Police Department’s Internal Affairs Bureau investigating dog shooing incident
Representatives of the Fairfax County Police Department will not officially comment on the dog shooting incident in the Parklawn neighborhood Sept. 2 because the matter has been turned over to Internal Affairs for investigation.
The incident has led to a huge outpouring of concern, with many in the community expressing sympathy for dog owner Tommy Tomlo and criticizing the police for shooting and killing his dog, Crash, on his front porch, rather than trying to subdue him.
“I can’t talk about the dog incident until the investigation is completed,” Capt. Gun Lee, commander of the Mason District Police Station, told the Annandale blog Sept. 6. But he did speak about the general protocol officers are supposed to use when they receive complaints about loose dogs.
“The animal control officer would investigate the validity of the complaint,” Lee says. “If there is probable cause, the officer would identify the dog owner and issue a summons, if appropriate, or a warning.” He says animal control officers generally carry pepper spray, a baton, dog leash, and tranquilizer guns. The shooter was a police officer who was trained as an animal control officer and was serving in that capacity.
Why the officer didn’t use one of those weapons instead of shooting the dog is the big question on many people’s minds—and is likely to be a main issue in the investigation. Other issues are likely to be the fact that the event took place on the dog owner’s property and the extent to which the dog endangered the life of the officer.
Lucy Caldwell, a spokesperson for the police department, says the dog charged and “was acting agressively toward the officer.”
According to Lee, police officers must follow strict rules on the use of firearms against assailants. The Fairfax County Police Department’s “general order” on the use of deadly force states: “In any situation where an officer is otherwise acting lawfully, the use of deadly force is justified in the defense of the officer’s life or other person’s life. Also, the use of deadly force is justified in protecting the officer or public from serious injury.”
Tomlo acknowledges that the mixed-breed dog, often perceived as a pit bull, frequently escaped from his yard and ran loose through the neighborhood. But Tomlo says Crash never bit or attacked anyone and was well-liked by several of his neighbors. He is planning a civil lawsuit against the officer who shot his dog.
One response to “Police Department’s Internal Affairs Bureau investigating dog shooing incident”
Leave a reply
As the owner of an escape artist dog, which I define is as; a dog that can jump a 6 foot fence, one that will tear the screen of a screened window to get out, and one that will find a way to open an unlocked door, I must say that the FCPD has been pretty good to us. The dog will not leave the yard when he escapes, but anytime the police have gotten a call about my dog being outside on my property for a long time (4 hours) and check it out they don't kill the animal. (I may want to, but they don't) They have brought him back in the house before, checked it out to see the clawed out screen window and left a nice note. The dog will also bark at any strange car that drives up onto the property, so the police car that drives up to check things out, they could kill him for being aggressive. Of course this is a Labradoodle, not known to be a dangerous breed, that is for sure. I could see why an over sized pit bull (looking) dog could be threatening, but it seems like non-lethal options were available.