Caught on video - Police officer shoots, wounds dog after attack

CONNECTICUT --  It was on Coe Avenue in East Haven where the officer spotted a dog just standing on the sidewalk in the middle of the night. As he slowly approaches the dog it lunges at him and the officer opens fire.

The owner tells News 8 she had let another dog out the back door of the house to go to the bathroom when Tucker ran out as well.

“Then seconds later pop pop. I was just amazed how quick,” says the dog’s owner who did not want to be identified .

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

News 8 talked with her outside the East Haven police department where officers showed us the video all caught on the officer’s body armor camera at 2:45 Tuesday morning. You can see the officer approach the dog asking him where he comes from. The dog turns away and then lunges at the officer who fires.

Lt. Dave Emerman the spokesperson for East Haven Police says, “he didn’t do anything to provoke the dog whatsoever. He walked up to him and he kept the distance from himself and his dog but unfortunately the dog still attacked him.”

The owner asks, “why didn’t he tase him instead of shooting him?”

We showed the owner the video of the attack involving Tucker, she says is a Rhodesian Ridgeback/Labrador Retriever mix not a pit bull mix. She was surprised saying, “that is not typical behavior of Tucker. I’ve never never seen anything like that before.”

Fortunately the officer was not injured and Tucker appears to be recovering from the single gunshot wound. The owner says, “doctor tells me came within about a quarter inch of his heart but did not hit his heart.” The bullet didn’t hit his lungs either but came close enough to cause them trauma.

Kimberley MacDonald, a veterinarian at Central Hospital for Veterinary Medicine in North Haven, says, “he’s got bruising in his lungs. He’s got, excuse me, inappropriate air trapped around his lungs but he’s very stable he’s doing very fine.”

Despite the alleged attack there is no word East Haven police plan to quarantine the dog. In fact the town is footing the bill. Folks at Central Hospital tell News8 the town has authorized $800 for the dog’s care and right now there’s still money left if he needs further treatment.

(WTNH - Oct 7, 2014)

WTNH's video clip (below)



Raw camera footage from officer's body camera (below)

The video needs to be viewed because it truly happens so fast - the dog attacking - that I can't even get good screenshots of it. It's just a blur...

What's interesting about the video is that if you watch closely, you will see the signs that the dog is giving the officer. The dog is not receptive to the officer's friendly greeting. The tail being held straight out - that's not good. Although the officer doesn't know it, the dog is outside his own house, which means he's protective of it and standing his ground.

Also, the dog looking to the side. If there's not something obvious and it's quiet and no one over there, he's giving the officer the "whale eye", a sideways glance that I think is predicting an imminent bite.

Questions:

1. What do you think of the taxpayers footing this bill? Personally, I think the owner should be responsible for it. It was her dog, running at large, that attacked a police officer and was shot. As Judge Judy says, "But for your actions, your dog would not have been shot."
2. After watching the raw footage, do you agree with my assessment about the dog? What else did you see about the dog that indicated it was planning to attack?
3. If you were going to speak to police officers about aggressive dogs, what would you tell them as you have them watch the video?