A police officer responded to a burglary alarm and ended up shooting the owner’s dogs, video shows
A woman in Minneapolis is criticizing the response of law enforcement after her two dogs were shot by an officer responding to a home burglary alarm, according to local media reports.
Jennifer LeMay has posted video of the shooting, which took place Saturday night, to Facebook, and it has quickly gone viral. The Minneapolis woman says the footage shows that the officer responded with unnecessary force and that her dogs were not threatening him, according to KARE.
According to CBS Minnesota, the incident took place Saturday after LeMay said her 13-year-old daughter accidentally triggered the house’s burglary alarm. Police responded and entered the family’s backyard, where their two pit bulls, both service animals, LeMay claims, were located.
The video, which has more than 137,000 views as of Sunday night, shows the officer backpedal quickly into frame with his gun drawn as one of the dogs runs towards him. The animal stops, however, and then begins to walk slowly in the officer’s direction. After the dog moves a couple of feet, the officer opens fire.
A second dog then races out, but before it can come near the officer, he fires again, and the dog runs away. The officer then climbs over the fence. Both dogs are still alive.
WARNING: The video below contains graphic content that might be upsetting to some viewers.
According to a police report obtained by KARE, the officer referred to the dogs as pit bulls and said they charging at him before he opened fire. LeMay told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that the dogs, named Ciroc and Rocko, are Staffordshire Terriers, a kind of pit bull, who help her two sons cope with severe anxiety.
LeMay told the Star Tribune she has had to pay thousands of dollars for both dogs to undergo surgery. Ciroc suffered a broken jaw, while Rocko needed stitches, she claims. On Facebook, she said both animals have returned to the house as of Sunday night.
A GoFundMe page set up for the dogs’ medical bills has raised $6,000 in eight hours.
The Minneapolis Police Department has issued a statement saying it is investigating the shooting, per CBS Minnesota.
“Anytime an officer discharges their firearm in the line of duty there is an investigation that is completed by the Minneapolis Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit,” the statement read. “We are in the process of reviewing the video posted online, as well as the officer’s body camera video.”
This story was originally published July 9, 2017 at 9:43 PM with the headline "A police officer responded to a burglary alarm and ended up shooting the owner’s dogs, video shows."