Fatal shooting of dog captured on police body camera

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- The son of a dog owner on Buffalo's East Side believes the fatal shooting of his father's dog by a police officer could've been prevented. Buffalo Police say the officer's actions were justified.

This all unfolded the afternoon of June 28 on Newburgh Avenue near Lang Avenue in Buffalo. WIVB News 4 obtained body camera video from Buffalo Police through a Freedom of Information request.

The clip begins with no audio at 12:50 p.m. as an officer walks up the driveway of a home on Newburgh Avenue. You can see two dogs behind a gate down the driveway.

According to a Buffalo Police report, officers were tasked to go door to door handing out a memo from the chief of E-District. A city spokesperson says the memos were part of a routine walking patrol to alert residents ahead of the 4th of July about illegal fireworks and unpermitted gatherings.

In the video, you can see one of the dogs getting through the gate as the officer runs away. The officer runs up the front steps of the house, and the audio pipes in.

"Get down," said the officer.

It's just after this moment that the officer shoots the dog on the staircase. We've chosen not to air the exact moment. Other officers arrive soon after.

The police report notes that dog control responded and took custody of the deceased dog. A city spokesperson says no case was opened, and the officer's actions were deemed justified.

In response to an interview request, the spokesperson sent a copy of the police report and this line from the Buffalo Police Department's Manual of Procedures: "If the officer or another person is in the process of being attacked by an animal and is in imminent danger, the officer may discharge his/her firearm to ward off the attack."

We spoke with retired Buffalo Police Captain Jeff Rinaldo for his take, and asked him if he thought the officer's actions were justified.

"A hundred percent," Rinaldo said. "I mean, unfortunately, nobody wants to have to do what that officer did in that situation. But you also can't run the risk of getting bit and seriously injured, especially with two dogs now chasing after you up the porch. Again, it's easy to presume, as the owner of the pet, what the dog would have done. But it's a different scenario when you're the police officer faced with that threat."

Luis Angel Arroyo is the son of the dog's owner. He said in part that he feels this could have all been prevented if the officer didn't walk in the driveway and just used the front door. He wants to see better Buffalo Police policy when it comes to handling situations like this.

He said Apollo was a 2-year-old American Bully, who was a big baby, energetic and playful. Arroyo told us the other dog in the video was not injured.