Springfield officer OK after dog attack, shooting

A Springfield Police Division officer was treated and released from the hospital after a pit bull attacked him and he shot it, according to a police report.

Officer Joseph “Joey” Robinson and his partner on shift Thursday evening went to a home on N. Western Avenue to ensure that people who had been issued a protection order had vacated the property, according to the police report.

The report says that Robinson was talking to a woman inside the home through an open door when a “large brown pit bull” charged at him.

“The dog then jumped on Robinson and began lunging at (his) throat,” the narrative states.

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It’s at that point that Robinson shot the dog with his duty weapon once in the shoulder. The dog was not immediately killed by the shooting, but its condition was unclear Friday.

The report says that as Robinson was backing up from the dog, he fell backwards over a brick railing of the home’s porch and hit his head. The officer fell about 4 to 5 feet to the ground.

According to emergency scanner traffic, Robinson’s partner radioed to dispatch: “He’s bleeding from the back of his head. He’s talking to me and stuff, but he’s in a lot of pain.”

Robinson’s partner also told dispatchers that the woman did come out of the house to check on the officers and apologize for what happened.

The officer was taken to Springfield Regional Medical Center and treated for a head injury, and pain to his back, shoulder and left jaw — but then released the same night, the report says.

The Clark County Dog Warden said the office has only responded to the home one time — May 30, 2019 — for a noise complaint on a barking dog.

The dog warden added that the dog was licensed.

The home does have a “Beware of Dog” sign on its front porch.

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The incident is the second time in a month that a Clark County law enforcement officer has shot a dog while responding to a call.

On Christmas Eve, a Clark County Sheriff’s Office deputy shot and killed a dog at a home on Springfield-Xenia Road when she said it began to charge at her and “viciously growl.”

The deputy fired two shots toward the dog, and it died shortly after.

Since that incident, a good Samaritan has given the family another dog.

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