“This was a tragedy but the officer responded to the call of duty placing himself between the owner and the out of control dog to ensure safety of our community,” Alliance Police Department Chief Philip Lukens said, describing the response to a dog attack that occurred on May 19.
On May 19, at approximately 5:12 p.m., two officers with the Alliance Police Department responded to the report of three pitbulls mauling another dog. When the officers arrived on scene in the 400 block of Emerson Avenue, they could hear screaming coming from the back yard of a residence, according to the Primary Narrative written by one of the responding officers. The officer observed the owner of the dogs attempting to use a hose to spray at three pitbulls and protecting a fourth dog that was hiding under a porch. The breed of the fourth dog was undisclosed.
“The dogs appeared to be aggressive and growing more bold in attempts to get at the dog still hiding under the porch,” the narrative states. “Several of the dogs were jumping onto me. One of the dogs was growling and barking toward me I drew my taser and utilized a drive stun against the most aggressive dog in order to attempt to deter it from further aggression. The dog bit at the taser that was actively arcing. At this point I realized the taser was not going to keep the dog from attacking and chose to switch to my service pistol.”
After the officer switched to his firearm, the most aggressive dog lunged at him, biting his left shin. The officer stated in the narrative that he believed the dog was going to lunge at him again.
“Due to this, I decided to engage the dog with lethal force using my service pistol,” the narrative stated. “I fired a single .40 caliber round at the dog, striking it in the left flank near the shoulder. The dog yelped and disengaged, running away into the yard. I could observe it begin to bleed. The gunshot caused the other two dogs to lose aggression as well.”
The owner of the dogs moved the two lesser aggressive dogs, as well as the dog that was hiding under the porch into the residence, and the officer requested EMS to stage on scene for medical attention. The dog that sustained the gunshot wound was kept in the yard until officers could secure it using a catch pole and place the dog in a cage provided by the owner.
The officer who was bitten was transported to Box Butte General Hospital to be treated. The dog that was shot was euthanized by veterinarian services, and the dog that was injured in the mauling was also treated by a veterinarian.