FLORIDA -- Crooks targeted a man's home and what happened next broke his heart.
The man is livid because police officers shot and killed his dog, but police officers said the dog was on the attack.
"Before I could get outside to tell the dog to go back," said Anthony Sinkfield, "they shot and killed my dog."
Sinkfield lost one of his pitbulls. Police said, at around 2 a.m., burglary suspects came in running through his backyard. A Fort Lauderdale K-9 Officer opened the gate to the backyard to keep up with the suspects.
According to police, that's when one of Sinkfield's pit bulls started attacking the police dog.
Detectives said the officer tried to get the pit bull off of his dog but had no luck. The officer eventually shot and killed the pit bull.
"Our officer didn't go to this exact location seeking out this type of an outcome," said Fort Lauderdale Police spokesperson Deanna Garcia. "He was doing his job. He was responding to the community, protecting the community, and doing what we're trained to do, and that's to apprehend felons."
But Sinkfield does not feel the same about what he saw. "I think it's wrong," said Sinkfield, "coming in your yard and killing your dog."
Sinkfield told 7News, police just left his dead dog at his home. But police said Sinkfield did not cooperate and refused to let officers remove the dog.
"It's unfortunate that this family is having to deal with this," said Garcia. "We're sorry for that, but our ultimate responsibility is to provide safety to the public."
The officer's K-9 was rushed to a veterinarian and underwent surgery and should be OK.
(7Online WSVN-TV - Nov 2, 2012)
