Anti Federalist
09-24-2012, 08:43 PM
Dog owner: Officer ‘murdered dog in cold blood’
Posted: Monday, September 24, 2012 3:35 pm | Updated: 6:23 pm, Mon Sep 24, 2012.
http://www.starherald.com/news/local_news/dog-owner-officer-murdered-dog-in-cold-blood/article_df004016-068f-11e2-9e26-001a4bcf887a.html
LYMAN — A police officer who shot a Rottweiler acted properly Saturday when a resident’s dog attacked him, Lyman Police Chief Jeff Chitwood said Monday. The owner of the dog, Raul Ayala, says the officer “murdered my dog in cold blood.”
By Sunday, Ayala and his family had started a Facebook page called “JusticeforBos Ayala.” On the page, Ayala claims that a Lyman police officer “murdered” his dog by shooting it four times.
Ayala and his family had been gone from their home on a shopping trip for about 1½ hours when they were notified that their dog, Bos, had been killed.
“We rushed home as fast as we could,” he said.
Ayala disputes Chitwood’s official version of events and says he has the video to prove the officer acted without justification in shooting his dog.
A Lyman Police officer was on routine patrol when he came across Ayala’s dog at a neighbor’s residence shortly before 2 p.m. Saturday, Chitwood told the Star-Herald. The dog had been acting aggressively toward another dog after apparently getting out of his kennel.
According to the officer, the resident of the home had been attempting to get the Rottweiler away from her dog when the officer stopped. As the officer attempted to get the Rottweiler to leave the other dog and the residence, Chitwood said, the Rottweiler lunged at him and tried to bite him.
The officer continued to try to direct the dog to its residence and its kennel. Once at its residence, the dog lunged at the officer a second time, attempting to bite the officer in the face. The officer shot the dog when it attacked him.
Chitwood said the dog continued to lunge at the officer, who discharged his service weapon another two times until the dog died. The officer “thought of the family,” he said, removing the dog and blood from the sidewalk of the residence and contacted family members to tell them of the incident.
There were eyewitnesses to the dog threatening the other dog and the officer, he said.
“If the dog had been in his kennel and would not have been acting aggressively, none of this would have ever happened,” Chitwood said, adding that his officer’s safety and the safety of the public came first in a situation involving an aggressive dog. A Village of Lyman ordinance prohibits dogs from running loose and allows action against an aggressive dog.
Ayala, who purchased his dog Bos from a friend about 18 months ago, said his dog didn’t act aggressively toward the officer or others. Though the family calls him a “security guard,” he said, the dog simply alerted the family when strangers were at the home or other events around the home.
“He was a good dog,” he said, saying he walked the dog daily and enjoyed taking him to a local lake. “He was a good family dog. He would play with his toys. He would play with our kids. He acted just like a puppy.”
Video from security cameras at the Ayala home shows the dog getting out of the kennel after the door had not been latched properly. Ayala had put the dog in the kennel himself.
“It’s my fault,” he said. “I didn’t latch it. Dogs accidentally get loose sometimes, but he didn’t wander too far from my house.”
Ayala and his family had outfitted their home with security cameras in response to harassment from other individuals, he said. The owner of the Rottweiler says his dog remains on video most of the time that he had been out of the kennel.
Ayala did not provide the Star-Herald with a copy of the video, but showed footage from the video.
In one portion of the video shown to the Star-Herald, the dog is across the street at a local convenience store, sitting in shade. People come in and out of the store, getting in vehicles, and the dog does not seem to act aggressively.
The dog was at the convenience store when the officer spotted him, Ayala said. The video shows the dog at the store, the officer knocking on Ayala’s door and talking to a neighbor. The video does contain timestamps, he said.
“My dog was scared of him,” he said. “You can see my dog try to run to his kennel in the back door when the officer shoots him in the rear end.”
In video presented to the Star-Herald, the dog is shot for the first time off camera. The dog comes on camera, staggering after having been shot. The officer follows, shooting the dog another two or three times. As the dog is shot, he is spinning around, not lunging at the officer. Blood spatters onto the sidewalk as the dog spins.
“He (the officer) was mad. The video shows him hauling (expletive). If he was afraid of the dog or something, he should have gotten someone who could handle the dog. He acted unprofessionally,” Ayala said. ““It took just six minutes for him to end my dog’s life.”
The Ayala family took the dog to a local veterinarian, who conducted a necropsy. The Ayala family also will be cremating the dog.
Copies of a necropsy provided by Ayala from the veterinarian indicate the dog suffered five puncture wounds across his body. Two bullet fragments were removed from the body. Wounds were in the upper left front leg, right pectoral area, two wounds were in the thorax and one wound, caused by a "bullet trail" was present on the right cheek.
Ayala has not contacted the Lyman Police Department personally, Chitwood said Monday morning.
“If they have a concern (with the actions of a police officer), they can talk to me, the police chief, directly” he said. “It puzzles me that they want to try this in the media without even discussing it with administration.”
Ayala acknowledged that he had not contacted the Lyman Police Department on Monday. However, he said, officials know that the family is upset. In his conversations with the neighbors, he said, he was told the dog was not acting aggressively toward other dogs, residents or the officers.
“Honestly, I don’t trust them (the police). They are only covering their own (expletive),” Ayala said.
Chitwood said the officer contacted the Scotts Bluff County Sheriff’s Department and the Nebraska State Patrol, which reviewed the incident. The officer is also a deputy with the sheriff’s department.
He said he is unaware of Ayala providing the video to either reviewing agency and it has not been provided to him.
“My understanding is that all statements from witnesses have supported the officer’s statements,” Chitwood said.
Ayala said he plans to contact an attorney to see if he can take action against the Lyman Police Department. He had been seeking to file a complaint with another agency as of press time.
Posted: Monday, September 24, 2012 3:35 pm | Updated: 6:23 pm, Mon Sep 24, 2012.
http://www.starherald.com/news/local_news/dog-owner-officer-murdered-dog-in-cold-blood/article_df004016-068f-11e2-9e26-001a4bcf887a.html
LYMAN — A police officer who shot a Rottweiler acted properly Saturday when a resident’s dog attacked him, Lyman Police Chief Jeff Chitwood said Monday. The owner of the dog, Raul Ayala, says the officer “murdered my dog in cold blood.”
By Sunday, Ayala and his family had started a Facebook page called “JusticeforBos Ayala.” On the page, Ayala claims that a Lyman police officer “murdered” his dog by shooting it four times.
Ayala and his family had been gone from their home on a shopping trip for about 1½ hours when they were notified that their dog, Bos, had been killed.
“We rushed home as fast as we could,” he said.
Ayala disputes Chitwood’s official version of events and says he has the video to prove the officer acted without justification in shooting his dog.
A Lyman Police officer was on routine patrol when he came across Ayala’s dog at a neighbor’s residence shortly before 2 p.m. Saturday, Chitwood told the Star-Herald. The dog had been acting aggressively toward another dog after apparently getting out of his kennel.
According to the officer, the resident of the home had been attempting to get the Rottweiler away from her dog when the officer stopped. As the officer attempted to get the Rottweiler to leave the other dog and the residence, Chitwood said, the Rottweiler lunged at him and tried to bite him.
The officer continued to try to direct the dog to its residence and its kennel. Once at its residence, the dog lunged at the officer a second time, attempting to bite the officer in the face. The officer shot the dog when it attacked him.
Chitwood said the dog continued to lunge at the officer, who discharged his service weapon another two times until the dog died. The officer “thought of the family,” he said, removing the dog and blood from the sidewalk of the residence and contacted family members to tell them of the incident.
There were eyewitnesses to the dog threatening the other dog and the officer, he said.
“If the dog had been in his kennel and would not have been acting aggressively, none of this would have ever happened,” Chitwood said, adding that his officer’s safety and the safety of the public came first in a situation involving an aggressive dog. A Village of Lyman ordinance prohibits dogs from running loose and allows action against an aggressive dog.
Ayala, who purchased his dog Bos from a friend about 18 months ago, said his dog didn’t act aggressively toward the officer or others. Though the family calls him a “security guard,” he said, the dog simply alerted the family when strangers were at the home or other events around the home.
“He was a good dog,” he said, saying he walked the dog daily and enjoyed taking him to a local lake. “He was a good family dog. He would play with his toys. He would play with our kids. He acted just like a puppy.”
Video from security cameras at the Ayala home shows the dog getting out of the kennel after the door had not been latched properly. Ayala had put the dog in the kennel himself.
“It’s my fault,” he said. “I didn’t latch it. Dogs accidentally get loose sometimes, but he didn’t wander too far from my house.”
Ayala and his family had outfitted their home with security cameras in response to harassment from other individuals, he said. The owner of the Rottweiler says his dog remains on video most of the time that he had been out of the kennel.
Ayala did not provide the Star-Herald with a copy of the video, but showed footage from the video.
In one portion of the video shown to the Star-Herald, the dog is across the street at a local convenience store, sitting in shade. People come in and out of the store, getting in vehicles, and the dog does not seem to act aggressively.
The dog was at the convenience store when the officer spotted him, Ayala said. The video shows the dog at the store, the officer knocking on Ayala’s door and talking to a neighbor. The video does contain timestamps, he said.
“My dog was scared of him,” he said. “You can see my dog try to run to his kennel in the back door when the officer shoots him in the rear end.”
In video presented to the Star-Herald, the dog is shot for the first time off camera. The dog comes on camera, staggering after having been shot. The officer follows, shooting the dog another two or three times. As the dog is shot, he is spinning around, not lunging at the officer. Blood spatters onto the sidewalk as the dog spins.
“He (the officer) was mad. The video shows him hauling (expletive). If he was afraid of the dog or something, he should have gotten someone who could handle the dog. He acted unprofessionally,” Ayala said. ““It took just six minutes for him to end my dog’s life.”
The Ayala family took the dog to a local veterinarian, who conducted a necropsy. The Ayala family also will be cremating the dog.
Copies of a necropsy provided by Ayala from the veterinarian indicate the dog suffered five puncture wounds across his body. Two bullet fragments were removed from the body. Wounds were in the upper left front leg, right pectoral area, two wounds were in the thorax and one wound, caused by a "bullet trail" was present on the right cheek.
Ayala has not contacted the Lyman Police Department personally, Chitwood said Monday morning.
“If they have a concern (with the actions of a police officer), they can talk to me, the police chief, directly” he said. “It puzzles me that they want to try this in the media without even discussing it with administration.”
Ayala acknowledged that he had not contacted the Lyman Police Department on Monday. However, he said, officials know that the family is upset. In his conversations with the neighbors, he said, he was told the dog was not acting aggressively toward other dogs, residents or the officers.
“Honestly, I don’t trust them (the police). They are only covering their own (expletive),” Ayala said.
Chitwood said the officer contacted the Scotts Bluff County Sheriff’s Department and the Nebraska State Patrol, which reviewed the incident. The officer is also a deputy with the sheriff’s department.
He said he is unaware of Ayala providing the video to either reviewing agency and it has not been provided to him.
“My understanding is that all statements from witnesses have supported the officer’s statements,” Chitwood said.
Ayala said he plans to contact an attorney to see if he can take action against the Lyman Police Department. He had been seeking to file a complaint with another agency as of press time.