By Wade Malcolm
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
PITTSBURGH — A Pittsburgh police officer shot and killed a 19-year-old Allentown man who shot and killed a K-9 dog during a confrontation in Mount Oliver last night.
A crowd of angry onlookers, including the victim’s family, quickly gathered at the scene in the 1600 block of Arlington Avenue. Dozens of officers also arrived on the scene, some with K-9 dogs, to help keep the crowd under control.
The victim’s parents identified him as Justin Jackson of the 1500 block of Arlington Avenue. A spokesman for the Allegheny County medical examiner’s office confirmed Mr. Jackson had died but said the cause and manner of death would be determined in an autopsy today.
The K-9 dog, named Aulf, was 6 years old and was assigned to an officer who is a 12-year veteran of the police bureau, said Chief Nate Harper.
Chief Harper, appearing at a news conference last night at police headquarters, gave this account of the shooting, which occurred shortly before 7 p.m.:
The officer, who is a member of the police bureau’s street response unit, spotted a man walking down Arlington Avenue with his hand concealed under his jacket.
Believing the man was holding a gun, the officer stopped and told him to pull his hand from his pocket. The officer reported that he saw a gun and released the K-9 to subdue Mr. Jackson.
Mr. Jackson shot the dog and the officer immediately fired his weapon at the suspect. Both men fired several rounds, Chief Harper said. The officer, who was not identified, was not wounded in the shooting.
At the time of the shooting, Mr. Jackson was on the sidewalk and the officer was standing in the street, Chief Harper said.
The spot where the shooting occurred is just over the city line in the borough of Mount Oliver.
Two blocks of Arlington Avenue were closed by police as they investigated.
The victim’s father, Donald James Jackson, said a police officer told him “our dog got shot so we killed him.”
“They killed my son execution-style, not in the leg,” the older Mr. Jackson said. “I understand things go wrong but I’m sure there’s a better way to handle it.”
Chief Harper said Allegheny County police and the district attorney’s office will investigate the shooting. When asked, he said early indications are that the officers acted appropriately.
Chief Harper said he met with family members of the victim after the shooting. “It’s a very unfortunate incident. Any time a life is lost, it’s unfortunate.”
The chief said it was “a shame the dog also had to sacrifice its life.”
“The K-9 did what it was trained to do,” he said.
Police departments have gone to great lengths to protect their dogs, some even buying them bullet-proof vests, which can cost more than $1,000 each.
Pittsburgh police have estimated that each year three or four dogs are injured in scuffles with suspects.
In the 1970s, two police dogs were shot when they tried to disarm a hostage taker. They both survived; one retired, the other returned to duty.
In November, Aucy James Andrews, 59, of the Hill District, was shot twice by an unnamed K-9 officer near the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Van Braam Street. Police said Mr. Andrews stabbed a fellow tenant in the throat after an argument at his apartment complex, then tried to stab a police dog before approaching the K-9 officer with his folding knife.
In September, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger began giving grants for police departments to purchase dogs in each town where the football team played.
“It’s something we decided to do, my foundation is doing, after the police dog in my hometown [of Findlay, Ohio] got shot and killed,” Mr. Roethlisberger said at the time.
Investigators hope to review the incident on videotape from security cameras placed in the area by UPMC.
Copyright 2008 The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette