Cop Shoots 'Vicious' 'Pitbull' That Was Really a Black Lab in a Car
A police officer in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho claims that he had to shoot a "pitbull" that exhibited "vicious" behavior this week. The owner of the dog, which was actually a labrador, is skeptical.
A local news station reports on the shooting:
The incident began Wednesday morning when an officer responded to call about a suspicious van. The caller claimed the driver of van was watching young children from a nearby parking lot. The owners of coffee shop reported the white van because they thought it was possibly connected to child luring case.
When an officer approached the van with his gun drawn, the dog lunged out of the open driver's side window according to Coeur d'Alene Police Department leaders. The officer said the pit bull lunged at his face. Investigators said the officer fired one round from his service weapon and shot the dog in the chest. The dog later died.
The incident apparently left the officer feeling "distraught."
The body of the two-year-old dog, named Arfie, was found by his owner, Craig Jones, who told KREM 2 News that he couldn't even comprehend the situation. "This still isn't even real to me." Insisting that Arfie was harmless, he said, "If my dog is barking and wondering who's peering through the windows he doesn't care if you're a cop, an attorney, or President Bush. He doesn't know any difference." Jones had apparently just stepped away from the vehicle to eat breakfast.
Since there's no video evidence or witnesses of the incident, it's impossible to say how much of the unidentified cop's story is accurate. A photograph taken afterward shows the window of the van rolled about halfway up, a bullet hole blown through it.
H/T: Karl Hungus