An officer was sitting in his car finishing up an accident report when he heard calls for help from a man who was being approached by an aggressive dog.
"I was more backing up and every time he would lunge, I would just back up, I was waiting, I was going to if I had to, I was going to try to hit it," said neighbor Quentin Friday.
Quentin Friday was headed down the street to check on his aunt when a neighbor's dog came at him.
He says the dog's owner, Bobbie Cunningham, was standing there and wouldn't call the dog.
"I was yelling for my aunt to get the cop," Quentin said.
The officer told the neighbor to get inside his home.
Once the man was safely inside, the officer says the dog charged in his direction.
"He again told the dog owner several times to get control of the dog and she refused," said EPD Sgt Jason Cullum.
The situation then escalated, says Cullum, when Cunningham threw a can of dog food at the officer.
"At that point, the officer tried to put her in handcuffs and the dog became more aggressive and came at him, he let go of the lady and was forced to discharge his weapon," Cullum said.
Even with a gunshot wound, the officer claims the dog continue to charge, forcing him to shoot the animal a second time.
"It's not reasonable to expect our officers to try pepper spray or taser or all that stuff when we can show where, in this case and several others in Evansville, where the highest level of force we have is not effective," said Cullum.
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| Bobbie Cunningham, 62 |
As for Cunningham, officers say they had to force their way into her home before taking her into custody.
She is charged with nine crimes, including battery and resisting law enforcement and dog bite liability.
(14 News WFIE Evansville - Oct 19, 2012)
