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Jan 8, 2009 6:27 pm US/Central
Owners Question Shooting Of Pet By DPD Officer
Arezow Doost
McKINNEY (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
Was it self defense or a cold blooded killing? The debate is dividing a McKinney neighborhood after a Dallas police officer shot and killed a family dog.
By phone, Dallas Police Officer Jason Chapman told CBS 11 News that his wife was walking in McKinney when she called him screaming and crying. He said his wife told him she was being attacked.
According to Officer Chapman, when he arrived at the scene he was also attacked by the dog, but witnesses describe the incident much differently.
Neighbor Naomi Jones said, "I looked out my front window and saw the dog loose without a leash." According to Jones, she saw 'Camryn', a friend's pit bull, run across the street. The next thing she remembers there were shots being fired.
"I saw the dog fall down and I saw the man over him, pointing something at him, and I heard the first two shots," Jones said of the incident.
The woman said she heard at least four more shots, fired by Officer Chapman who lives in the neighborhood.
Neighbor Kevyn Allen owned Camryn and has other dogs. The woman said the animals were gentle. "Never have they exhibited a behavior in that kind of manner."
Allen says Camryn and her other pit bull, Sierra, got out through the fence. Normally, Allen says the dogs run up and down the fence, chasing rabbits. "It was our family pet. We've had it… I have an 11-year-old daughter who is very upset about this whole thing," said Allen. "She can't sleep. It's terrible what's happened."
Neighbors, who are still in shock, said they're scared not just for their pets but their kids. Jones said she's now a little cautious. "Just to know that he lives down the street and he is an officer and that he's willing to act in such a manner that puts people's life in danger."
Both the McKinney and Dallas police Departments are looking into what happened. No charges have been filed yet.
As for the Allen family, they still have their other dog and have considered talking to an attorney about what happened.
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