Two Dogs Shot By Police Officer, Referred To As “Horrific Killing,” Has Community Up In Arms

An investigation is underway in Red Bluff, California after a police officer shot two dogs who were reportedly running loose in a residential neighborhood. The Saint Bernards were owned by a local family who are calling the shooting a “horrific killing,” and a “gross injustice” on Facebook. Police say the officer appears to have been acting in self-defense.

Red Bluff resident Amy Ball was in her living room on Sunday and heard dogs barking outside. She went out to investigate. “I found two Saint Bernards,” Ball told I Love My Dog. “There was a little girl riding her bike. The dogs seemed to kind of be chasing her back tire, just for a couple of seconds. They were not aggressive and they were not interested in her bike for very long.”

Ball was trying to locate the dogs’ owner and said a police officer pulled up, “and kind of was trying to corral them around the cul-de-sac. He didn’t get out for quite some time, he was almost nudging the dogs with his car,” Ball said.

She went back inside her home and all of a sudden, she heard two gunshots. “I turned around and ran screaming for him not to shoot!” Ball said he unloaded his gun into one of the dogs.

“I was screaming, ‘Don’t you dare shoot that other dog,’” Ball said. “That’s when he reloaded his gun, emptied a second clip into the second dog, shooting and killing her while stray bullets struck a neighbor’s home.”

Ball whipped out her phone and started taking videos and photos which she frantically posted on Facebook, saying: “There were two large St. Bernard dogs in my cul-de-sac … I feared they would be killed because of their large size. 10 minutes later a cop shows up, corners them in front of a house and kills them!! I am beyond losing my mind. One dog is still in the front yard suffering as we speak.”

More than 9,000 people reacted to her Facebook post, including the Red Bluff Police Department. They issued their own statement about the incident and their Facebook page, calling it a “Vicious Animal/Officer Involved Shooting.”

The police got a call about two large dogs running loose, who chased a small girl on a bike. When the officer responded he approached the two Saint Bernards, they barked and came toward him aggressively. He used pepper spray to deter the dogs’ behavior, and the dogs took off down the street.

Police said the officer followed the dogs in his patrol car to try to find the owner. The pair turned into the front yard of a home and the officer stopped, and got out of his car, to see if the dogs lived there.

At that point, “the officer was suddenly faced with the two St. Bernards barking and coming towards him aggressively. The officer was trapped between his vehicle and a fence as the dogs advanced. To protect himself, the officer fired several shots at the dogs injuring the one that was closest to him. The second dog did not run away when the shots were fired but instead circled around the officer’s patrol car while continuing to bark aggressively. The officer fired multiple shots at the second dog when the dog again moved towards him aggressively. This dog sustained fatal injuries and died on scene.”

The police said after the shooting many of the neighbors “became hostile,” which delayed emergency treatment for the injured dog. “The dog’s current condition is unknown.”

Now the owners of the dogs are fighting back on Facebook, posting that both dogs were killed, and they are “beyond heartbroken.” The family says they’ve retained an attorney and hope to bring justice to their precious dogs.

Attorney Mike Padden is representing the dogs’ owners and requested the footage from the officer’s body cam. “The police are compensated by taxpayers they have every obligation to produce that video,” Padden said. “That can be a game changer. Our position is we need to see that. It would be irresponsible of me to make any assertions until we see that.”

Padden has handled other cases of owners whose dogs were shot by police. He is now calling for more mandatory training for officers when it comes to canine encounters.

“There should be some federal legislation filed to make sure police have significant training when it comes to dealing with dogs in the field. These shootings are bad public relations for police. In some instances, the officers don’t know what to do when confronted with a dog. This is a situation that should not have gone down the way it did,” Padden said.

Attorney John Schill also handles cases where dogs are killed by police. When lawsuits are filed in these situations, Schill said, “If it was justified, the police can win. But they have to have good justification, as with any shooting.”

Police said the dog’s owners had just moved into the neighborhood and the pair escaped from the house.

A reporter arrived on the scene shortly after the shootings and showed viewers one of the dogs lying in the street, and where the officer’s bullets went into a home.

A comprehensive investigation is now underway and the police say, “due to the sensitive nature of the incident, the Tehama County District Attorney’s Office was also asked to participate to provide independent findings on this rare occurrence.”

The dogs scared the small girl on her bike and one of the dogs bit a resident, and aggressively came at another resident, who also felt he was going to be bit and seriously injured.

Ball said although she witnessed most of the horrifying situation, and has pictures and video, investigators have not contacted her. “I can’t get what I saw out of my mind. I missed work Monday. I didn’t sleep for over 30 hours. I am one of the biggest lovers of animals you’ll ever find.”

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