Police Respond To Call Of A Dog Off Leash . . . And Proceed To Shoot The Animal In Front Of Family Home

Village of South Holland police Officer Chad Barden and other unknown officers are being sued in federal court over another dog shooting.  In this case, the police arrived at the scene of a report of a dog off its leash in a suburb of Chicago. While they had dog catching poles, one of the officers shot Randy Green’s Cane Corso dog, Grady, who was sitting on the front porch of his family home when they arrived.  Green says that a videotape shows that the dog did not threaten or lunge at the officers before they and Barden shot him three times.

Police were at the scene for 20 minutes before the shooting. Grady reported got up and walked past them a couple times. There was no report of the dog being vicious or threatening people. At no point did the officers alert the family or use the dog catching poles according to the complaint.

Grady ran wounded into the back yard where Green found him and rushed him to the vet where he was treated. The complaint references an expert report finding that “video surveillance footage from the Green family residence revealed the absence of any charging, lunging or showing of teeth by the dog Grady and instead showed the dog Grady seeking ‘greater distance between the officer and himself,’ displaying ‘calming [body] signals’ by ‘looking away from the officers and showing his [Grady’s] flank,’ and moving in a ‘trot.'”

A month after the shooting and the complaint of Green, the South Holland police delivered a letter accusing Green of harboring a dangerous dog.

The presence of the alleged dog poles and the existence of the dog catching poles make this a promising case for the family. We have repeatedly seen dog shootings where lethal force seems the first response of officers.

Source: Courthouse

Kudos: Michael Blott