Puppy too young to bark is shot dead by Louisiana cop, suit says. Trial begins
A federal jury trial has begun in a civil case brought by the owners of a rescue puppy they say was too young to bark when a New Orleans police officer shot the dog dead at their Louisiana home more than three years ago.
Derek Brown and his wife, Julia Barecki-Brown, found their 4-month-old puppy Apollo bleeding when they stepped outside after hearing what they first thought were fireworks near their home in the Lower Garden District, a neighborhood of New Orleans, on April 10, 2021, according to their lawsuit.
Moments before, New Orleans police officer Derrick Burmaster and his partner arrived at the couple’s residence in response to a noise complaint, a second amended complaint filed in the case says.
After banging on a gate surrounding the couple’s home to check whether any dogs were there, the officers entered and then encountered Apollo and another dog running toward them, the complaint says.
Burmaster drew his gun and fired three shots at Apollo, hitting the pup with one bullet that “passed right through him — entering through the back of Apollo’s neck and exiting through Apollo’s chest,” attorneys representing Apollo’s family wrote in the filing.
Then the Browns came out to find Apollo, a Catahoula Leopard dog weighing about 22 pounds and nearly 18 inches tall, shot, according to the complaint.
“Mr. Brown held Apollo as he died from the gunshot wound,” the complaint says.
The couple’s lawsuit, first filed in March 2022, says Burmaster has a history of using force and that New Orleans Police Department internal affairs investigations found he was “unjustified” in shooting Apollo.
However, the department’s leaders decided in July 2023, after the lawsuit’s filing, that Burmaster’s actions were justified, according to The Associated Press, which first reported on the civil case making it to trial.
The Browns are suing Burmaster, the city and former police superintendent Shaun Ferguson on seven causes of action, including civil rights violations.
The trial in New Orleans federal court began the morning of June 9.
In response to McClatchy News’ request for comment on June 9, the New Orleans Police Department declined to comment on the case because it is pending.
Attorneys representing Burmaster, the city and Ferguson didn’t immediately return McClatchy News’ request for comment.
The puppy’s adoption
Earlier in 2021, the Browns adopted Apollo as a rescue from Trampled Rose Rescue and Rehab, a nonprofit based in southeast Louisiana, according to the lawsuit.
At the time, the mother of Apollo and his nine siblings had been rescued from a breeder who “kept her chained to a tree while pregnant,” the complaint says.
The Browns welcomed Apollo into the family with their second dog, Bucho, and “quickly came to care deeply” for him, their attorneys wrote in the filing.
When Apollo was killed, Brown said that he felt “responsible,” according to the complaint.
“It’s my job to protect that little guy,” Brown also said, according to the filing.
An autopsy of Apollo, conducted by Louisiana State University’s Louisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, revealed he died of trauma related to “gunshot wounds,” the complaint says.
Fragments of Burmaster’s bullets tore into three of Apollo’s legs and were also found embedded in the puppy’s paws, the autopsy found, according to the complaint.
Shrapnel also struck Burmaster’s partner’s hand, the filing says.
Constitutional violations
The Brown’s lawsuit accuses Burmaster of constitutional and state violations, as well as violations of the New Orleans Police Department’s policy.
When Apollo and the Brown’s other dog, Bucho, ran toward Burmaster and his partner, the complaint says Burmaster’s partner retreated “by stepping backwards out of the gate.”
Instead of retreating, Burmaster grabbed his gun and fired at Apollo, according to the lawsuit, which argues the puppy wasn’t a threat to him.
In the complaint, the Browns’ attorneys wrote “it is clearly established that an officer cannot shoot a dog in the absence of an objectively legitimate and imminent threat to him or others.”
“A twenty-two-pound Catahoula puppy, standing less than a foot and a half tall, does not present an objectively legitimate and imminent threat to police officers,” the complaint continues.
During the internal affairs investigation, Burmaster said he feared the puppy was going to bite him in his genital area, according to the Associated Press, which reviewed police body camera footage and records of the incident.
After the Browns rushed outside upon hearing gunfire, the outlet reported Barecki-Brown was heard shouting: “Oh my god, what did you do, what did you do … That’s a baby, that’s a puppy.”
Nearly 10 years earlier, in 2012, Burmaster shot and killed a different dog as he protected his genital area, according to the Associated Press.
According to Browns’ lawsuit, Burmaster used his gun against Apollo without considering non-lethal alternatives, such as using a taser, baton “or simply moving back away from the property and outside the gate, as Burmaster’s partner did.”
The shooting was unnecessary, the complaint says.
With their lawsuit, the Browns are asking for an unspecified amount in compensatory, special and punitive damages as well as an order finding Burmaster, New Orleans and its former police superintendent liable for civil and constitutional rights violations.
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