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.