WTOL.com, Toledo's News Leader, News 11 | Pit bull killed by cops; owners outraged

Pit bull killed by cops; owners outraged

Reported by Jonathan Walsh email

Posted by Kate Oatis email

WEST TOLEDO (WTOL) - A pit bull was shot and killed Thursday night by members of the Toledo Police Dept., outraging her owners and neighbors.

The shooting took place late Thursday afternoon at 1840 Talbot in west Toledo. Sean Gillespie says the Toledo SWAT team showed up at his home to arrest a friend who was renting a room at the house.

"He paid rent and that's what we needed and that's the only thing we were after was the rent money to help out," Gillespie said. He says when three members of the SWAT team entered his home, his dog Jozie ran into the front yard.

"It's one thing that they may have to protect themselves but from what we've heard from the neighbors and stuff she was sitting there wagging her tail," Gillespie said.

Nina Williams also lives at the house and says two officers shot a total of five times into the dog.

"I don't feel it was a justified shooting of my dog because I feel she was shot because she was a pit bull," Williams said.

Randy Slater says he witnessed the whole thing and that the shooting "was very uncalled for."

"The dog came out and was standing at the end of the porch just looking around, wagging its tail and they opened fire on him," Slater said.

Slater says he and another neighbor asked why they shot Jozie.

"They told us to get back up on the sidewalk or they were going to throw us in jail," Slater said.

The dog's owners say the officers were even laughing after the shooting.

"The one officer came in and said, 'Yup, that's the only good pit bull is a dead one,'" Gillespie said.

News 11 talked with Police Chief Mike Navarre who says the shooting will be investigated by the officers' supervisors before the incident goes to the firearms review board.