Charlotte Weaver, the owner of a 6-year-old Rhodesian
Ridgeback family dog, filed a lawsuit on April 4, 2013 against the village of
Hazel Crest and Officers N. Lagunas and James Rollins for killing her dog.
Hazel Crest is a suburb of 14,000 south of Chicago.
This tragic story began on December 24, 2012 when officers
from the Hazel Crest Police Department were responding to a call about an
escaped convict possibly hiding in the basement of Weaver's next door neighbor.
Police are alleged to have opened the gate leading to her back yard, where on
Christmas eve morning she let her dog Kobi out of her home and into the
fenced-in backyard.
Since the gate was left open, this allowed Kobi to exit,
where he wandered into Weaver's front driveway where the officers were talking.
Weaver had no idea the officer's had left the gate unsecured at the time she
let her dog out of the house.
Police stated in their report that they didn't open the
gate, nor did they go in her back yard.
In the lawsuit filed by Weaver, one of the officers is
quoted as saying "Ma'am, your dog was getting ready to attack one of my
officers." The Hazel Crest Police Department defended the actions of the
two investigating officers by saying Kobi was on a public sidewalk when the shooting
took place. Each officer is charged in court documents as having fired two
bullets at Kobi, killing this family dog.
Weaver went to the Hazel Crest Police Department to file a
complaint, where she was rewarded with a citation for violating Hazel Crest
Ordinance Section 5-23. She was charged with having a dog at large, which is
against the law in Hazel Crest.
Weaver is seeking damages for unreasonable seizure,
aggravated animal cruelty and emotional distress. Lance Ziebell with Lavelle
Law in Palatine will be handling her case. This suit is also called Dog-Killer
Cops Face Kafakesque Lawsuit.
If this had been a dog shooting involving a private citizen,
charges such as criminal trespassing, felony cruelty to animals and disorderly
conduct would likely have been filed against Kobi's killers.
The case will now go to trial, where the police department
will argue they didn't open the back gate, and because Kobi was about to
attack, they felt killing a family dog was necessary as their own lives were in
danger.