Thursday, January 2, 2014

Dog lovers protest Holly Hill police shooting of Rottweiler 'Lady'

FLORIDA -- More than a dozen people stood in front of City Hall on Wednesday, some with their dogs in tow, to protest the shooting of a 4-year-old Rottweiler by a city police officer last week.

That Rottweiler, Lady — stitches visible in her neck where a bullet fragment is lodged — and her owner Richard Stotler, were among those who lined the sidewalk amid drizzly conditions in front of the city building on Ridgewood Avenue. Some who turned out for the rally carried signs that read “Justice for Lady.”



“I’m sorry, they’re just poor little four-legged creatures that need justice done for them,” said Laura Panzarino, who lives in Daytona Beach.

Police officials said the officer had to fire his service weapon two times at the Rottweiler late Friday after the dog lunged aggressively at the officer a second time. The officer’s name is not being released pending the outcome of an internal investigation now under way.

The shooting occurred after officers went to a home at 409 Elsie Drive to look for Josey Bobbitt, a woman wanted for violation of probation for solicitation of prostitution. Police went to the home after a driver’s license showed Bobbitt lived there, a department news release states. Stotler said he told officers before the shooting occurred that he did not know who Bobbitt was and that she did not live there.


“I’m concerned that we look at this thing comprehensively and determine (first) what happened, and if it was preventable, what we can do to do things better,” Police Chief Mark Barker said during a telephone interview Wednesday about the investigation into the shooting.

Stotler questioned why the officer had to fire his service weapon instead of using mace or a Taser if he felt threatened. Stotler said that Lady had three bullet wounds, one of which he had covered Wednesday with a T-shirt.

“I hope it accomplishes some change and definitely some revamping of their so-called law enforcement,” Stotler said of the protest. “They were supposed to be here to serve and protect the community.”

Barker said the officer who shot the dog was shaken up by the incident. The city is paying more than $3,000 in veterinary bills to a local clinic that attended to Lady.

“As a dog owner, as a dog lover, I understand where emotion comes from,” Barker said of the protest. “But as a 30-plus year law enforcement officer I also know the realities of the job that these officers do and the dangers that they face, and the often split-second reactions that they are forced to make under very difficult circumstances.”


The rally held Wednesday was organized in part on Facebook. A Facebook page set up notifying people about the rally stated: “Show up with or without your pets to demand that Holly Hill take action against the officer that shot Lady and make proactive changes to prevent this from happening again!”

Crystal Hightshoe, Stotler’s girlfriend, said Lady is improving, but is traumatized after the shooting and doesn’t want to go outside.

“It’s going to take a while but with lots of love and showing her that she’s safe, I think she’ll recuperate,” she said.

(Daytona Beach News-Journal - Jan 1, 2014)

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