor or not. He could have shot it on sight if he deemed it necessary...

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## Slatebar (Apr 9, 2011)

Just proves a bear will $%^ in the woods but he won't cross a road to do it... Seriously, hate to hear they had to kill the bear,


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## James F (Jul 2, 2005)

I live close to Hartville near Mogadore Rd.Maybe the neighbors dogs will stop barking all night! Feel bad for the Bear,just being a Bear.


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

c. j. stone said:


> I live just north of Hartville. We feed animals and birds on the edge of my woods which is a part of a larger woods near Quail Hollow SP. A couple days ago, the feeders were all torn apart, a 30 gallon trashcan with whole kernal corn that we keep bungeed to a dead tree was ripped off (as well as the dead tree knocked over!) and opened, a couple suet feeders were ripped off trees and gone, and there were deep scratch marks from a couple feet off the ground to 15-20 ft up some of the bigger trees. We could only assume we'd had a visit from a bear! Turns out the next day we hear there were four confirmed bear sightings in the area and today heard on the news that a Uniontown(couple miles west of Hartville) policeman killed a 250# black bear because it wouldn't cross a busy fourlane highway he was directing it towards and when it turned back to where it had just came from (towards the cop) he "took it down "! I understand from the report they had the bear under surveillance for quite some time prior to the shooting. I guess I can't grasp why the ODNR wasn't contacted and why they couldn't have tranquilized the bear and relocated it to one of our Natl. Forests or something besides killing it?? As far as I can determine, it wasn't acting in a menacing manner, just thrashing some backyard birdfeeders.


OK, here we go! First of all, why on earth was the cop directing the bear toward a "busy four lane highway"? And, expecting the bear to cross it, no less! Was he trying to cause a traffic fatality? I guess them city folk in Uniontown just don't understand bears! 

Now, once the bear turned back and headed for the cop, what was he supposed to do? Admittedly, he may have set up an untenable situation for the bear, but he probably has a wife and kids that he wants to go home to, so I don't entirely blame him. I wouldn't want 250 lbs of anything charging at me! 

I'm with you as to why the ODNR wasn't informed and on hand. We had a situation like this in Mahoning and Trumbull Ctys. some years ago. There was a young male black bear roaming through suburban neighborhoods in Liberty Twp. To give you folks that aren't from around here some idea, at the time Liberty Twp. was to Youngstown what Beachwood is to Cleveland. Highly populated and with a large percentage of Jewish residents. 

The local GP and the cops treed the bear and actually got a tranq dart into it. They then proceeded to stand around the bottom of the tree! When the bear started feeling the effects of the tranq, it decided to swap ends and come down out of that tree in a big hurry and wound up charging the GP! Needless to say, the bear got smoked! 

In short order all the "huggers" got cranked up and were ripping the GP from stem to stern on local talk radio. "The bear was only about 200lbs, how much harm could it do?" "Why didn't they throw a net over it?" And the most absurd comment of all, "Why didn't they get a couple of bear hounds and run that bear right out of the township?!" 

After that last comment I couldn't stand it any more and called in. How much harm can a 200lb bear do? A 200 lb bear can kill you! Imagine if you were confronted by an angry 200lb *dog!* A Mastiff, Great Dane, or Rotty? You'd be crapping your pants! And bear hounds? Yeah, right! We're in a heavily Jewish suburb. We'll just stop by old Sol Greenbaum's house. He's got the best bear hounds in the county. And if he's not home, we'll just slide by old Sid Bloomberg's! Are you kidding me? 

Since that time, supposedly, every county GP has been trained in bear control, and culvert traps are available around the state. Of course, this does not mean the these traps are available at the snap of a finger! 

Those who stand outside and critique have the easier job. I've heard this since I was young child, "The man who thinks he can predict what a bear will do next is a damned fool!"


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## fredg53 (Sep 17, 2010)

Anybody want a bear round ur kids n yard dont think so im from Wva and can see what they can do nuff said

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## James F (Jul 2, 2005)

For that matter Any wild animal!I agree with the Fool statement.Oh look! He's so Cute, Honey! Honey?! Oh My!!


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## lotaluck (Dec 17, 2009)

I am not going to pass judgment on the officer who had to make this decision but i will say he handled it diferently than i expected. I live in the neighborhood where the bear was shot and he was seen 50 yards from my house earlier in the day. You can bet though that the Uniontown police department is going to take some heat over this one. I hear there were four bears running together or within close range of each other. Not sure if thats true or not. I do know it was a young 2 year old male and i was allways under the impression males at that age run solo.


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## tadluvadd (Feb 19, 2012)

not sure why the officer would be directing him towards traffic.id bet he was trying to get him AWAY from the road.I know if any large animal wants to cross a busy road,the officer has to choose to take the chance of letting a crash happen or stop the animal by any means necessary.I wouldent think he would have the time to wait for animal control to come and dart it.a shame,but it could have been worse had it crossed in front of a car or even worse---a motorcycle.


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## rustyfish (Apr 27, 2004)

If I hit a deer on the highway (That's what they do I should have paid closer attention) If a **** rips into my trash (That's what they do I'll build a trash bin) 
If I see a bear in my back yard (Holly $*#% that's a bear I hope someone shoots it)

I have two kids, I fish, I hunt so I spend a lot of time in or near the woods. I have no room in my world for bears. Yes there were originally bears here and they were all killed, sad. But that's no reason we need them now. I'm not saying they should be shot on sight, but I'm sure as hell not going to cheer for them to come back. 

I love Ohio mostly no Earthquakes, not many tornadoes, no hurricanes, only small floods, and NO BEARS or large cats. 

Think Bears are safe, How many times have you herd the question what do you do if a bear attacks. And we don't even really have bears.


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## GasFish26 (Aug 15, 2012)

Saw a bear at west branch public hunting
Last year

It was crazy 


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## jonnythfisherteen2 (Mar 5, 2011)

rustyfish said:


> If I hit a deer on the highway (That's what they do I should have paid closer attention) If a **** rips into my trash (That's what they do I'll build a trash bin)
> If I see a bear in my back yard (Holly $*#% that's a bear I hope someone shoots it)
> 
> I have two kids, I fish, I hunt so I spend a lot of time in or near the woods. I have no room in my world for bears. Yes there were originally bears here and they were all killed, sad. But that's no reason we need them now. I'm not saying they should be shot on sight, but I'm sure as hell not going to cheer for them to come back.
> ...


i agree, while those guys down south may brag about their sun and larger fish and great growing season, atleast we dont have to run away from tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, major floods, and (in california) stupid gun laws and politicians.

as far as the bears go, if they start showing up in my regular hunting places, lets just say that im never going into the woods with anything less than a 20 gauge ever again. even coyotes make me paranoid.


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## Lowell H Turner (Feb 22, 2011)

Understand the "Bambi lovers" crying. Those SAME "Bambi lovers" would be SCREAMING BLOODY MURDER if that same bear had come across their kid in their own backyard. Young male bears are 5X more likely to be involved in a death or attack than even large cats. They are roaming to find "home ranges" and unfortunately with an ever shrinking available amount of "wild areas " and an ever expending human presence the bear almost always loses. They by nature are omnivores meaning they WILL attempt to devour ANYTHING that can`t escape them and can be chewed up into small enough pieces to be swallowed. That can and has included HUMANS. As far as "Oh, it`s "just" a small black bear..." have seen a video where a black bear "raided" a campsite in the Smokey Mountains and apparently inadvertently BIT into a can of baked beans and managed to somehow remove most of the contents after ripping the lid off of latched all metal Coleman cooler. Think you`re "TOUGH" ? TRY to rip the lid off 1 WITHOUT unlatching it. I sincerely doubt Hulk Hogan (or most human beings) could do THAT...your chances vs a charging bear (without a fire arm ) are VERY poor...


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## reo (May 22, 2004)

There are many areas fairly populated with people that have much higher black bear populations than the Uniontown area. I do not seem to hear about them attacking children or innocent civilians with regularity. Probably some sort of gubment cover up?


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

Seems the Wildlife Div. wasn't too happy about the killing of an endangered species:
http://www.cantonrep.com/newsnow/x1884775969/Uniontown-police-shoot-kill-black-bear#axzz2UyUhuapH


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## Lowell H Turner (Feb 22, 2011)

Agree that the officer in question could have/ SHOULD have handled it differently? Very likely. But give him this- bear turns and heads your way. You are NOT going to outrun it...and unless it`s an older bear, very likely you can`t out climb it up a tree (assuming a suitable tree is very close by).


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## rustyfish (Apr 27, 2004)

DNR say about 100 bears in Ohio wait..... 99 bears in Ohio. 39 reports of property damage last year. I can't wait.


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## JimmyMac (Feb 18, 2011)

I don't understand why people like bears. They are like a big goofy rat that can maul your face off. Like big bullys that steal your lunch... our ecosystem has done fine without them, be nice to keep it that way. 

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## Stu_manji (May 30, 2013)

I would like to hunt bears in Ohio...it's selfish sounding and I know people will never adjust to bears repopulating in our state... But how cool would it be to drive 3 hours and go bear hunting instead of dreaming about that trip you may never get to take.... It's the same reason why I apply to hunt elk in Kentucky every year to no avail


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## bountyhunter (Apr 28, 2004)

policeman did what he seen as the right thing at the time NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO JUDGE HIM. MY QUESTION IS,, the dnr new about this bear for at least three days, where were they???????????????????????????????????/


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## reo (May 22, 2004)

bountyhunter said:


> policeman did what he seen as the right thing at the time NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO JUDGE HIM. MY QUESTION IS,, the dnr new about this bear for at least three days, where were they???????????????????????????????????/


I was under the impression that it was our right to judge or question the actions of all of the employees that get paid with our tax dollars. This would include police AND the dnr


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## flytyer (Jan 3, 2005)

reo said:


> I was under the impression that it was our right to judge or question the actions of all of the employees that get paid with our tax dollars. This would include police AND the dnr


reo, you're right on one point. Question, not judge, that's why we have the court system. It's up to them to judge not us! Question it, Yes! Judge it, NO!
But before you go blaming the guy for what he did put yourself in his shoes! It's just like a cop that shoots some drug crazed idiot that comes at him with a knife or what ever and he blows them away. Their family is always the ones to get on the idiot box and say how nice a person they were and how they would never do something like that! A 200 lb + bear can take you down in a heart beat!!!!
Unless you were there you don't know what the situation was and shouldn't be saying what he did was right or wrong!
I'm not singling you out either sorry if I come off that way, but the DNR should have been there to handle it but weren't and the guy did what he thought he had to do.


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## rustyfish (Apr 27, 2004)

No the cop would catch less grief for shooting a person out of self defense than he would for shooting a bear out of self defense (which is an animal with legal hunting season in this country). 

We are people, we come first. If bears are going to be here then they need to play by our rules. Killing the bears that step out of line slowly removes those bears from the gene pool. When there are so few bears here, removing one curious/brave bear could make a positive difference. Black bears tend to be a shy fearful creature. They should all be shot... with paint balls that is. thats what our GOV is saying. We need paint balls with permanent stain, once a bear gets to a certain number of spots he is properly dealt with. lol

Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries 
You Can Keep Bears Wild

"Use harassment techniques in conjunction with removing the attractant to get the bear to move off your property. Paintballs are a great tool for hazing. They are nonlethal, won't harm the bear if shot at the rump, but are painful enough to get the bear moving away from homes.
Talk to your neighbors. Make sure your neighbors and community administrators are aware of the ways to prevent bears from causing problems.
Learn about black bears!"


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## ezbite (May 25, 2006)

He did what I would of done had a 250 pound wild animal began heading my way. The bears dead, nobody got hurt or killed, problem solved. We pay LEO to make those choices.


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

I'm just wondering..... Are any of the people posting that the policeman who shot the bear "could have, or should have handled the situation differently" .... are they that policeman? Didn't think so.....

If you want to question why a DNR official wasn't there, that's a different story. And even if a DNR official would have been present, does anyone know if the final outcome would have been different? Didn't think so....

Does it suck the bear ended up being killed? Maybe .... nobody knows what would have happened if it hadn't been killed. One can only speculate.


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

The wildlife people should be more proactive in such a situation! That bear was headed for AKRON. I for one am tired of hearing about so called dangerous animals who didn't appear to be causing real harm, get blown away. (Another one a while back was euthanized by wildlife officials because it repeatedly got into garbage containers in towns/residental areas.) I think a(though extreme!!) solution would be a 10 ft high fence from L Erie to East Liverpool with an anti climb -over like they put on the interstate bridge walkways.(probably not that extreme since Bush wanted to put one along our international south western borders!) Noone wants bears in this state so that would stop all but the ones swimming the Ohio. This way Pennsylvania can/should keep them. That or our public servants should continue to take them down. Just a thought.


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## reo (May 22, 2004)

Bassbme said:


> I'm just wondering..... Are any of the people posting that the policeman who shot the bear "could have, or should have handled the situation differently" .... are they that policeman? Didn't think so.....
> 
> If you want to question why a DNR official wasn't there, that's a different story. And even if a DNR official would have been present, does anyone know if the final outcome would have been different? Didn't think so....
> 
> Does it suck the bear ended up being killed? Maybe .... nobody knows what would have happened if it hadn't been killed. *One can only speculate*.


A ton of speculation going on this thread. Most are speculating that the event, including the final outcome was proper but it is all speculation. I would suggest we put speculation aside in favor of education. 

Black bears populations are growing in Ohio, that is a fact. There are MANY places around the country where people and black bears peacefully coexist, mostly. Yes there are times when they have to be trapped, shot in the behind with paintballs and even killed. Was this situation handled properly? ENTIRELY possible! It is also possible that it was not. I would suggest that we all, the public, law enforcement, dnr, whatever, educate ourselves on the best practices for dealing with these situations that are bound to become even more frequent. AGAIN, I am not saying this situation was handled improperly. Nor am I saying it was handled properly. I was not there and none of the posters that are claiming that the bear should have shot are saying they were there either. I also would be the first to admit that even if I was there I would know what was done was right or not. I am suggesting that we learn the best way to address these situations. 

We seem to have a bunch of arm chair black bear experts here that think they should all be killed before they start hanging out at school bus stops waiting to maim and kill our children. That is no more reasonable than thinking the ones that lose their fear of humans and become aggressive should not be dealt with. We need to take a deep breath and figure out what is best, what other areas do and dial back on the purely emotional response.


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## reo (May 22, 2004)

c. j. stone said:


> The wildlife people should be more proactive in such a situation! That bear was headed for AKRON. I for one am tired of hearing about so called dangerous animals who didn't appear to be causing real harm, get blown away. (Another one a while back was euthanized by wildlife officials because it repeatedly got into garbage containers in towns/residental areas.) I think a(though extreme!!) solution would be a 10 ft high fence from L Erie to East Liverpool with an anti climb -over like they put on the interstate bridge walkways.(probably not that extreme since Bush wanted to put one along our international south western borders!) Noone wants bears in this state so that would stop all but the ones swimming the Ohio. This way Pennsylvania can/should keep them. That or our public servants should continue to take them down. Just a thought.


We could put the dnr in patrol boats with 50 cals for the river swimmers. For 24 hour protection they would need to have choppers equipped with FLIR to augment the patrol boats.


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## ezbite (May 25, 2006)

reo said:


> A ton of speculation going on this thread. Most are speculating that the event, including the final outcome was proper but it is all speculation. I would suggest we put speculation aside in favor of education.
> 
> Black bears populations are growing in Ohio, that is a fact. There are MANY places around the country where people and black bears peacefully coexist, mostly. Yes there are times when they have to be trapped, shot in the behind with paintballs and even killed. Was this situation handled properly? ENTIRELY possible! It is also possible that it was not. I would suggest that we all, the public, law enforcement, dnr, whatever, educate ourselves on the best practices for dealing with these situations that are bound to become even more frequent. AGAIN, I am not saying this situation was handled improperly. Nor am I saying it was handled properly. I was not there and none of the posters that are claiming that the bear should have shot are saying they were there either. I also would be the first to admit that even if I was there I would know what was done was right or not. I am suggesting that we learn the best way to address these situations.
> 
> We seem to have a bunch of arm chair black bear experts here that think they should all be killed before they start hanging out at school bus stops waiting to maim and kill our children. That is no more reasonable than thinking the ones that lose their fear of humans and become aggressive should not be dealt with. We need to take a deep breath and figure out what is best, what other areas do and dial back on the purely emotional response.


sounds to me like your an expert too...


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## reo (May 22, 2004)

ezbite said:


> sounds to me like your an expert too...





> *I also would be the first to admit that even if I was there I would know what was done was right or not. I am suggesting that we learn the best way to address these situations. *


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## ezbite (May 25, 2006)

reo said:


>


please dont be confused, my statement is and will be... we pay LEO to make these decisions... if he felt that bear was a threat to himself or any other human, then he shot it, i have no problem with it... do you know the power of a bear??


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## Lowell H Turner (Feb 22, 2011)

Agreed. DO think that if "bear control" is added to their duties, they REALISTICALLY should be properly TRAINED to address it. And if the bear at that time actually becomes an immediate real threat to humans, it`s still gonna be "good bye bear!"


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## rustyfish (Apr 27, 2004)

Im not an expert and I know very little about bears. My statements are more for the people who think "yeah bears are back, cool (clap clap clap)" Be careful for what you wish for. Very little info is out there about black bear attacks or property damage, Only numbers on deaths by bears which is very low. I would assume when they are coming into a new area and around people who have not learned to live around them, then the potential for dangers is much higher.

They are basically giant raccoon that could kill you in a second if they decided to. How many people in this state shoot raccoon because they are a pain in the butt. I have family in PA and VA they both have small farms and livestock out in the country and I have heard some tails of mass destruction.


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

reo said:


> A ton of speculation going on this thread. Most are speculating that the event, including the final outcome was proper but it is all speculation. I would suggest we put speculation aside in favor of education.
> 
> Black bears populations are growing in Ohio, that is a fact. There are MANY places around the country where people and black bears peacefully coexist, mostly. Yes there are times when they have to be trapped, shot in the behind with paintballs and even killed. Was this situation handled properly? ENTIRELY possible! It is also possible that it was not. I would suggest that we all, the public, law enforcement, dnr, whatever, educate ourselves on the best practices for dealing with these situations that are bound to become even more frequent. AGAIN, I am not saying this situation was handled improperly. Nor am I saying it was handled properly. I was not there and none of the posters that are claiming that the bear should have shot are saying they were there either. I also would be the first to admit that even if I was there I would know what was done was right or not. I am suggesting that we learn the best way to address these situations.
> 
> We seem to have a bunch of arm chair black bear experts here that think they should all be killed before they start hanging out at school bus stops waiting to maim and kill our children. That is no more reasonable than thinking the ones that lose their fear of humans and become aggressive should not be dealt with. We need to take a deep breath and figure out what is best, what other areas do and dial back on the purely emotional response.


I agree completely with your point about "education" which is the key to dealing with more bears coming into the state(Ohio) in the future. It falls on the ODNR to educate the public-and police officers-on appropriate ways to deal with the coming wave of bears. Ironically, in one news account I read that the DNR has already such a program of educating police officers on this topic. Wonder when they planned to start implementing the training sessions?(Portage cty alone had 30 some sitings in the last year!) I know money is tight for state agencies but this needs to be put at a high priority since the problem is only going to escalate in due time. 
ps-I would love to be able to bear hunt in Ohio as did my father and his father in Virginia(boy, the stories they told!) but I don't have enough years remaining so hopefully this will get dealt with so maybe my children's children will be able to do so.


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

Lowell H Turner said:


> Understand the "Bambi lovers" crying. Those SAME "Bambi lovers" would be SCREAMING BLOODY MURDER if that same bear had come across their kid in their own backyard. Young male bears are 5X more likely to be involved in a death or attack than even large cats. They are roaming to find "home ranges" and unfortunately with an ever shrinking available amount of "wild areas " and an ever expending human presence the bear almost always loses.
> They by nature are omnivores meaning they WILL attempt to devour ANYTHING that can`t escape them and can be chewed up into small enough pieces to be swallowed. That can and has included HUMANS.
> As far as "Oh, it`s "just" a small black bear..." have seen a video where a black bear "raided" a campsite in the Smokey Mountains and apparently inadvertently BIT into a can of baked beans and managed to somehow remove most of the contents after ripping the lid off of latched all metal Coleman cooler. Think you`re "TOUGH" ? TRY to rip the lid off 1 WITHOUT unlatching it. I sincerely doubt Hulk Hogan (or most human beings) could do THAT...your chances vs a charging bear (without a fire arm ) are VERY poor...


Good post! What have we always heard about reacting to a Grizzly Bear attack? Play dead! You may get killed, but, unarmed, it's about the only chance you have against an animal that large and powerful. Unfortunately that course of action with a black bear would probably get you killed. If they went as far as attacking, once they have you down, odds are they will kill you and eat you if they have the chance. Most people don't know that.

I once saw a film of a black bear breaking into a car because a bag of cookies had been left in the back seat. The car windows were all up, but the bear smelled the cookies anyway. It hooked it's claws into the seam between the roof of the car and the top of the door and proceeded to "fold" the door in half from top to bottom! Of course, once the bear had bent the door out about 2 or 3 inches the window glass shattered, but the bear didn't recognize that. It continued to flatten the door in order to get to a few cookies! 

The last thing you want is a bear wandering in a suburban or urban setting. you have pets, and bowls of pet food (a bear attractant) outside. You will probably also have vegetable gardens, another bear attractant. Not to mention garbage cans! And also people and children! 

And, for Stu_manji. Want to hunt bear? Get yourself a PA license. Not that far away. Go up by Cook Forest, bears galore up there!


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## bubbster (Jun 2, 2013)

I been all over bear country. W.Va , Pa, Canada , the western states. Only bears that came close were cubs. They get a bad rap because of old wives tales. The dog next door running loose is more of a danger than a bear! I personally have been stalked by [PET] dogs while turkey hunting. That bear was a yearling who got booted by his mother ,who just had a fresh litter of cubs. Usually one or two. There are way more bears in Pa. and have you ever heard of anyone attacked there? Yell and clap you're hands ,make noise and they will leave. Pa. has a hunting season. They learn real fast to stay away from humans anyplace there is a hunting season even close. Because city folks are dumb the bear died! Simple as that! Barney Fife got to use his bullet!


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## bubbster (Jun 2, 2013)

Black bear and a Grizzly are two totally different creatures ! Grizz is aggressive,Black bear is not,except very rare occasions. That would be a very large territorial animal. You have a better chance of dying of bee stings or lightning on the golf course.


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## vc1111 (Apr 13, 2004)

The officer seems to have been in a situation where he was forced to make a decision and he did. He chose to protect the people first and worry about the bear last. There are lots of reports about cops investigating bear situations wherein they are NOT FORCED to make a decision, and they usually let the animal go. It isn't as though they kill all bears every time.

Had he chosen to protect the bear first and had that decision gone wrong, and someone was injured or killed, everyone would be saying he should have worried about the people first and no one would have been harmed.

I'd hate to be a cop. Everyone gets to second guess all that you do.


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## leupy (Feb 12, 2007)

I am a retired LEO and I will judge the action the Officer took. I have had to shoot two dogs and a cow and one armed robber. The dogs attacked me and the cow was running the streets of Columbus and uncatchable these shootings did not make the news the armed robber made lots of news. I am a bow hunter and have taken two bears in Canada and have seen several others close up. This Officer did everything correctly and made the same disisions I would have made. He gave the bear a chance he had called ODNR and as a last resort he took its life to protect himself and the people that pay him to make disisions. Kudos to him and we should thank him for what he did. It takes courage to walk up on a bear even with a rifle.


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## glasseyes (Jan 28, 2012)

Yes I see no question about it. Its still just an animal and where any human is concerned it should be a no brainer, he did what he should have, good for him.


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## chevyjay (Oct 6, 2012)

jonny, when you get older you will realize ohio has stupid politicians. as far as handling th ebear, if the police officer wanted the bear to go in a certain direction he could have used bean bag rounds, they aren't lethal as they are used as a non lethal method to control on the criminal element. just pop the bear in the ass and he likely won't stick around.


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## Lowell H Turner (Feb 22, 2011)

bubbster, am not saying a grizzly is the same as a black bear. Am not saying 98% of the time that a black bear won`t just run off. But you WILL NOT convince me that a black bear CANNOT be dangerous. And if "Barney" only had 1 bullet at least he was ACCURATE. Sorry, but IF the situation warrents it, I personally am EMPTYING the weapon, whether upon man or beast. "OVERKILL" is always "better" than "underkill", especially around a wounded pissed off bear...


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## Lucky Touch Charters (Jun 19, 2011)

jonnythfisherteen2 said:


> about time bears started making their way into northeast ohio.


North east Ohio is the most populated area of Ohio when it comes to black bears. This bear was killed in eastern summit county. Portage county had the most bear sightings of any county in 2012. Ashtabula county leads the sate in bear sightings. Over a month ago I ersonally seen a bear cub in Lorain county. Last fall/winter there was confinred sighting in medina county.


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## imalt (Apr 17, 2008)

chevyjay said:


> jonny, when you get older you will realize ohio has stupid politicians. as far as handling th ebear, if the police officer wanted the bear to go in a certain direction he could have used bean bag rounds, they aren't lethal as they are used as a non lethal method to control on the criminal element. just pop the bear in the ass and he likely won't stick around.


Nothing like pissing off a wild animal like shooting it in the ass with a bean bag.


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## leupy (Feb 12, 2007)

Police don't carry bean bag rounds and most don't carry shotguns to fire them. I was surprised that he had a rifle and in fact don't think he should have. That is another can of worms.


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## Snakecharmer (Apr 9, 2008)

Don't worry there is another bear wandering around Kirtland/ Mentor area.


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## rizzman (Oct 25, 2007)

We do carry "bean bags", (actually called shot bags) in our cars and a lot of departments up north here do. I have had to use it on several occasions, with mixed results. Had a 160lb. guy just laugh at me after hitting him twice and a 250lb muscle head drop and cry like a baby after taking one in the thigh. I think it would probably scare off a bear, the only problem is you really need to be within 25 yards for it to be accurate and still have some velocity behind it, That's a little to close to a 250lb bear for me.. Really hope the officer was justified in dispatching the bear and not just a little "trigger happy", seen it before.


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## leupy (Feb 12, 2007)

I guess after being retired for 20 years there have been some changes but I doubt C-bus officers carry shot bags, thank you for correcting me.


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## lotaluck (Dec 17, 2009)

offshore24 said:


> This bear was killed in eastern summit county. .


Are you sure about that? I was wrong once before but i believe this bear was shot in stark county.


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## chevyjay (Oct 6, 2012)

yes it was shot in stark county. a union town police officer shot it.


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## ducman491 (Oct 31, 2011)

Do you know how quick that bear would cover 25 yards if you just pissed it off with a beanbag to the keister? I wouldn't want to be that close with a corn hole bag to defend myself.


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## jonnythfisherteen2 (Mar 5, 2011)

wait, i thought all politicians are stupid? it does seem that way sometimes.
and the bean bag thing? well, you have to consider the fact that the bear is probably enraged if its attacking you. and that might mean that shooting it with a bean bag isnt going to do much, because it cannot feel much pain due to rage. and then theres the coat, and (if theres any) fat. if anyone wants to try it, have a lethal backup just in case. i remember reading about a black bear killed by a hunter with a 12 gauge loaded with slugs for deer hunting here. of course, it was hidden under all the stuff "people want to read" in the newspaper.


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