LOS ANGELES — A fatal LAPD dog shooting that sparked public outrage and a federal lawsuit is raising questions about how officers and pet owners can prevent similar encounters from escalating.
During a recent episode of the “Shots Fired” podcast, co-hosts Kyle Shoberg and Mark Redlich, joined by retired Sacramento Police Officer Dan Chipp, reviewed body camera video of the June 13 shooting and discussed the challenges officers face when responding to homes with unsecured dogs.
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The incident began when officers were sent to a Canoga Park apartment after a 911 caller reported hearing a woman screaming. Officers later learned the woman had been celebrating the New York Knicks’ NBA championship victory.
Body camera video shows the woman opening her door with her dog, a 2-year-old golden Saint Bernard doodle, barking beside her. Officers asked her to secure the dog, and she briefly closed the door.
When the door reopened, the dog exited the apartment and moved toward the officers while barking. One officer fired four rounds, killing the dog.
LAPD said the dog, who weighed about 106 pounds, charged at the officer. The dog’s owner has disputed that account, saying the dog was friendly and did not pose a threat.
| WATCH: LAPD body-worn camera footage of the incident
No national database tracks police shootings of dogs
Before reviewing the body camera video, Shoberg asked Redlich and Chipp how often police officers shoot dogs in the United States.
The hosts noted there is no official national database tracking police shootings of animals. Redlich said animal advocacy organizations and other independent groups have attempted to document the incidents, with available estimates placing the number of dogs shot by police at 25 to 50 dogs a day.
“There’s no official tracking process,” Redlich said. “There’s about 10,000 dogs a year that’s actually being able to be tracked because there’s independent nonprofits and these companies that are animal advocates that try to track some of this stuff.”
Without centralized reporting, the total number of incidents and the circumstances surrounding them are not known.
The discussion then turned to the LAPD shooting and the decisions made by the responding officers and the dog’s owner.
Why officers ask owners to secure their dogs
Shoberg and Redlich said asking residents to put dogs in another room or outside is common during calls for service, even when an owner insists the animal is friendly.
“Everybody says that,” Shoberg said. “They may be friendly with you. It doesn’t mean they’re going to be friendly with us.”
An unsecured dog can divide an officer’s attention during an investigation and add another unpredictable element to an already uncertain call, the hosts said. That concern becomes especially significant during domestic disturbances and other incidents where officers must monitor several people at once.
The hosts also emphasized that most officers do not want to use force against an animal. Shooting a dog can intensify an encounter, create additional safety concerns and leave a family dealing with the loss of a pet.
“You just made whatever you’re there for that much worse,” Chipp said.
Could officers have created more distance?
Before the dog exited the apartment for the final time, body camera video captured one officer expressing concern about the dog’s size and the possibility of being bitten.
The podcasters said those concerns were understandable but questioned whether the officers could have changed their positions once they recognized the potential risk.
Options could have included moving farther from the doorway, asking the woman to meet officers in another location or speaking with her through the closed door. The hosts also suggested officers could give a more direct warning when they believe an unsecured dog may force them to use deadly force.
“Create some distance. Create some time,” the panel said while discussing possible alternatives.
Redlich noted that an officer’s previous experiences with dogs can affect how the animal’s movement is perceived.
“I think everybody’s threshold of fear with a dog is different,” Redlich said, describing how his own perspective changed after he was seriously injured by a police K-9. “We don’t know what the officer’s mindset was and what he’s experienced in the past.”
Was firing four rounds reasonable?
The hosts also addressed criticism surrounding the number of shots fired.
Shoberg said officers are trained to continue firing until a perceived threat stops, rather than firing a predetermined number of rounds. Body camera video shows the officer backing away as he fires and the dog continuing to move and bark before falling.
“We are trained to eliminate a threat, not shoot a certain amount of rounds,” Shoberg said. “It’s just shoot until the threat is eliminated.”
The podcasters said the more significant question is whether the dog presented an immediate threat that justified firing in the first place.
They also raised concerns about the officer’s backdrop. The dog’s owner and another officer were nearby, and the shooting occurred on an elevated apartment walkway with other residences below.
A preventable outcome
The hosts agreed the owner should have secured the dog after officers asked her to do so. Knowing a dog is friendly does not mean responding officers will interpret its behavior the same way, they said.
At the same time, they acknowledged the shooting was a tragic outcome for everyone involved and said the body camera video leaves room for debate over whether different positioning or clearer communication could have prevented it.
The owner filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles and unidentified officers on July 2, alleging excessive force and violations of LAPD policy governing force against animals. LAPD declined to comment on the pending litigation and said its investigation remains ongoing.
“Control your animals, please,” Chipp said at the end of the episode. “Nobody wants to shoot a dog.”
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