Outcry meets
officer who shot Border Collie
Updated
Saturday, Jun 2 at 12:05 PM
"I'm yelling, 'My dogs don't bite, they're not aggressive, they're coming to greet you," said the dog's owner, Mark Boling. "He turned and shot Lily in the back."
The deadly shooting has triggered plenty of outrage.
The Fort Worth Police Department's Chief of Staff, Major Paul Henderson, tweeted "several threats have been received," and went on to say, "I have had contact with the family about the incident."
Online we found more nasty comments.
There are calls for the officer to be fired. Someone else threatens "payback's coming." And one person commented, "if he was that scared, I'm not sure if I want him to protect my family."
Boling called for calm.
"I know there are lots of animal lovers who feel for my wife and I, but this is the wrong approach," he said.
Though he still believes the officer was wrong, Boling wants to see a policy change, not a police officer fired.
Fort Worth police said the department has about 20 officer-involved animal shootings a year. However, this one, involving this breed of dog, is different.
"I think most people would think that a Border Collie is gentle - a children's dog," Boling said. "I'm sure that has to do a lot with the outcry."
Police say their officer believed the dog was being aggressive. They continue to investigate, while trying to control the backlash.