Police Department Gets Death Threats After Shooting Dog Defending Owner

The cops brought it on themselves

Three Southern California police officers involved in the shooting death of a dog have been pulled off street duty after receiving death threats from outraged dog lovers.

The social media fallout from the Sunday shooting has the Hawthorne Police Department scrambling to protect its officers and also tell another version of the story. Police released a new video of the shooting taken from a different angle. They believe this alternative perspective will prove to viewers that the officer's actions were justified.

Max the Rottweiler was shot four times on Sunday after lunging at officers who were handcuffing his owner, Leon Rosby. The original graphic cellphone recording of Max's death went viral on YouTube, prompting a flood of threats against the officers and their families through telephone, email and Facebook.