By
David Foster,
TRENTON
— Oweeta Derry received a call from a neighbor telling her that the family’s
Cane Corso was outside of her gate in the backyard chasing a cat.
What
happened next shocked her.
“When
I got there, a cop said they shot her,” Derry said Wednesday afternoon, a day
after Poodie was killed.
“They
shot her once in the chest because a police officer said she jumped at him,”
Derry said of the 1-year-old dog.
“But
why would you then shoot her again twice again in the back?” she questioned.
“What was the purpose of that? You had already hit her in the chest.”
A
New Jersey State Police trooper and a member of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s
Office were executing an arrest warrant at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday in an alleyway on
the first block of West End Avenue near Derry’s home when Poodie appeared,
according NJSP Capt. Stephen Jones.
“This
very large dog ran out from behind from a backyard area where there was a fence
that wasn’t secured,” Jones said Wednesday. “It ran out of the yard of an
abandoned property and charged at the trooper and officer. They both discharged
rounds striking the dog and the dog ran away.”
The
officers later found the dog dead in the rear parking lot of Cadwalader
Elementary School.
“It’s
very sad when this type of thing has to happen,” Jones said. “It unfortunately
comes down to protecting life and limb there when you’re dealing with a large
aggressive animal.”
But
Derry said Poodie was anything but aggressive.
“She’s
a big baby,” said Derry, who just tied the knot last Monday. “Of course she’s a
big dog, but she was a really sweet, humble-type dog. She was very friendly and
playful.”
Derry’s
husband, Dwayne, said cops came onto the scene with their guns drawn.
“Why
are they going in the back with their guns drawn from the beginning?” he
questioned. “What is your purpose of going in the back of someone’s house with
your gun drawn?”
Dwayne
Derry said they could have ordered Poodie to stop.
“She
likes to play,” he said. “When she sees people, she jumps up wanting to play
because she’s a playful dog, but shooting her three times was unnecessary.”
The
Derrys suggested cops could have pepper-strayed Poodie or shot in the air.
“They
claimed she came at him, but even if that’s the case, he could have shot in the
air or shot her in the leg,” Oweeda Derry said. “Why shoot her in her chest and
shoot her twice times in the back?”
Describing
proper procedure, Jones explained when a dog is charging, they often move fast.
“If
a situation is occurring and shots are fired within a second, it’s not a matter
of knowing that you hit a dog and that’s the end of it,” he said. “You got to
stop the threat.”
Jones
ruled out other possible uses of force against the animal. The captain said
neither officer was carrying a Taser, but it wouldn’t have mattered anyway.
“That’s
generally not too effective on a charging animal,” Jones saidPepper spray is
clearly not effective on most dogs.”
In
the end, Jones said situations like this are a matter of officer safety.
“If
they’re there legally serving a warrant on the premises and somebody has a dog
that is not controlled, it might be a situation where it’s just simply a matter
of officer safety,” he said.
As
of Wednesday night, the Derrys said they were still awaiting a call back from
the state trooper on the scene to obtain a police report