CHICAGO, IL -- A city police officer shot and killed a loose pit bull that attacked his canine partner while the team investigated an armed robbery in the Calumet area on Tuesday, police said.
Three men were arrested shortly after 10 a.m. in the alley behind 150th Street and Melville Avenue in connection with the robbery a block away, police said.
Officers Darrell Shaffer and canine Eddy were searching for the weapon used when a pit bull shot out of a nearby house and latched onto the canine officer.
Shaffer attempted to separate the dogs -- spraining his wrist in the process -- but the pit bull would not let go and was shot by Shaffer, according to reports of the incident.
Shaffer was treated at St. Catherine Hospital and released; Eddy was treated for puncture wounds to his neck and legs by a local veterinarian and is going to be fine, said Police Chief Gus Flores.
The attack points up a general disregard by dog owners of the specific requirements for keeping a pit bull in the city, Flores said.
East Chicago ordinance requires that pit bulls be registered within 72 hours of being brought into the city, that they be confined within 6-foot tall fences, and muzzled to prevent biting whenever taken out on a leash.
City law also requires that owners of pit bulls maintain a liability insurance policy of $1 million on each dog.
"Illegally owned pit bulls will be immediately confiscated by police and turned over to animal control," said Flores.
Darion Coleman, 19, of Hammond, Issac Facen, 20, and Dwight Culver, 18, both of East Chicago, remained in custody late Tuesday on pending charges of armed robbery and resisting arrest.
(NWTimes - July 12, 2011)
