The attack happened at the Montrose Beach dog park last month, and the officer turned himself in on Tuesday.
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| This POS needs to be fired. |
That same officer may have been back at the Lakefront with his dog this past week, letting him run off leash at the boat park near Belmont Harbor and scaring a woman who was there with her 3-year-old daughter.
The officer eventually had to admit it was his dog in the Pomeranian attack because a witness took a cell phone picture of him... and that picture was put on posters all over the neighborhood.
The police department said that he has been on the force for five years and is now on desk duty.
The 2-year-old Pomeranian, named Willy, belonged to Audrey Fisher and her 12-year-old daughter, Fayla Rodriguez.
"It was horrific," Fisher said. "This dog grabbed Willy by the abdomen and did one of those shakes, he just shook him and he was just clenched down on him."
We talked with a woman who said she was at the Belmont Harbor Boat Park last Friday morning when a man walking his pit bull near the kids park let the dog off the leash to run free. She said she is "100 percent sure" it was the police officer.
"It's total intimidation," she said. "When I looked at him, it was like, 'Really? You're gonna let your dog off the leash! A pit bull! And I gave him that look, like 'What are you thinking?'"
Fisher finds that incredible. She is relieved that the officer turned himself in, but the injuries her dog suffered were so severe that she had to put him to sleep. Fisher also wants the officer to pay her $5,700 vet bill. Her daughter is still traumatized.
"A lot of tears, lets just say that, a lot of pain," Rodriguez said.
Fisher says they are both just glad this is now over. But she believes the cop deserves more punishment than just desk duty.
"I think the dog should be destroyed for sure," Fisher said.
We have learned the name of the officer, but are not naming him at this point. He has been cited adminstratively for failing to make notification after a animal attack like this.
In a statement, the police department said officers are expected to demonstrate the highest standards of conduct on and off duty and will not permit wrongdoing to go unaddressed. Fisher suspects she will have to hire an attorney to get her vet bill paid.
(FOX Chicago News - April 18, 2012)
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