Ohio cop shoots pet dog but hits fellow officer, no arrests made, dog euthanized, owner charged

Ohio cops responded to a report of a domestic dispute and shot a pet dog, also accidentally hitting his fellow officer.

As reported by ABC6, the incident took place on July 14 in Columbus, with officers being alerted to an argument between a couple. They say that once they arrived at the scene, the two attending officers “encountered a dog”. Fearful that it might injure them, cops confirmed one officer opened fire but hit his colleague.

As Sgt. James Fuqua explained, “We know at least one officer discharged their firearm, accidentally striking the other officer. At no point were the officers making any attempt to discharge their firearm at another person.”

“Obviously they’re going to take action”

Dash camera footage released on July 17 shows the incident in full. The two officers approached the door, with the dog excitedly running towards them. One officer falls down and the other officer fires two shots, hitting both the dog and his fellow officer.

The wounded officer was taken to the hospital suffering from a bullet wound, which was deemed not to be life-threatening. It’s unclear where he was shot, but the police have confirmed that he’s expected to recover.

Fuqua said that the dog was shot, but, as per Dispatch, media attending the scene observed that “the dog was walking freely and did not appear to be injured”, and the police clarified at the scene that “the dog is expected to be ok”. However, later reports confirm the dog was surrendered to Franklin County Animal Control and was quickly euthanized. 

NBC reports that the dog’s owner has been charged with failure to control a nuisance animal, failure to prevent a nuisance act, and failure to license and vaccinate the dog.

Cops and pet dogs have been under the microscope recently, after a Knicks celebration turned into a tragedy when officers responding to reports of a screaming woman shot a family dog. 

Fuqua also clarified that no one was charged in the domestic dispute and said it was determined to have been just a regular argument. As per local law, any officer-involved shooting must be referred to the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which will choose whether this warrants an investigation.

One day later, the bureau reported back, confirming that they will not be looking any further into this incident.

In dog news that doesn’t involve them being shot by cops, a Boston woman decided her golden retriever had so much love to give the world that she set up a ‘dog kissing booth’, and it’s been a huge hit!