A family in Brockton is expressing anger after their dog was fatally shot by a police officer in the Massachusetts city.The Brockton Police Department said the officer, who was not identified, was responding to a parking enforcement call on Hermon Street on Sept. 15 when the dog ran at the officer shortly before 10 a.m.”The officer discharged his firearm at the dog to protect himself from injury,” the department said in a statement.Angela Cordero, the owner of the 1-year-old dog named Leia, said she received her pet’s ashes on Tuesday.Jennifer Wentworth, a family friend who was with Leia at the time of the shooting, said she is still overwhelmed by the trauma.”He shoots her so hard and close, on the top back of her head,” Wentworth said while fighting back tears.”When she walked, she wiggled. She was so fat,” Cordero said. “There’s no way that officer was in fear of injury or getting hurt by a little do like that.””He had no reason to shoot her,” Wentworth said. “No reason whatsoever.”As Cordero, Wentworth and other family members try to cope with Leia’s loss, they said questions about the shooting are mounting. They are pushing for more answers from Brockton police.”They need to know this kind of stuff is not OK, and they need to take responsibility for their actions,” Cordero said.The Brockton Police Department said that the shooting remains under investigation.
A family in Brockton is expressing anger after their dog was fatally shot by a police officer in the Massachusetts city.
The Brockton Police Department said the officer, who was not identified, was responding to a parking enforcement call on Hermon Street on Sept. 15 when the dog ran at the officer shortly before 10 a.m.
“The officer discharged his firearm at the dog to protect himself from injury,” the department said in a statement.
Angela Cordero, the owner of the 1-year-old dog named Leia, said she received her pet’s ashes on Tuesday.
Jennifer Wentworth, a family friend who was with Leia at the time of the shooting, said she is still overwhelmed by the trauma.
“He shoots her so hard and close, on the top back of her head,” Wentworth said while fighting back tears.
“When she walked, she wiggled. She was so fat,” Cordero said. “There’s no way that officer was in fear of injury or getting hurt by a little do like that.”
“He had no reason to shoot her,” Wentworth said. “No reason whatsoever.”
As Cordero, Wentworth and other family members try to cope with Leia’s loss, they said questions about the shooting are mounting. They are pushing for more answers from Brockton police.
“They need to know this kind of stuff is not OK, and they need to take responsibility for their actions,” Cordero said.
The Brockton Police Department said that the shooting remains under investigation.
