Off Duty Officer Shoots Dog During Attack in Oak Park
(Oak Park Public Safety Director Steve Cooper, Aug. 4, 2020)
Oak Park, MI – On Sunday, August 2nd at approximately 8:25PM, Public Safety Officers were dispatched to the area of Kenwood and Norwood on the report of a dog that had just been shot. Officers arrived on scene and made contact with a citizen, off duty police officer (not an Oak Park Officer), along with three other citizens who were walking their dogs through the neighborhood.
The citizen was walking a grey Pit bull dog when they approached an address on Norwood at which time another pit bull dog ran from the backyard off the address and began to attack the neck of the grey pit bull the citizen was walking. He attempted to remove the one pit bull from the neck of the other dog by kicking it when the pit bull latched onto his arm momentarily. The pit bull then latched back onto the neck of the grey pit bull. At that point he removed his 9mm firearm and fired two rounds into the attacking pit bull. The attacking pit bull then released the other dog. The owner of the attacking pit bull then came and retrieved his dog and took it to the veterinarian where it was later pronounced deceased.
Several citizens witnessed the attack and completed written statements at the scene. Officers verified that two rounds had been fired by the citizen.
I am not releasing the City the Officer was from (I do not feel there is any real benefit in doing so) but no he will not be charged with any crime, his actions were justified under the circumstances.
NOTE: Police Reports come directly from the Police Department or agency involved and are written by the person or agency listed below the title. We generally run these “as is” or with minimal editing for punctuation, spelling, etc. Suspects should not be presumed guilty. Those needing more information about a case are encouraged to follow up with the reporting agency or court system for the most current information.