The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that American police shoot and kill 10,000 pet dogs per year. Perhaps many of these shootings are justified, but certainly many of them are not. Several years ago, Cato hosted a policy forum featuring Cheye Calvo, a mayor of a D.C. suburb in Maryland, whose dogs were killed by police during a drug raid on his home. (Calvo was innocent. Drug couriers were working for the delivery company and the package was mistakenly delivered to the Calvo residence.) There are many problems with what happened to Calvo and his family, but the unnecessary killings of his two beloved dogs may have been the most painful part of the ordeal.

Next Thursday, June 6, Cato will host a film screening for Of Dogs and Men, a documentary that chronicles the stories of several dog owners whose pets were needlessly killed by police officers. The film also documents police agencies who responded to these incidents and changed policy as a result.

You can check out the preview here:

The film will be shown in its entirety, starting at 6 P.M., and afterwards Cato’s Clark Neily will lead a discussion with the filmmakers Michael Ozias and Patrick Reasonover. You can find more information about the film and register for the event here.