A Breckenridge family is looking for answers after a police officer shot and fatally wounded their pet pitbull.
When Bryan Burns got a phone call from a friend saying police were at his house Thanksgiving night, he immediately rushed home.
"Two cops were standing in my yard. I said, 'What's going on?' I could see my dog at the corner of the fence and it was bleeding out of the mouth. And he said, 'I shot it,' and I said, 'Why?' he said, 'He barked at me and acted aggressive,'" Burns recalled.
Burns had animal control put his three-year-old pitbull, Bear, to sleep right there in his backyard.
"He had a bullet hole between his nose and his top lip, and he was laying there suffering. He was alive the whole time I was digging the hole to bury him in," Burns said.
Breckenridge Police responded to Burns' house after getting a call about a vicious dog around 6:30 that night.
"One of the officers got out to talk to the other one in his car. When he did, the dog lunged at the officer, fired one shot, the dog ran back over to its house," said Chief Larry Mahan of the Breckenridge Police Department.
Burns admitted the gate to his yard was open, but a witness who was sitting next door said the dog was in the yard when he was shot.
"I did not hear that dog run but maybe four "yipes," then it was done. And it was right there by that wall," said Edwin Congdon, who was next door at the time.
The police department is backing the officer's actions.
"If a dog goes to attack them, I feel they have the right to protect themselves," Mahan said.
Breckenridge officers started wearing personal cameras in the field this past year, but are not required to. The chief said the officer involved wasn't wearing one at the time.
The officer involved is Scott Gabriel, who was put administrative leave after the 2008 shooting that killed Mike Richardson of Albany.
The other officer involved with that incident, Jason Holt, is no longer with the department. A grand jury declined to indict either of them back in 2009.
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When Bryan Burns got a phone call from a friend saying police were at his house Thanksgiving night, he immediately rushed home.
"Two cops were standing in my yard. I said, 'What's going on?' I could see my dog at the corner of the fence and it was bleeding out of the mouth. And he said, 'I shot it,' and I said, 'Why?' he said, 'He barked at me and acted aggressive,'" Burns recalled.
Burns had animal control put his three-year-old pitbull, Bear, to sleep right there in his backyard.
"He had a bullet hole between his nose and his top lip, and he was laying there suffering. He was alive the whole time I was digging the hole to bury him in," Burns said.
Breckenridge Police responded to Burns' house after getting a call about a vicious dog around 6:30 that night.
"One of the officers got out to talk to the other one in his car. When he did, the dog lunged at the officer, fired one shot, the dog ran back over to its house," said Chief Larry Mahan of the Breckenridge Police Department.
Burns admitted the gate to his yard was open, but a witness who was sitting next door said the dog was in the yard when he was shot.
"I did not hear that dog run but maybe four "yipes," then it was done. And it was right there by that wall," said Edwin Congdon, who was next door at the time.
The police department is backing the officer's actions.
"If a dog goes to attack them, I feel they have the right to protect themselves," Mahan said.
Breckenridge officers started wearing personal cameras in the field this past year, but are not required to. The chief said the officer involved wasn't wearing one at the time.
The officer involved is Scott Gabriel, who was put administrative leave after the 2008 shooting that killed Mike Richardson of Albany.
The other officer involved with that incident, Jason Holt, is no longer with the department. A grand jury declined to indict either of them back in 2009.
Related Links:
Comments
This city doesnt know dogs. It is one of the reasons I moved away from there, and will never live there again. My dog I had had for years was in the yard and because she showed aggression at a neighbor and police officer that walked upto the fence, she was put to sleep. It is because they passed a law after a child was killed by a pitbull that any sign of aggression can cause the city to take the dog away or kill it. All these police and people who over reacted to one incident and put this law into effect, should be fired and repromended. I lost my closest friend because she was protecting her home, and now its not only me. They worry about dogs people own when more animals run wild then any other town I have ever seen. Abuse of power..the town I once loved has literally turned into a hole for those who abuse power.
David B.
December 2, 2011 at 9:15 am
I understand the stigma that pitbulls carry but spare me the officer couldnt use a taser or mace if he felt threatened. This story completely sickens me. Oh yeah I just had to remind myself that I still live in Texas where everything is handle with extreme force and most of the time a gun. Thank God I will soon be a Florida resident.
Stormie G.
December 2, 2011 at 7:14 am
Apparently the town is not familiar with dogs. If you walk close to the property, be prepared to have a dog possible jump on its legs and bark at you. From these stories, it seems that it'll be pointless for anyone to own a family pet.
D W.
December 2, 2011 at 5:52 am
It makes me sick when I hear something like this.The dog was shot protecting his home.Then left to suffer.That is pretty sorry.
Brenda N.
December 2, 2011 at 5:32 am
If you are in a dogs yard and he barks....that is pretty common...thats why God gave us the dog.......Typical, standard small town law enforcement......Be smarter than the animal you shoot
dave d.
December 2, 2011 at 5:08 am
