Friday, May 30, 2014

Michian: Officer recording of pit bull shooting released

MICHIGAN -- weeks after a family pet was shot dead by a public safety officer, the Newschannel 3 I-Team has obtained the recording of the violent encounter.

It happened around 7:00 p.m. on May 8, in the 1600 block of Kalamazoo's Lay Boulevard.

The internal investigation is complete, so the police report and dash camera video from the shooting has finally been released.


Newschannel 3 has been following the case from the beginning and has the very latest.

None of the incident was caught on camera, but the officer's microphone is engaged throughout--audio which, again, could be disturbing.


It happens so fast it's hard to break down the audio, but it ends with an officer bitten.

"Yeah, twice, right on my knee," the officer can be heard to say. "I'm leaking blood."


But when you break it down slowly, the video seems to support the officers and all the witness statements.

It starts with the officer going door-to-door, investigating a fight between some teenagers.

When the officer comes to the dog's home, you can hear Boss, a 75-pound pit bull, growling from inside.


That's around the time one of the owners says he opened the front door to call to a friend. Boss, he says, trotted into the front yard, and started heading at the officer.

After two seconds of shouting, you can hear what sounds like a dog snarling.

After five seconds, two gunshots, followed a second later by a third, and finally, Boss running down the street, clearly injured.

 

There are statements from four different witnesses in the police report, all of whom say the officer tried to retreat, but the dog charged and attacked.

Even after the first shots were fired, they say the dog continued to go after him, giving him no choice but to fire a third time.


The dog's owner (Nichole Danielle Perry, 34) said the recording was very hard to watch, but declined to comment any further. She was charged under a city ordinance with harboring a dangerous animal. The misdemeanor charge against Perry carries a penalty of up to 90 days in jail or a $500 fine.

(NEWSCHANNEL 3 - May 29, 2014)

No comments:

Post a Comment