NOPD Superintendent Warren Riley is asking the Public Integrity Bureau to review a recent incident surrounding a dog shooting by an NOPD officer.

Marlin Defillo, a spokesman for the NOPD, says the Bureau will not be looking into the dog being shot, but rather the events that took place after the animal was shot.

The dog's owner, Dr. Patrick Coleman, accused the officer of acting unprofessionally and Defillo said that's what is being investigated.

------

Wednesday's story:

The story of a shooting of a dog in a Lakeview backyard by a New Orleans Police officer took another turn, when the owner’s veterinarian contradicted police statements, and NOPD officials said they would not take action against the officer.  

WWL-TV

Jax, the black doberman on the left, was shot and killed by police responding to a burglar alarm that proved to be a false alarm.

Veterinarian Rose Lemarie said she performed spine surgery on the dog six weeks earlier.  According to her, the dog could barely walk, let alone attack.

“In my opinion, I don't think Jax was capable of lunging or charging,” Dr. Lemarie said. “Those terms would be strong words for what Jax was capable of doing.”  

However, on late Monday morning, while investigating a burglar alarm, a NOPD officer shot Dr. Patrick Coleman’s dog in the backyard of his home in Lakeview.  The four year-old Doberman Pinscher growled and charged at the officer, according to police.

Dr. Lemaire examined the dog postmortem.  During her examination, the dog had four bullets holes in his body, and died from internal injuries and blood loss. 

“There were some small shards of metal in his head and in his thoracic and abdominal cavities,” Dr. Lemarie said. “And, there was a fracture to his mandible.”

“The whole thing just stinks,” Coleman said. “I think a cop panicked.”

Coleman said that there are holes in the officer’s story.  “It changed three times over ten minutes and he doesn't seem sorry about it,” Coleman said.

Coleman’s next door neighbor was also troubled by the officer’s immediate reaction to the shooting. 

“When I met him [the officer] outside, when I heard the gunshots and ran out, the first thing out of his mouth is, ‘Do you know the neighbor, can you call him to come home?  And don't tell him that I shot his dog,’” said Courtney Hidalgo, Coleman’s neighbor.

In order to prevent another killing, the Louisiana Humane Society is now asking for a meeting with Superintendent Warren Riley and is offering to help train officers on how to handle dogs in similar circumstances in the future.

“Just yelling at the top of your lungs ‘No’ is a great way to stop a dog in its tracks, Jeff Dorson, Executive Director of the Human Society of Louisiana, said.  “Standing still and crossing your arms is another one. Firing a shot, a warning, any type of loud noise usually has the animal break away from the attack mode and change direction.”

Coleman is now contemplating a lawsuit, and the homeowner’s attorney said incompetence on the part of the officer would be grounds to sue.  “He was a sweet, sweet dog,” Coleman said. “He did not need to die. He was murdered in my backyard by a cop who was probably afraid of dogs and is more or less, trigger happy.”

As for a response by the NOPD, “The dog was charging and it was a sad situation….  The officer is traumatized by this as well,” Sgt. Joe Narcisse, NOPD spokesperson, said, and adding the officer in question is not facing any disciplinary action, though the NOPD would consider the Human Society’s offer to help train police on how to handle dogs.