An Uncomma-n Verb

This sentence is from an Illinois newspaper:

     The third time the dog attacked, an officer fearing for his safety, shot the animal once.

The second comma in the sentence isn't needed because it separates the subject and the verb.  It is like saying The dog, chewed the bone, which no one would do.  If the writer wanted to include a phrase telling why the officer shot the dog, a third comma should be added after "officer."  It would read, "The third time the dog attacked, an officer, fearing for his safety, shot the animal once."   Also acceptable is "The third time the dog attacked, an officer fearing for his safety shot the dog once."  Here the words "fearing for his safety" describe the officer.

Sometimes life lessons are more important than grammar lessons.  In this story, a man had let two dogs get out of a fenced yard.  Neighbors and police officers feared for their lives, and one dog was killed.  It is important to use commas correctly to communicate well, and it is important to use common sense to live well.