Dadio had failed to show up at court on DUI charges. Officer Jason Zullo reported that he “immediately recognized Michael Dadio standing in front of his [son’s] residence.” He said that when he and another officer approached Dadio, the suspect ran — forcing them to give chase. When they went into the back yard, they say that “Sgt. Miller was confronted by an aggressive dog/pit bull forcing him to discharge his weapon.”
The Dadio family says that when it went to complain about the dog shooting, the officer in charge told them “it’s just a dog.” The department has been under federal investigation and the sergeant who killed the dog is involved in the controversial arrest of a priest last year involving allegations of racial profiling.
We have seen a spate of recent dog shootings (and here) in arrest situations, including cases of mistaken addresses or identities.
Source: New Haven Advocate