Dog owner: Would like to 'know more to the story' after JSO shoots her pet

http://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/ne....2yONKrAj.dpuf

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. —

A local dog owner has questions for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office after her pet was shot by an officer Friday afternoon.

Susan Smith spent Friday evening comforting her 7-year-old blue pit bull, named Brutus.

Earlier in the day, police confirm the dog, who was found loose near Crystal Springs Elementary School, was shot by a JSO officer.

“All I heard was the dog lunged at him,” Smith said.

Smith, whose home is just steps away from Crystal Springs Elementary, was running errands when neighbors called to say police were following Brutus down the street.

“I had heard, ‘I think he's shot, he might be dead,’” Smith said.

Employees at the school tell Action News they were told to stay inside because a dog, loose from its yard, was on the playground.

When police arrived, JSO said they called Animal Control and followed Brutus down the street. But then, they say, the dog charged at Officer I.E. Diaz.

The officer's name and badge number match a JSO internal affairs report Action News told you about Monday.

The Officer Diaz listed in that report was the subject of complaints after a picture of him in an intimate position with a woman at his patrol car became public.

We also learned Officer Diaz was reprimanded for allowing a woman to drive his patrol car during another incident.

A JSO spokesperson says they cannot confirm it is the same officer, but documents Action News has obtained show the officer’s last name and badge number match.

Police say Diaz fired his gun once, striking Brutus in the face. The dog then fled to a neighbor’s yard, where Smith found him and rushed him to the hospital. Now, she has many questions.

“Now those evidence markers are gone. They're gone and I don't see any blood over here and I don't know what those evidence markers were,” Smith said.

Smith said Brutus is lucky to be alive. She isn’t angry at officers but believes she deserves answers.

“I totally understand if someone is coming at you, I understand you have to protect yourself,” Smith said. “I'm not blaming them, by no means. I would just like to know more to the story.”

Smith said it is abnormal for Brutus to escape from her yard and she is working to make sure that does not happen again.