Police officer shot and killed a pet dog
Decatur, AL (US)Incident Date: Sunday, Jan 19, 2003
County: Morgan
Disposition: Not Charged
Person of Interest: Name Undisclosed
A Decatur woman said a police officer shot her dog Sunday in her mother's front yard for no apparent reason. Police said the dog charged at an officer who responded to a call about a vicious canine on Tower Street Southeast.
"That's not true," said Janice Sapp, who lives on Tower Street Southeast. "About half of Decatur knew Big Red. All the kids know him and love him. They all know that he wouldn't bother anybody," Sapp said the dog belonged to her son, but she was keeping him and he stayed chained in her back yard. She said occasionally he got loose from the chain.
"When the chain came undone, he would come to the front door and let us know," she said. "Yesterday, that's what he did, and my husband instructed him to go next door to my mother's front porch and he was getting his shoes on to go get him.
"As he went out, we heard a gunshot and he come back in and said, 'They shot Big Red.' "
Capt. Ed Taylor said, based on the officer's report and an interview with residents in the area, the officer acted to protect himself.
"We received a phone call reporting a vicious dog out of control and not on the owner's premises. We had a report that a pit bulldog chased a man and tried to bite him," Taylor said.
"The officer went to a home, which was identified as the dog's owner. He didn't see any dog loose, so he got out and knocked on the door. He heard a noise and looked to his left and saw a red pit bull charging at him. When the dog got about 10 feet away, the officer started firing the gun at the dog and later he died there."
Sapp said Big Red was a 2-year-old, red-nose English bulldog. She said the family had him since birth and he was not vicious. "They said a man across the street called them. He may have. He doesn't like me, but I don't know that he didn't like Big Red."
Taylor said if a police officer feels an animal endangers him or anyone else, he may use a firearm. He said police work in conjunction with animal control, but this incident occurred Sunday. "The current policy is that when animal control officers are not on duty, the Police Department makes the initial response and determines whether animal control should be contacted," Taylor said.
Sapp said she asked one of the police officers to provide his name and badge number, but he wouldn't do it. "I told him I don't care what it takes, but I'm going to try my best to take him to court for killing my dog."
Taylor said any time an officer uses a firearm, the department reviews the matter. "It's certainly unfortunate that he had to use his weapon and the dog died, but he was within policy defending himself," said Taylor.
Taylor said he is not aware of any previous complaints filed with animal control or the Police Department, but another neighbor said she was afraid of the dog and always made sure he was chained before getting out of her car.
Sapp said she knows that Decatur has a leash law. "When we walked him, we had him on a leash, and he didn't bother nobody and everybody knows that. Like I said, when his chain came undone, he knew what to do and that's what he was doing Sunday morning." References« AL State Animal Cruelty Map
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