Another Dog Shot Thanks to Jackson Police

A Jackson Police Department officer fatally shot a dog moving in his direction on West Grand Avenue Thursday afternoon, and the dog’s owner says it was not justified.

Officer Chris King was on call at 220 W. Grand Ave. on an unrelated matter when the next-door neighbor, Jessie Regina Burton, stepped outside, according to authorities.

She let her dog, Rocky, a boxer-and-blue-heeler mix, off its leash to use the bathroom in the yard. Rocky then galloped to the neighbor’s yard, said Burton, 52.

JPD Deputy Chief of Operations Barry Michael said as the dog approached, King attempted to retreat, but the dog was running too fast. King fired one shot, killing the dog.

Michael said he felt the officer’s actions were justified, and King will not face disciplinary action.

“Department policy allows an officer to protect themselves from injury by shooting an animal that poses a threat of harm,” Michael said. “Any bite from a dog, regardless of the size of the dog, can cause injury to a human, not only from the bite, but also from potential diseases.”

Since the dog did not have a restraint or leash, the officer’s actions were justified, he said. Burton received a leash law citation, a misdemeanor offense.

But Burton said the dog was playful, not aggressive, and the officer’s actions were not right. Rocky was going to play with the neighbor’s chihuahua, Tiny, she said. “Before I could say his name, he had pulled his revolver and shot him in the head,” Burton said.

She said officers should be more careful and questioned the speed at which the entire incident occurred, about 10 seconds total.

“He barely was a year old, and he was just galloping,” Burton said. “He couldn’t mean anything, and he (King) didn’t give me a chance to call him.”

Burton said she is thinking of getting a lawyer. “I felt like he murdered him,” she said.

Visalia police officer shoots, kills dog

After responding to a report of an aggressive dog call early Monday evening. At 5:50 p.m., the VPD was called out to a residence on the 800 block of East Prospect Avenue in Visalia where officers encountered the dog, police Sgt. Greg Byerlee said. The dog, which appeared to be a boxer in breed, once they arrived. The officer discharged his weapon and killed the dog. Police do know what residence the dog came from and are in the process of speaking with the owners, Byerlee said.

Garland Police Shoot Dog in Raid That Nets One Ounce of Weed

 Daniel Hall's dog, Boyd, was 10 years, two months, and 24 days old on July 9 but still spry. They'd played fetch together the day before. But that day, according to Hall, the golden retriever/rottweiler mix was lounging on the floor while Hall, his girlfriend and a friend sat on the couch watching Two and a Half Men.

Then, all of a sudden, a crashing sound.

"I turned around, and there was a cop shooting my dog," Hall says.

That much isn't in dispute. Garland Police Department spokesman Mike Hatfield said the SWAT team was executing a no-knock search warrant and, in the process, shot the dog. Hall says Boyd was on the ground when the police entered and made no move to attack. Hatfield said the department is conducting an internal affairs investigation -- as it does whenever an officer discharges a weapon -- but that officers don't shoot animals unprovoked.

"There have been numerous drug raids where dogs were present and were not shot," Hatfield said.

But Hall's was, and he's doubly upset because he doesn't think the police had cause to raid his home. Hatfield noted that they did have a warrant, meaning a judge had decided there was enough evidence to justify the maneuver, but Hall's not sure what that could be.

He has never dealt drugs nor possessed them in any quantities and, aside from a couple of misdemeanor charges in Dallas County that were dismissed, has no criminal record. He does smoke a bowl or two of weed from time to time, but he describes himself as "a very casual, friendly smoker," a description that fits with the ounce or so of marijuana officers found. (I'm waiting on a call back from Hatfield to confirm the amount).

Hall spent the night of July 9 in jail and bonded out the next morning. That day, he took Boyd's body to a piece of land his friend owns in the country, dug a grave, and buried him

Horseshoe Bay police officer shoots dog

A police Horseshoe Bay Police Officer shot and killed a dog early Saturday after the officer approached the dog owner’s home to cite him for having a fire during a burn ban, the owner said.

Police Chief Bill Lane did not return phone or email messages from the newspaper Sunday.

Joseph Nickes said he was sitting outside his home at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday with his dog, Presley, when he noticed the officer’s squad car slowly driving up and down his street.

The officer parked his car and entered the courtyard area unannounced, Nickes said.

“And then he says ‘Get your dog. Get your dog.’ Boom. And he shoots (Presley) on the top of the head,” Nickes said.

His sister and friend were nearby and both came to the scene after hearing the gunshot, Nickes said. The 34-year-old construction worker took his story to his Facebook page, posting a photo of his dog after being shot, and alerted local news outlets.

“(The officer) said he was coming to tell us to put out this fire we had. … That’s what he cited me for,” Nickes said.

Family speaks out on shooting deaths of relative & dog

HENRICO, VA (WWBT) -

The family of a fatal shooting victim in Henrico is speaking out on their loved one's death — and the violent loss of their dog — on the same day.

As Henrico Police pieced together the homicide Wednesday morning, a sickening feeling rattled Latoya Ellerbe, after she couldn't reach her brother.

"I kept on calling his cell phone all night, all morning. I couldn't sleep, and I kept on getting strange feelings," said Latoya Ellerbe.

Her intuition was tragically correct. Latoya said her brother, Ricky Ellerbe, 32, was shot and killed at close range. His body was discovered face-down near Carroll and 20th Streets. Neighbors say the route where he was found is used frequently by people walking to the store nearby.

Latoya said the reality was piercing as police knocked on her family's door.

"We just started crying before they (police) said, 'Ricky has been shot, and he's dead.' We were just going off," described Latoya of hearing the devastating news.

Stricken with grief, Latoya ran outside her home. She said one of the officers followed, but the family's pit bull, Tiger, charged at him.

"The dog never jumped on him, but he (the police officer) just took out his gun and shot him," said Latoya.

Police: Marion Co. sergeant shoots own police dog

A Marion County Sheriff's Office sergeant said he was forced to shoot his own dog, and now the shooting is under investigation by his own department and the Hancock County Sheriff's Department.

"The dog had escaped earlier that day from his kennel, and while he was out there, the dog tried to come at him,” said Captain Robert Campbell with the Hancock County Sheriff's Department. “He did have some bite marks on him from the dog."

According to the police report, Sgt. Tom Shambaugh's dog Paco "went to the area of the kennel where he had escaped from that [that] morning."

Westminster police officer shoots pit bull

We never got the dogs version and cops never explained why they didn't use a stun device 

WESTMINSTER — Police say they had no choice but to fire at a pitbull after it lunged at officers who were responding to a domestic violence call.

Police say they got the call about 9:45 Wednesday morning, reporting a possible domestic violence incident at an apartment in the 8500 block of Decatur.

Police say the caller told them it looked like the woman involved had blood on her arm. When officers went to the door, police say the man and woman inside refused to open it.

And when officers forced their way inside, they say a pit bull lunged at them. Police fired one shot, which hit the dog in the snout.

The dog was taken to a vet and is in stable condition. It’s being held in quarantine at the Foothills Animal Shelter, because it apparently bit the man involved in the incident.

Police say 23-year-old Susan Sego and 33-year-old Thomas Rucker were taken into custody on outstanding traffic warrants.

The District Attorney will decide if any domestic violence charges will be filed. Neighbors say the do always seemed friendly and they never had any problems. Neighbors speculate the commotion may have scared and upset the dog.

Man Devastated After Cops Shoot Beloved Dog Dead During Chase

The owner lies next to her dog, Monkey, which was shot to death while police were reportedly engaged in a foot pursuit of men accused of beating a man and stealing his car.

July 10, 2012Updated Jul 10, 2012 at 10:41 AM PDT

The image of a Louisiana woman collapsed in front of her son’s beloved pet dog — which had been shot dead by police chasing a robber — has provoked an online petition demanding an investigation.

Outraged animal lovers want to know: Were police justified in using deadly force against the canine?

The Crochet family, of Lake Charles, doesn’t believe so. They said their dog, Monkey, was needlessly shot multiple times by an officer during the July 2 incident.

“She (Monkey) had not ripped his clothes, she had not tried to bite him and he shot her instead of trying to use pepper spray or some non-lethal force,” Chris Crochet told NBC affiliate KPLC in Lake Charles.

Setting off the chain events was a 911 call: A man said he was attacked by three people before they stole his car, according to police.
Cops spotted the car. Two of the suspects bailed out and were chased on foot. One of them ran through the Crochet family’s yard, police said. That’s when Monkey bolted out of the yard and crossed paths with an officer.

“The policeman at that point thought the dog was attacking him, and he shot the dog,” Lake Charles Deputy Police Chief Mark Kraus told KPLC.

But Chris Crochet’s mother, Dolores, said the officer overreacted.

“Four times (the officer) shot and the bullet went in,” Dolores Crochet told KPLC. “Others said they heard more shots. ... Well, I was with her. She walked over there and she laid down and that’s where she died.”

A picture of Dolores Crochet kneeling beside the dead dog in anguish was posted online. That triggered a petition on Change.org demanding “Justice for Monkey.”

Aurora police officer shoots, kills dog during traffic stop

A traffic stop in Aurora ended with a family’s dog being shot and killed by a police officer.

“It is unfortunate the way it turned out,” Aurora Police Chief Seth Riewaldt said.

On July 5 at about 5 p.m., Riewaldt said Officer Christopher Reiter followed a 53-year-old Aurora woman’s vehicle to her East Garfield Road driveway after receiving a report of a possible impaired driver. The woman and her dog were in the vehicle.

“The dog was acting in a very aggressive manner,” Riewaldt said. “Officer Reiter was shouting to the driver to roll up the windows. She was either unable to or unwilling to do so.

“The dog came out of the window, and the officer retreated around the front of the car. The dog kept charging, and he fired.”

Riewaldt said Reiter fired one shot. “I know Officer Reiter wishes he didn’t have to do it,” Riewaldt said. “I support him. He is an experienced officer.”

A police report has not yet been filed, police said. The dog, Pele, 6, was a male Australian shepherd mix and weighed about 50 pounds.

Aurora resident Thomi West, owner of the dog, said Reiter never yelled to close the windows until she had exited the vehicle.

West said her dog jumped out the rear driver’s side passenger window. She said she cannot understand why her dog was shot.

“That is so unfathomable to me,” she said. “We used to have a joke that if a burglar came into the house, Pele would lick him to death. He wasn’t a mean dog.”

Riewaldt said Reiter and West were the only two people present when the dog was killed.

No charges had been filed against West, but Riewaldt said charges might be forthcoming.

“We are reviewing what the appropriate charges would be,” he said.

Aurora resident Jennifer West, who is Thomi West’s daughter-in-law, said the family is in shock after the dog’s death.

“He was the sweetest dog,” she said. “My 4-year-old son, Jordan, grew up with this dog. It’s pathetic. They shot an innocent dog in the face.”

Reiter was unavailable for comment.

The police chief said he empathizes with the family.

“I love dogs. I have had dogs for years and years,” Riewaldt said. “But I would not want to be bitten by a dog. The use of force has to be reasonable and necessary. I believe it was both reasonable and necessary.

“This is being characterized as killing an innocent dog, but it was a pretty good-sized dog that could certainly damage a person,” he added.

“Hypothetically,” Riewaldt said officers may choose to instead kick a dog in the mouth, or Taser or pepper spray the animal.

“But if a Taser or pepper spray misses, it would be ineffective,” he said.

Riewaldt said dogs being shot by police are “extremely rare. I don’t remember anybody in the police department here ever having to do that.”

This devastating photo tells the tragic story

This devastating photo tells the tragic story Heartbreaking photo shows the grief of a dog owner moments after police shoot dead her friendly family pet

of a family dog, shot dead by a police officer as he pursued a robbery suspect on Sunday.

Monkey got caught up in the chaos of a foot pursuit along Hodges Street in Lake Charles, Louisiana as officers chased teens believed to have beaten a man in a mall parking lot before stealing his car which they then abandoned.

The dog was in a back yard on the street when she heard the commotion and ran out through an open gate.

One of the officers involved in the chase apparently thought that Monkey was attacking and opened fired on her.

Monkey's distress owner, Delores Crochet, witnessed one of the shots being fired and said that neighbours told her of the three others.

‘He was shooting down like this,’ Crochet told kplctv.com, gesturing toward

‘Monkey wasn't jumping on him or anything. Four times he shot and the bullet went in. She came and met me, walked over there and she laid down and that's where she died.’

COP ON DOG ATTACKS

In April officers in Austin, Texas went to the wrong address whenresponded to an emergency call, pulling a gun on homeowner Michael Paxton and shooting his dog.

The same month British schoolgirl Susi Ryan was horrified when heavy-handed police tasered the dog she was watching for a friend because it had grazed her knee.

Also in April police responding to a disturbance in Jonesboro, Georgia, were accused of 'cold blooded murder' after shooting a Golden Retriever at the home

Last year cops in Philadelphia received reports of a dog biting someone on the let but made a mistake with the address and shot the wrong dog.

Crochet’s son, Chris, told the news site there must have been an alternative to shooting her.

‘She had not ripped his clothes, she had not tried to bite him,’ he said, ‘and he shot her instead of trying to use pepper spray or some non lethal force.’

Deputy Lake Charles Police Chief Mark Kraus visited the family home to investigate what happened.

‘When the suspect left the gate open the owner's dog came out of that opening, saw the policeman running through his yard and approached the policeman,’ he said.

‘The policeman at that point, thought the dog was attacking him and he shot the dog.’ Kraus added that it was too soon to know whether the officer used his gun appropriately.

Two youths and a nineteen-year-old were arrested in connection with the robbery.

Family of Pomeranian Killed By Off-Duty Policeman's Pit Bull Files Lawsuit

Family of Pomeranian Killed By Off-Duty Policeman's Pit Bull Files Lawsuit

The family of a Pomeranian-Papillon mixed breed dog has filed a lawsuit against the owner of the pit bull who mauled the smaller dog to death at Montrose Avenue dog beach in March.

Audrey Fisher and her daughter Fayla Rodriguez filed the suit in Cook County Circuit Court Tuesday, claiming that off-duty police officer Matthew Bracken failed to intervene or identify when his dog attacked their dog, Willy.

Fisher incurred $5,700 in veterinary bills as a result of the attack and Willy died three days later. Bracken allegedly walked away from the scene with his dog and refused to identify himself. Cell phone camera photos captured images of Bracken and his dog, and Bracken later admitted to his superiors that he was the owner of the pit bull, relieved of his duties pending an Internal Affairs investigation and cited by the Police Department's Animal Crimes unit for not reporting an animal attack within 24 hours.

The lawsuit claims one bystander tried to stop the attack by hitting the pit bull on the head, leading Bracken to yell, "Why are you hitting my (expletive) dog?" He refused to identify himself to Fisher and allegedly denied he was a cop to another bystander who recognized the sunglasses he was wearing as one popular among police officers.

Fisher and Rodriguez are suing Bracken only and are seeking $275,000 in damages.

Owner suing town of Erie, police officer over fatal 2011 dog shooting

Owner suing town of Erie, police officer over fatal 2011 dog shooting

It's been more than a year since Brittany Moore watched an Erie police officer fatally shoot her 4-year-old German shepherd Ava, but she said the events that took place that night still haunt her.

"It's been very painful," Moore said Thursday. "We still miss her. We will always miss her."

Now, Moore is suing the town of Erie and police Officer Jamie Chester over Ava's death. Attorneys with the Wheat Ridge-based Animal Law Center filed the lawsuit in Boulder District Court on Thursday on behalf of Moore and her three daughters. The family is seeking damages for civil rights violations, emotional harm and willful and wanton contact.

"They took our family member from us," Moore said. "They did wrong. They need to be made responsible for what they did."

Erie police Lt. Lee Mathis and Erie town spokesman Fred Diehl said they couldn’t comment because the town has yet to be served with Moore’s lawsuit. Chester, who could not be reached Thursday, is still with the police department, Mathis said. 

On May 10, 2011, Moore said she called 911 after receiving threatening phone calls from her fiancé's ex-girlfriend at her house at 437 Conrad Drive. At around 8 p.m., Chester responded on the call, but mistakenly went to Moore's neighbor's house at 443 Conrad Drive, Moore said.

At the time, Moore said her two dogs, Ava and Lucy, were sitting in her yard. When she went next door to talk to Chester, the two dogs followed. When Chester began walking toward Moore's house, both dogs went up to Chester, who Moore said immediately put his hand on his holster and began backing up.

Moore said she became concerned for her dogs and called out "nein" -- "no" in German.

Moore said Ava -- who had a rawhide bone in her mouth the entire time -- turned her head toward Moore about 5 or 6 feet away from Chester before he opened fire, mortally wounding the dog. In his report, Chester said the dog bared its teeth and lunged at him,

Brittany Moore shows a photo and paw casting of her dog, Ava, that she keeps in a box with the dog's ashes. Attorneys with the Animal Law Center announced they have filed a lawsuit against the town of Erie and Erie police Officer Jamie Chester on behalf of Moore, whose dog was shot and killed by Chester in 2011 ( CLIFF GRASSMICK )which Moore disputes.

"She was never aggressive at all," Moore said of Ava. "She grew up with my daughters. She was well-behaved and very loving, very loyal."

DA's review

Since Chester had been involved in a previous incident in 2007 in which he fatally shot a dog after it mauled a 9-year-old boy, Erie police asked for an investigation by the Boulder County District Attorney's Office. The DA's office found no wrongdoing on Chester's part and did not press charges.

But according to Moore's lawsuit, a necropsy conducted at Colorado State University indicated the bullet entered through the dog's back and severed its spinal column, which is inconsistent with Chester's report.

Jennifer Edwards, the founder and an attorney with the Animal Law Center, said multiple witnesses back up Moore's version of events.

"Obviously the district attorney did not find any fault with the officer, but we beg to differ," she said. "We absolutely have done our due diligence and conducted our own investigation."

Moore said in the year since the shooting, she has never received any sort of apology from either Chester or the Erie Police Department, and she said the lack of action prompted the lawsuit.

"We gave them a year to make it right, and they didn't," she said. "I was never given an apology. Nothing was ever given to our family."

Click on any photo to see full galleryIn her house, Moore has a box with a picture of Ava that contains the dog's ashes, sympathy cards from friends and some of Ava's hair.

"It's very emotional," Moore said as she went through the items in the box Thursday. "It brings up all the emotions about what happened that night."

'It's gut-wrenching'

Moore said she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and still goes to therapy sessions, along with her daughters, ages 6, 8 and 9.

"They still cry, they still have nightmares," she said. "It's hard for young ones to get. Why would a police officer shoot their dog? Try explaining that to a 9-year-old, or 8-year-old or 6-year-old. It's gut-wrenching."

The Animal Law Center's Edwards said she also hopes the lawsuit will change the way officers are trained.

"Hopefully it will change the way law enforcement handles our animals," she said. "Shooting should be absolutely the last resort."

Moore added: "It will make, hopefully, police more aware that you can't go around shooting just cause they have a badge. Maybe it will spare a family the tragedy we have gone through."

Cops Shoot Dog During Foot Chase; Petition Started

Policeofficers in Lake Charles, Louisiana shot and killed a family dog named Monkey while chasing a suspect, according to an online petition calling for the police department to fully investigate the incident.

According to the local NBC affiliate KPLC:

It happened yesterday at a house on Hodges Street in Lake Charles where the dog named "Monkey" was allegedly shot multiple times.

The shooting reportedly occurred when the dog began barking at police who were chasing some suspects.

Lake Charles Police spokesman Mark Kraus says they are investigating the shooting.

And from the petition:

"Monkey" was more than a pet she was as close to a family member as anyone or anything could be. Monkey was shot by a Lake Charles Police Officer or Officers. She was shot multiple times after she ran out a gate that was left open by a suspect being chased by the officers. Now our beloved monkey is gone because she was considered a potential threat to the officers. If anyone knew monkey they know she was not any threat to anything.

Officer shoots, kills dog that charged him in south Phoenix

Officer shoots, kills dog that charged him in south Phoenix

PHOENIX - Police say an officer shot and killed a dog that charged him Monday morning while responding to a call in south Phoenix.

The incident happened when the Phoenix police officer was called out to Central and St. Catherine avenues for a theft call in the area just south of Southern Avenue, said Phoenix police Sgt. Trent Crump.

The pit bull reportedly was not on a leash and charged at the officer.

That’s when the officer shot and killed the dog.

ABC15 crews on scene saw police tape and a few officers surrounding the area.

Police said there’s no word if the dog’s owner will face any charges.

Woman's suit: Minneapolis police shot my dog, ransacked home

A north Minneapolis woman whose dog was shot 10 times and whose house was ransacked by Minneapolis police officers has sued the department, alleging that the incident earlier this year was set off after a failed police pursuit of her fugitive brother.

One officer was hit in the leg by a stray bullet as a trio of officers shot the dog on the night of March 30, and in the confusion that followed, a large group of officers arriving at the scene thought someone in the house had shot the officer, according to the suit.

The suit charges that enraged officers then ransacked the house, breaking windows and doors, damaging furniture, ripping a large-screen TV from the wall and dumping a fish tank onto the floor, killing the children's pet fish and hermit crabs.

Leah Anderson's suit, filed May 24 in U.S. District Court, alleges violations of her constitutional and civil rights and asks for compensatory and punitive damages of at least $300,000.

The Police Department's internal affairs unit has opened an investigation of the incident, a police spokesman said Friday. No department leaders were immediately available for comment.

In her suit, Anderson says that on the evening of March 30, she had several out-of-town guests staying at her home in the 1600 block of 22nd Avenue N. because her mother's funeral had just taken place.

About 9:30 p.m., her brother, a convicted sex offender named Roosevelt Montgomery, came to the house uninvited. He had fled his halfway home and, unknown to Anderson, was fleeing police officers, the suit says. He was told to leave and ran out the back door, the suit says.

Moments later, three police officers who were in pursuit of Montgomery arrived. Later that night, police said the three were working with Department of Corrections officers on the pursuit.

As Anderson's husband met the officers in the front yard, the family's 8-month-old pit bull appeared. Anderson's husband said he would collect the dog and called for it, but the officers called out "Pit bull!" and began shooting, striking the dog in the head, legs and body and fatally injuring it, the suit said. A bullet or bullet fragment struck one of the officers in the leg, and another dog also was shot and wounded.

The officers radioed that one of them had been shot, and soon approximately 30 officers arrived at the house, according to the suit. Anderson and her family and guests were handcuffed or placed on the ground before they were led away, the suit said.

Anderson said she discovered the damage to her home when she returned several hours later. She said she then met with Minneapolis police Sgt. Jerry Wallerich to complain. According to the lawsuit, he told her that the police action was done out of revenge due to the police officers' mistaken assumption that someone in the house had fired at them and advised her to sue the department to recover her losses.

The following afternoon, on March 31, several officers who did not have a search warrant returned to Anderson's home, the suit says. They threatened the home's occupants, used a racial epithet and told one person that it was lucky it wasn't dark outside or they would put that individual in the hospital, according to the suit.

Anderson then called Wallerich, who told her to hand her phone to one of the officers. Anderson claims in her suit that she could overhear Wallerich telling the officers that they didn't have a warrant and should leave the home immediately.

The Minneapolis Police Department's Policy & Procedure Manual states that any damage that occurs to an occupant's home during a search must be reported to a supervisor and photographed. The officers' alleged language would be a violation of the department's professional code of conduct. The manual also states that while serving a search warrant, officers must return a house to some semblance of order, with drawers placed back in dressers, and so on.

Officer cleared in dogs shooting incident that wounds citizen

 

LIMA — A police officer who accidentally shot a pedestrian while shooting at two pit bulls that attacked a dog warden and lunged at a police officer will return to work.

Officer Frank Vaccaro was cleared to return to work Friday, Lima Police Maj. Chip Protsman said. The decision comes after the Allen County Prosecutor's Office reviewed the matter and ruled no crime was committed.

Gates police stand by cop's decision to shoot dog

Gates police stand by cop's decision to shoot dog

The Gates Police Department held a press conference Friday in response to a dog that was shot by an officer on Crestwood Boulevard Monday morning.

According to Lt. Jim VanBrederode of the Gates Police Department, the officer found the 142-pound pitbull mastiff loose and dragging a broken chain outside of the owner’s home around 9 a.m.

Video taken by the police department shows that the dog was barking while approaching the officer.

When the animal came within a couple feet of the officer, he shot the dog in the leg in self defense. The officer was not injured.

The dog’s owner, Jerome Johnson, 40, was ticketed for having an unleashed dog -- a misdemeanor under New York State Agricultural and Markets Law.

Johnson, who owns multiple dogs, has been ticketed and fined previously for similar incidents.

The family opted to have the animal euthanized.

“We are sorry for the family’s loss but our officer acted in a reponsible fashion following our department policy and, above all, protecting the safety of neighbors and himself,” VanBrederode said.