Crime & Safety

Law Enforcement Dog Shooting Rare in Manatee County

Ozzie, the dog shot by a deputy on Sunday, was not known as a vicious dog to Animal Services.

The dog that was did not have a reputation at animal services as a vicious dog or even a nuisance dog, according to calls into Animal Services. A look at records of calls to the address where Ozzie, the bull mastiff/pit bull mix was killed doesn't show complaints about any of the dogs at the address.

A deputy shot Ozzie, a one-year-old 65-pound dog, in the front yard of a duplex Sunday morning, after responding to a 911 call accidentally made from the residence. The dog, which was shot in the eye, was euthanized later at an emergency animal hospital.

It's rare for a law enforcement officer to shoot dogs; in the past five years, Bradenton police have shot about 10 dogs, and none this year.

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Dave Bristow, a spokesman for the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, said they do not keep records on how often deputies shoot dogs but said he estimates it's about one a year.

"I can't remember the last time a dog was shot," he said.

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The sheriff's department will review Sunday's shooting as part of routine procedure whenever a deputy fires a gun, Bristow said. But Bristow also believes that the deputy had no other choice. The review is expected to take at least two weeks.

According to the Manatee County Sheriff's report, Deputy Will Kelley shot the dog at about 10:40 a.m. when the canine "aggressively lunged" at the officer and tried to bite him.

Kathleen Derosa, who was home alone in the 5000 block of 21st Street West,  said the family's four dogs got out into the front yard, which was not fenced, after the deputy banged on her window and insisted she open the door, because a 911 call had come from the home.

Derosa, who had surgery for lung cancer earlier this year, said later that she did not fault the deputy for responding to the 911 call or wanting to check on the house. But she said that he had no reason to shoot the dog. "He didn't come here and help," she said. "He came here and shot the dog."

Bristow said that because Animal Services responds to calls about vicious dogs, deputies are not trained in how to handle vicious or aggressive dogs. The officer responded based on the threat, Bristow said.

Bristow said that Kelley was shot in the shoulder several years ago while responding to a domestic violence call. 

J.J. Lewis, deputy chief of the Bradenton Police Department, said that officers' duties are to protect the public and themselves and that they can be surprised by a vicious dog.

Shooting a dog, he said, "is the absolute last resort. Sometimes it happens in a split second decision."

The Bradenton Police Department has worked with Animal Services on how to handle vicious or aggressive dogs, he said. He said if they know they are going into a situation where an aggressive dog may be present, they will carry a long stick with a noose on it so that they can control dogs.

They also are prepared to use various levels of force depending on the animal and the situation. Those levels of force include pepper spray, Tasers and even expandable batons. Lethal force is the last resort.

"Every situation is different," Lewis said. "If an officer feels that they are in danger of physical injury or that someone else’s safety is in danger, they can use deadly force if need be."

In Sunday's case, the officer backed away from the dog as he drew his weapon. At that point there were two dogs in the yard, Ozzie, the bull mastiff/pit bull mix, and Derosa's 30 pound terrier, Boo. When Derosa saw Kelley draw his weapon, she thought it was a Taser, she scooped up Boo to protect him from getting shocked by the Taser and turned to put him inside when she heard the shot.

Derosa's next-door neighbor, Clinton Hinsz, witnessed the shooting from his truck parked next door. He said he couldn't understand why Derosa grabbed the small dog when the larger dog was coming at the deputy. He said it seemed like Derosa was overwhelmed with the situation.

Hinz said the officer clearly told Derosa to get control of the larger dog.

"She didn't try to pull the dog off, and it looked like he was going to lunge." Hinsz said. "The way I look at it the officer had no choice but to use physical force."

After an officer in St. Petersburg Florida shot an elderly golden retreiver who had reportedly growled at the officers, the police department there decided to change its policies on how to handle aggressive dogs. The department implemented training in using control sticks with a noose for capturing dogs.

Joel Richmond, field service operations manager for Manatee County Animal Services said that the sheriff's department doesn't follow the same protocols as his department. But when deputies or police officers know that a vicious or aggressive dog is involved in a call or is at an address when there is a 911 call, Animal Services officers will often accompany law enforcement on the call.

"We carry a catch pole with a noose on the end," he said. "That’s our primary deterrent."

He said that pepper spray is a quick deterrent and will allow officers enough time to get away from a situation where a dog is aggressive. Animal serivces rarely uses pepper spray because their mission is to capture the animals.

His department receives about 700 calls a month and he said typically less than 10 percent of those calls involve aggressive animals. In October Animal Services received 73 calls about aggressive animals.

Richmond said that aggressive dogs do charge animal control officers, but that the officers are rarely bitten because they are trained in dealing with the animals. 

"It's pretty uncommon to be bitten," he said. "A trained officer should not be bitten."

Animal Services has the authority by state statute to classify a dog as dangerous if there are complaints against the animal and Animal Services finds the complaints to be founded.


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