DETROIT – One local woman is suing an officer and the City of Detroit after her dog was shot and killed.
ORIGINAL STORY: Video of Detroit police officer fatally shooting dog through fence goes viral
The officer fatally shot the dog as police were searching the neighborhood for a robber. The owner of the dog says she can’t even sit on her porch anymore because it is a reminder of the incident.
On Monday, the woman and her lawyers announced the lawsuit.
“Chino was my protection. I can’t even sit in my yard. I am used to having him run around. He was like a family member,” said Rosemary White, the dog’s owner.
The incident happened early August while police were searching Alma Street for evidence in another crime.
White’s 18-year-old daughter was asked to move 14-month-old Chino from his kennel into the backyard and take him inside.
Before that could happen Chino ran to the front yard to the fence where a police K9 put its nose through the fence. Chino started biting the K9′s muzzle. Then the officer pulled her gun out, shot and killed Chino before White’s daughter could get there.
“Before she even got to the front as she went to the step Chino was shot already. When she went to take him and put him up she never got a chance,” said White.
Her attorneys spoke to the media about the incident.
“Chino is a pet. The police dog is not. The police dog’s like a machine. It is trained to perform a specific police function...It is clear to me either the dog wasn’t trained properly, the officer wasn’t trained properly or both,” said attorney Jon Marko.
According to Marko, DPD is putting the blame on White saying the fence was too close to the sidewalk. In a recent interview the officer’s commander said if Chino was kept in the backyard this wouldn’t have happened.