Charlotte Officer Shoots Pit Bull During Arrest

CMPD officer shoots, kills pit bull during arrest

Owner says there was no reason to shoot the dog, which was biting the officer's leg.

By Cleve R. Wootson Jr.
cwootson@charlotteobserver.com

Posted: Saturday, Jul. 10, 2010

A police officer shot and killed a pit bull who attacked him as he tried to arrest a drug suspect, sparking a dispute Friday about whether the killing was justified.
A police spokesman said Officer Kevin Allred acted appropriately after the dog clamped down on his leg. But the dog's owner says the officer should not have killed a pet that was simply protecting its own yard.
The incident began around 7:30 p.m. Thursday in west Charlotte's Thomasboro neighborhood, according to police reports.
Officers began chasing 39-year-old Anthony Jones after they saw what they described as a drug transaction near Mike's Food Mart on Bradford Drive.
During a short chase, they ran through the back yard of 52-year-old Donald Pope, who lives next to the store off Freedom Drive near Interstate 85.
Two pit bulls, King and Prince, were chained in Pope's back yard. Allred caught Jones somewhere in the area between the two properties.
As Allred was making the arrest, King bit into his left leg and wouldn't let go, police say.
The officer "tried to shake the dog off," said Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Spokesman Officer Robert Fey. Then Prince ran toward the officer.
That's when Allred shot his gun at the dog clinging to his leg, striking King between the shoulder blades, Fey said. The dog died at the scene.
Prince couldn't reach Allred and was snapped back by his chain, Fey said.
Pope, who was inside his house when the shooting occurred, said he and his wife bought King two years ago to protect the family. They live near an intersection with heavy foot traffic and have posted warning signs: "No Trespassing" and "Beware of Dog."
It has kept neighbors and strangers away from their back yard, Pope said, and the dogs hadn't bitten anyone or created other problems before Thursday.
"The man had no reason for shooting the dog," Pope said of his stocky, dark brown-and-white pit. "The dog did what he's supposed to do because my wife is here sometimes alone and we're not young no more."
Fey said the dog attack and shooting happened on the convenience store property, not in Pope's yard. King's chain extended past the property line, he said, nearly to the wall of the convenience store where Allred stood.
Fey said the officer was justified in shooting an attacking dog "whether he was on the man's property or not."
Dog owners must control their pets and can be held liable if they bite someone.
Allred, a 10-year veteran of the department, was treated at a hospital for the bite wound. He faces three more rounds of rabies shots, Fey said, but was scheduled to work Friday night.
Jones is charged with several drug crimes, including possession with intent to sell marijuana and cocaine, and with selling drugs within 300 feet of a school. He was in the Mecklenburg jail Friday on $150,500 bond.

Cleve R. Wootson Jr.: 704-358-5046

_______________________________________________________

Thanks to this classy drug dealer, a police officer was bitten and he must undergo rabies vaccinations (because of the owner’s irresponsibility in not having them up to date) and the owner, even though irresponsible, lost his dog.

While I am sorry that Mr. Pope lost one of his dogs, he shouldn’t have had his dog tethered up like a guard dog—pit bulls are NOT guard dogs.

Pope, who was inside his house when the shooting occurred, said he and his wife bought King two years ago to protect the family. They live near an intersection with heavy foot traffic and have posted warning signs: "No Trespassing" and "Beware of Dog."

It has kept neighbors and strangers away from their back yard, Pope said, and the dogs hadn't bitten anyone or created other problems before Thursday.

If he wanted a guard dog, he should have gotten a German shepherd, although the outcome would have been the same but at least it wouldn’t have been a negative reflection on APBT.  

I think it is crappy though that the cop shot the dog though. That was a lot of commotion in the dog’s yard. Who knows what was going through his head and it caused him to react. Not defending the dog’s actions as human aggression is not acceptable in the APBT, but I believe UNWARRANTED human aggression is unacceptable. This man might have trained his dogs to be guard, which isn't right, but the only thing that dog saw were people running through its yard and they weren’t playing a friendly game of tag.