phill4paul
01-23-2013, 06:41 PM
CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) -
The officer who shot a dog named "The Colonel" hasn't been publicly identified until now and he's never told his version of the shooting publicly.
Though the officer was in court Tuesday, he still hasn't told his side of the story, because the dog's owners won their case before the officer was ever called to testify.
Officer Gregory Pettigrew answered "no comment," then took off running through an alley behind the courthouse where he had shown up to testify Tuesday.
When FOX 32 caught up with him, he still wouldn't discuss the incident two months ago, where he shot and wounded a bull terrier puppy named Colonel. The dog need five hours of emergency surgery to survive.
It's owner, Al Phillips, insisted the colonel had not threatened Officer Pettigrew. On Tuesday, the ticket given to Phillips for having an unleashed dog was thrown out by a judge.
"It wasn't written the day of, it was written by an officer, by a sergeant, excuse me, who had zero personal knowledge.and didn't witness anything happen, couldn't establish any facts," says Phillips' attorney Erron Fisher.
As FOX 32 revealed when we broke the story, Phillips got that ticket two days after Colonel Phillips was shot--just hours after police saw him telling his story to FOX 32 News.
"Almost like you were parked on the street and a few days later some high ranking officer comes up to give you a ticket because you were illegally parked," Al Phillips says. "It made no sense."
Since the ticket was tossed, Officer Pettigrew never had to give his side of the story in court. He's still facing a civil lawsuit for excessive force. As for the dog, his owner says Colonel is recovering, but breeding is out of the question and there have been other effects.
"I took him over to visit my friend at the fire station and when he saw the guys in uniform, the dog was absolutely terrified," Phillips says.
The city argued that in cases involving animal control officers and dog bites, it's okay for an officer who didn't witness the crime to issue the ticket--but, the judge rejected that argument.
Officer Pettigrew could still tell his version of events if the civil suit goes to trial at the Dirksen Building.
Read more: http://www.myfoxchicago.com/story/20653138/owners-of-puppy-shot-by-cop-win-victory-in-court-exclusive#ixzz2Iqh4oXNc
The officer who shot a dog named "The Colonel" hasn't been publicly identified until now and he's never told his version of the shooting publicly.
Though the officer was in court Tuesday, he still hasn't told his side of the story, because the dog's owners won their case before the officer was ever called to testify.
Officer Gregory Pettigrew answered "no comment," then took off running through an alley behind the courthouse where he had shown up to testify Tuesday.
When FOX 32 caught up with him, he still wouldn't discuss the incident two months ago, where he shot and wounded a bull terrier puppy named Colonel. The dog need five hours of emergency surgery to survive.
It's owner, Al Phillips, insisted the colonel had not threatened Officer Pettigrew. On Tuesday, the ticket given to Phillips for having an unleashed dog was thrown out by a judge.
"It wasn't written the day of, it was written by an officer, by a sergeant, excuse me, who had zero personal knowledge.and didn't witness anything happen, couldn't establish any facts," says Phillips' attorney Erron Fisher.
As FOX 32 revealed when we broke the story, Phillips got that ticket two days after Colonel Phillips was shot--just hours after police saw him telling his story to FOX 32 News.
"Almost like you were parked on the street and a few days later some high ranking officer comes up to give you a ticket because you were illegally parked," Al Phillips says. "It made no sense."
Since the ticket was tossed, Officer Pettigrew never had to give his side of the story in court. He's still facing a civil lawsuit for excessive force. As for the dog, his owner says Colonel is recovering, but breeding is out of the question and there have been other effects.
"I took him over to visit my friend at the fire station and when he saw the guys in uniform, the dog was absolutely terrified," Phillips says.
The city argued that in cases involving animal control officers and dog bites, it's okay for an officer who didn't witness the crime to issue the ticket--but, the judge rejected that argument.
Officer Pettigrew could still tell his version of events if the civil suit goes to trial at the Dirksen Building.
Read more: http://www.myfoxchicago.com/story/20653138/owners-of-puppy-shot-by-cop-win-victory-in-court-exclusive#ixzz2Iqh4oXNc