An Iowa community is outraged after a police officer’s killing of a beloved pet right in front of its family, and the subsequent revelation that this isn’t the first pet the cop has killed in recent months.
The situation unfolded on the evening of August 21, when an officer with the Davenport Police Department was dispatched to a call in reference to four dogs running wild.
The caller stated the beasts appeared aggressive and were attempting to cross a fence to get their dog, according to a DPD statement obtained by WQAD-TV.
The statement says the unnamed officer arrived on scene and saw two children with an off-leash dog, and advised them to secure the animal.
After parking his car the officer was approached by the dog, which he claims acted in an aggressive and threatening manner.
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“The dog charged me at full speed, barking aggressively at me,” the officer’s after-action report states.
“I overheard the adult woman say ‘oh no.’ I began to back up, holding my left hand out in hopes the dog would catch my scent and back away from me. The pitch of the dog’s bark changed to a threatening bark.”
According to the officer, the animal then went on the offensive against him.
“The dog continued barking at me, baring its teeth at me,” he said. “I observed the dog to be salivating from the mouth. The dog lunged at me multiple times, snapping its teeth at me in an attempt to bite me.”
Was this a justified shooting?
After apparently dodging the attacks, the officer says he felt threatened enough to engage the dog.
“I drew my service handgun and continued to back up,” he said in the report. “The dog lunged at me as I was backing up, trying to bite me. I discharged my firearm twice, striking the dog.”
You can see the bodycam footage, shared by WQAD, of the officer in question below:
WARNING: The following video contains footage that some viewers may find disturbing.
Dan Hesseltine, the dog’s owner, is not convinced it was necessary to kill the animal. Instead, he questioned the courage of the offending officer in a town hall organized just hours after DPD released bodycam footage of the shooting.
The community rallied behind him as others questioned the city and police department for the response to the killing.
“Our dog Myst was more than just a pet,” Hesseltine told gathered residents. “He was a cherished member of our family, bringing us joy, comfort and loyalty.
“He was taken from us [by] a cowardly police officer who valued his own safety over ours.”
Hesseltine posted footage of the shooting to his X account, showing his family, son and nephew were downrange when the officer opened fire at Myst.
Unfortunately, this is not the first pet this officer has killed.
According to TMZ, the very same officer ran over a dog in an alleyway before radioing in the incident and telling others he “smoked it.”
The owner of this dog, who was also present at the time of his pet’s demise, was chided by the officer.
“That’s why you gotta have your dog on a leash, bro,” the officer told the grieving owner.
The Davenport Police Department says the officer’s actions were deemed “lawful” in both cases after a review of all the facts — but that hasn’t dissuaded the collective anger of the community.
