COLUMBUS, Ohio - A 21-year-old
recent Ohio State graduate filed a complaint against Columbus Police. She says
Columbus Police wrongfully shot and killed her Labrador pit-bull mix. It's a dog she considered part of the family.
Police claim they acted in
self-defense as they were trying to execute an arrest warrant against her
boyfriend for domestic violence.
A charge, she says she now
wishes she could wipe away because when police moved in, her dog, Nala, became
an unintended target.
"When I came to the door,
I cracked it like this and looked out, then Nala came beside me and stuck her
nose out here," said victim, Cartier Townsend.
"They said put your dog
away. I will shoot your dog. Those two statements. That is all that they said
to me," said Townsend.
A spokesperson for Columbus
police tells 10TV the officers, at the time, told her to secure the dog.
"I tried to put her away
and even when she ran out of her cage, I told them, don't shoot her. She's not
going to try to bite you guys," said Townsend.
Police say, after they
repeatedly told her to close the cage, Townsend jumped in the officer's way and
the dog ran toward them growling.
The police spokesperson says
the officers felt threatened, so they first deployed a taser and then fired
with a gun.
"There's no reason she
should be in a body bag right now. There's no reason she shouldn't be out there
playing outside," said Townsend.
Neighbors say the commotion
woke them up.
"One of them said that he
was going to kill that ***** dog," said neighbor, Jim McNutt.
"Didn't hear any barking
or any yelling from the inside, just the yelling of the cops. The male voices
saying, 'We're going to break down your f'n door. Control your f'n dog,'"
said neighbor, Katie Knotts.
Concerning statements, to the
recent OSU grad, who so badly wishes she had her dog back.
"None of this would have
happened if they just let me put her away," said Cartier. "There was
nothing I could do. There was nothing I could do to help her."
Police ended up arrested her
boyfriend early that morning.
There is an internal review of
the officer, who fired the gun, as is protocol within the department anytime an
officer fires a gun. There is also a review after Townsend filed her complaint.
