By Dal Kalsi -
SIMPSONVILLE, SC (FOX Carolina)
-
The Simpsonville police chief
said an officer was forced to shoot a large dog that threatened him while
responding to a complaint call about the animal, but the dog's owners claim the
shooting should not have happened.
Chief Keith Grounsell said the
officer was responding to a call on Hudders Creek Way around 9 a.m. Monday when
the shooting occurred.
Police received a call about a
large rottweiler mix that was roaming the neighborhood and intimidating
residents, Grounsell said.
Grounsell said this was the
second call within 24 hours that officers had received about the dog.
"On Sunday morning, we
received a call after the dog lunged at a jogger and actually knocked her down,
causing some small abrasions," Grounsell said. "Luckily, a neighbor
with a cane was able to quickly reach the woman and scare the dog away."
When the officer arrived on
Monday morning, the dog immediately began barking and growling at him,
Grounsell said, and when the officer began walking toward the house where the
911 call had been placed, the dog began to charge at him.
Grounsell said the officer was
able to get a hand on his baton and swung it at the dog, but the baton only
further infuriated the dog.
At that point, for his own
safety, the officer managed to unholster his weapon and fired on the animal
four times, Grounsell said. The dog was later put to sleep
"As police officers, we
never want to shoot anything," Grounsell said. "In this case, this
was the second time the dog lunged at someone on that street within a 24-hour
period, and I'm glad that it was my officer who knew how to defend himself rather
than a child."
The dog's owner, Blake
Davenport, said the dog's name was "Bella," and Davenport thinks Bella didn't need to be shot multiple
times.
"I think that was a little
excessive," Davenport said. "Especially for (the officer) to not
actually kill it."
Bella's brother belongs to one
of Davenport's friends in the neighborhood, Hunter Armstrong, who said Bella
was not a vicious animal.
"There's not an aggressive
hair on the dog and it's been living here for well over two years and never
hurt a fly, never hurt anyone," Armstrong said.
Grounsell said he was sorry the
dog was killed, but that the officer made the right choice.
"It's very unfortunate
anytime you need to take the life of anything," Grounsell said. "I'm
an animal lover myself. I have three dogs, and the officer involved, he is an
animal lover. He didn't want to have to do this,but he did not have a choice at
that time."
Grounsell said no charges would
be filed against the owners since the dog died during the response.