The Associated Press
HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A police officer shot and killed a leashed dog in a city park, an act the chief defended because the dog had bitten an animal control officer.
But Mayor Jim Fuqua and Sumner County Commissioner Matt Slone, a former animal control officer, said after viewing a patrol car video of the incident that a gunshot wasn’t needed to subdue the black, 60-pound chow mix named Chris.
“I am disappointed that this dog was shot, and it appears from the video that the officers had other, less drastic options if they had thought ahead,” Hendersonville Mayor Jim Fuqua said in a statement issued Wednesday.
Slone said Thursday he is asking for an independent investigation involving the district attorney and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
“This is wrong and needs to be fixed,” Slone told WSMV-TV of Nashville.
Chief David L. Key said of the shooting Tuesday at Drakes Creek Park North, where children ages 5-7 were practicing soccer, “I hate that the animal had to be put down, but I am thankful that the situation resolved before an innocent bystander could be bitten.”
The dog’s owner, Bernard Lewis, said officer Tim Torok provoked his dog after he arrived on the scene.
Animal Control officer Amanda Hollandsworth responded to a complaint about a dog running loose in the park. Initially, the dog was “passive,” said Lt. B.J. Riley, who oversees animal control and gave his account of events.
Hollandsworth leashed the dog and was trying to take it to her truck when it bit her.
She called for backup and continued holding the dog, who sat calmly at the end of the leash, for three minutes until Torok arrived.
Key said Torok fired after the dog became “vicious, attempting to bite other officers.”
Lewis said Torok yanked on the leash and choked the dog, which was trying to get away from the officer.
"(Torok) got agitated because he was afraid of chows and just brutally shot my dog,” Lewis said.
Local television stations aired the patrol car video, which showed the dog straining against the leash, but stopped short of showing Torok shooting the animal.
Lewis said Torok obviously has a problem with dogs.
“Someone needs to get him help because he has a phobia that may cause someone their life, and next time it may not be an animal,” he said.