DETROIT — Sunday afternoon Detroit Police were responding to a person in crisis call for an individual threatening suicide when they say a neighboring dog charged at officers.
Detroit Police Commander Brian Harris said; "The dog charged at the officers, the officers fearing for their safety, one officer fired one round at the dog. The round didn’t strike the dog, it struck his partner in the lower right calf."
Thankfully the officer is in stable condition and will be okay, but the dog owner tells 7 Action News they have a very different perspective of what happened.
Tiara didn't want to give her last name out, but she's the niece of the dog owner Thomasina and says she saw the shooting.
"We let the dog out to use the bathroom from the side door," said Tiara. "The police were walking towards this door, the dog comes up, she’s protecting her area. So she just came out and she barked, she didn’t jump on them, she didn’t lunge and he was just going crazy with the gun. I thought he was gonna shoot me because he was swinging the gun all over the place. I almost had a heart attack because she’s not aggressive, she doesn’t even have teeth, she’s old."
Detroit Police issued two citations against the dog owner Thomasina for harboring a vicious animal in the city limits of Detroit.
Thomasina also didn't want to give out her last name but told 7 Action News her dog has never been aggressive and she thinks the officer needs better training; "The first thing you think to do is grab a pistol and start waving it back and forth? No mace, no taser, or nothing? You’re just gonna take her out?"
Neighbor Dominique Littleton had a different perspective, "Well the officer probably was protecting himself. This could have all been avoided with a leash, simple as that. It’s just another senseless shooting."
Commander Harris said; "This is also a good example of how you can be a responsible pet owner. Take your dog out to the backyard, have a fenced in yard, walk your dog, when it relieves itself be a good neighbor and clean up after your dog."
Thomasina said she does plan to fight the citations.
