VIRGINIA — The owner of a pit bull is upset that a police officer shot and wounded his dog, but the officer says the animal growled and charged at him. Once again, a pit bull’s intentions are in dispute.
Just after 12:30 a.m. Thursday, the dog ran toward an officer on foot patrol at the Travel Inn on Richmond Road.
Williamsburg Police Chief Dave Sloggie said the officer tried to shield himself between two cars to avoid the dog. When the dog advanced to within an arm’s length, he fired one shot.
In February a James City officer shot and killed a neighbor’s pit bull as it ran toward him. The dog survived but was later euthanized because the bullet shattered its jaw. An investigation justified the shooting.
Robert Asbury, who owns the dog shot Thursday, said he was outside with the dog when the shot was fired. Asbury acknowledged the dog was not on a leash but said he was “trotting” toward the officer and “wagging his tail.” He said the dog was not acting aggressively.
[NOTE: Trotting towards you and wagging its tail is NOT a good thing. Attacking dogs often 'wag' their tails and 'trotting' towards you is b/c the pit bull has locked onto its target and coming for you. This is why when someone (or something) is being attacked, other people can get involved - beating the pit bull, punching it - and the pit bull doesn't stop and re-direct on them. It stays focused on that original victim and keeps attacking.]
Asbury said the officer was initially about 10 feet away from the dog while asking questions about what Asbury was doing there. He said as the dog, a 1-year-old male named Ice, approached, the officer began yelling “Stop!”
Asbury said Ice typically listens to commands but couldn’t hear his voice over the officer’s shouting.
“When Ice did hear my voice and turned around, that’s when the gunshot went off,” Asbury said. “If the officer was not yelling and being aggressive, the dog would have come right back to me.”
The bullet struck the dog in the jaw. He survived, and is recovering at a veterinary in Richmond.
Sloggie said his Police Department has an escalation-of-force policy for dealing with people that compels less force like pepper spray or a taser before pulling out a gun. No similar policy applies to animals, and officers can employ a “general use of force.”
“In this particular situation, an officer can react when he feels he’s in imminent danger or when he’s at risk of great bodily harm to defend himself,” Sloggie said, noting the response must seem reasonable.
“It’s reasonable not to wait to be bitten before reacting, especially when a large dog could create a lot of injury that could even be fatal.”
Sloggie said internal and criminal investigations will be conducted to determine if the officer or the owner was at fault.
“I think we’re very fortunate an innocent citizen wasn’t out there who could have gotten hurt, and we are very fortunate that the officer didn’t get hurt,” Sloggie said. “We feel sorry that a dog was hurt.”
(Virginia Gazette - Sept 11, 2011)
