In the sheriff’s office body camera footage that does include audio, the deputy is seen walking up to the house, knocking on a side door twice and playing with three puppies.
When no one answers her knocks, she heads back to her cruiser.
That is when a large dog, Hunter, comes toward her from the front of the house and starts barking and growling.
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In an incident report filed with the sheriff’s office, the deputy writes, “When the dog got closer, it charged at this deputy. When it got near my left leg it let out a vicious growl. I felt it was an imminent threat to my safety and it was close enough to inflict serious physical harm.”
The dog’s owners said on the day of the shooting that the dog was not aggressive, but the sheriff’s office refuted that.
Some residents said the deputy’s reaction was not wrong.
“Yes you can see the dog being aggressive going towards her leg,” Libby Miller said. “Sorry that the dog got shot.”
“I can see where based on the angles it would be uncomfortable for the deputy and the dog really did approach fast and did not appear to be friendly and social,” Heidi Rae said. “At that point the deputy sheriff had to react. That’s a HUGE dog.”
“If u look she walked up to the house and the dog was not out there. It was not out there until she knocked the second time,” Annie Carter said. “Just an observation.”
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Other residents think the deputy had other options.
“I have concerns when the only way you can handle a dog is shoot him,” Christen Deane said. “In my career, I delivered many items to residences, you occasionally ran into a mean dog.”
“All officers have pepper spray,” Laron Algren said. “That’s enough for a dog.”
“When you ‘surprise’ someone’s dog on their property, the dog is going to defend their property, they’re doing their JOB,” Debbie Stultz said.
The deputy was originally at the house to talk with the people who lived there about their nearby neighbors in relation to a follow-up call for another police agency.
The sheriff’s office said no disciplinary action will be taken against the deputy who shot the dog.
It is required that all dogs be contained within their own yard — whether that’s by leash, chain or fence — and the sheriff’s office can’t be liable if the dog is loose, the sheriff’s office said.
The dog in this incident was running free in the yard.
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