A Detroit cop fatally shot a dog on its own yard as it clashed with a K9 through the fence, video shows.
Footage of the incident taken on a Ring doorbell camera showed a white dog run to the home’s gate as the officer passed with the K9 on a leash on Aug. 3, the Detroit Free Press reported.
The two dogs then run together on opposite sides of the fence before the K9 approached and the white dog attacks the K9’s snout.
The officer was then seen reaching for a gun and firing at the white dog’s head, the outlet reported.
The Detroit Police Department has defended the cop, saying she was only trying to protect the K9 officer.
Police said the officers had been searching the neighborhood for a suspect’s illegal weapon they believe was tossed into a yard, the outlet reported.
When they approached the white dog’s yard, the cops asked the homeowner to secure the pooch so they could search, police said.
While waiting for the owner to do so, the police moved on to the next yard but the white dog attacked, authorities said.
“Her partner was being attacked and we demand that our officers protect not only themselves but their partners and citizens. At this point it was a clear and present danger; her dog was being viciously harmed,” Detroit Police Commander Darin Szilagyi told the newspaper.
“It’s unfortunate it came to this, we don’t like to see any animal hurt.”
The video has since gone viral on social media with Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro calling for the cop to be fired and prosecuted.
“This officer should be held accountable,” Castro wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
