A video posted to Facebook over the weekend appears to show two SAPD officers opening fire on two pit bulls as they attacked a Rottweiler in a backyard.
According to an SAPD incident report, officers were called out to a yard between Willee Drive and North Maria Elena Avenue for an animal-related call around 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 18.
The report said a man was concerned that a Rottweiler was going to get into his yard and attack two pit bulls being held there.
When police arrived, they found three men sitting on top of a roof overlooking their backyard, where two pit bulls were trying to jump over a small metal fence meant to keep them from crossing through a broken wooden fence separating two properties.
A Rottweiler from the other property had already crossed into their yard through the broken section of fence and appeared to be agitating the pit bulls, the document said.
The responding officer went to other property and tried to find the owner of the Rottweiler to get the dog, but no one answered the door.
When the officer returned to the yard with backup, the pit bulls had broken out of the fenced area and began mauling the Rottweiler, the document said.
“As we entered the back yard, we picked up a shovel and began swinging it at the dogs to break them apart. We were unsuccessful to do so and it appeared that the Rottweiler was at the point of dying from the continued attacks from the pit bulls,” the report said.
According to the document, both officers pulled out their guns and fired several rounds at the pit bulls.
In a video recording of the incident, one of the dogs can be seen running away, while the other slowly moves toward a fence line.
The responding officer can then be seen scolding the men on the roof.
“I had to deploy my weapon due to your incompetence,” the officer says. “Y'all are acting like cowards on top of your roof while their mauling this dog … get down from your roof and secure that other dog before it attacks somebody, then you're going to get yourself in some more trouble.”
The officer then walks up to the wounded dog and fires another round, killing the animal.
SAPD spokesman Jesse Salame said an administrative review is underway, which is standard protocol when an officer fires a weapon while on duty.
However, Salame said it appears that the officers fired as a last resort, and have not been placed on administrative duty.
The owner of the pit bulls and the Rottweiler involved in the incident were both issued citations for violating the city’s loose dog ordinance, the report said.
(MySanAntonio - Dec 23, 2015)
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