Footage posted on social media shows the moment a Detroit police officer fatally shoots a dog on its own yard as it clashed with a K9 through the fence.
The incident was recorded on a Ring doorbell camera and the video shows a white dog run to the home’s gate as the officer passed with the K9 on a leash on August 3.
Police said the officers had been searching the neighborhood for a suspect’s illegal weapon they believe was tossed into a yard. When they approached the white dog’s yard, the cops asked the homeowner to secure the pooch so they could search, police said.
While waiting for the owner to do so, the police moved on to the next yard but the white dog and the K9 dog got into a quarrel. The officer was then seen reaching for a gun and firing at the white dog’s head.
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The Detroit Police Department has defended the cop, saying she was only trying to protect the K9 officer.
“Her partner was being attacked and we demand that our officers protect not only themselves but their partners and citizens. At this point it was a clear and present danger; her dog was being viciously harmed,” Detroit Police Commander Darin Szilagyi told the Detroit Free Press.
“It’s unfortunate it came to this, we don’t like to see any animal hurt,” he added.
The video has since gone viral on social media with Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro calling for the cop to be fired and prosecuted.
“This officer should be held accountable,” Castro wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
Watch:
A Detroit police officer shot someone’s dog that posed no threat inside its own fence after he lost control of his own K9.
This officer should be held accountable. He should be fired and prosecuted. pic.twitter.com/28D4TuiMmy
— Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) August 22, 2020
