Lincoln Police say an officer fired his service weapon at an aggressive dog around 7:45 Tuesday night. The dog later had to be euthanized.
Sergeant Chris Vollmer says officers were at a residence in the 1300 block of Manatt St. for a follow-up investigation. After knocking at the door, the officer stepped back from the front porch while a second officer was standing further back. A woman answered the door and stepped outside.
After being told the officers were there to speak to her boyfriend, Vollmer says she turned back into the home while still holding the door open. At that point, her 5-year-old, large breed dog ran past her and began charging the officers. LPD says the officers reported that the dog was growling as she ran toward the officer closest to the porch.
He quickly retreated backwards and felt the dog bite and pull on his uniform pants, knocking him down in the process. LPD says the dog then let go and charged aggressively toward the second officer. He also retreated backward and in the process fired his service weapon.
The dog was struck by the gunfire. The boyfriend came out of the house, picked up the dog and took her to an emergency veterinarian. The dog had to be euthanized due to her injuries. The Lincoln Police Department is investigating the incident to include review of all available video and witness statements.
“Lincoln Police Officers are trained to handle aggressive dogs and part of the investigation will be to determine if that training was followed. It should also be recognized that often times situations unfold rapidly and not every aggressive dog can be deescalated,” Vollmer says .
Vollmer says it was learned Deva has been deemed a potentially dangerous dog, having previously bit another community member.