Shoots Pit Bull
OILDALE, Calif. -- A
sheriff's deputy shot a pit bull during an investigation, and the dog's owner
says it was law enforcement's fault.
It's a case of conflicting
accounts that resulted in a dog being shot.
The animal owner said the
deputy let the dog out when he opened the door, and law enforcement said the
dog broke through an unlatched security gate Tuesday afternoon, charging the
deputy.
The dog was shot during the
tail end of an investigation where deputies responded to a disturbance at the
same address.
"I saw the cop with
his gun drawn, and I said, 'What happened?' and he told me he shot the
dog," said Crystal Kendrick, the dog owner's roommate.
The officer first tried to
use less lethal force to stop the dog, but that did not work.
"He did attempt to
fend the dog off with his baton, but he was not successful. So he did resort to
using his firearm," said Ray Pruitt, Kern County Sheriff's Office.
During the investigation,
the dog was locked into a back bedroom. The owner said the deputy was wrong for
shooting his dog because the investigation was over, and the deputy came back.
"I told the officer I
was releasing the dog from the bedroom and back into the house because the
deputy said he is done with us. My thought is that he opened the screen because
there's no way he busted through the screen. The latch was closed. This is a
pretty good security screen door," said Kendrick.
Law enforcement said the
dog attacked the deputy before he shot the animal.
"The pit bill ran
towards the security door and was able to push it open because it wasn't
latched and ran through the door out towards the deputy," said Pruitt.
Residents said the
reinforced security door was locked, and the only way the dog got out was by
the deputy's hand.
"There's no reason for
him to be coming back in and helping himself back into the house after the
investigation was over," said Kendrick.
The dog was hit three times
but is expected to make a full recovery because no vital organs were hit; the
shots went clear through.
Do you have more
information about this story? Contact us