Officer shoots, kills dog attacking him during child welfare check, Auburn police say
An Auburn police officer shot and killed a dog at a home last week as it attacked the officer in front of two children, police said Monday.
The incident is being investigated as an officer-involved shooting after a 14-year-old girl inside the home suffered a cut that investigators could not rule out as a wound from a bullet fragment, according to a news release by the Auburn Police Department.
Officers were called just after 9:20 p.m. Friday by an 11-year-old boy, scared after his 14-year-old sister ran outside their home and hadn’t returned. A dispatched officer responding to the welfare call was greeted by the two children who opened the front door as well as the 145-pound dog, which jumped on the officer, the news release said.
The 14-year-old girl attempted to restrain the dog, but it began to bite the officer, police said.
The officer fired four bullets, striking the dog two times as it ran away inside the home. The animal died from its injuries, said Lt. Tucker Huey, a spokesman for the Police Department.
It’s unclear when the teen girl suffered the wound to her left knee, police said.
“Due to the possibility that the injury was received by a bullet fragment, the fourteen-year-old was transported to the hospital, where she was treated and released,” the news release said.
The Placer County District Attorney’s Office will investigate the shooting to determine whether the officer’s actions broke the law. The Auburn Police Department will determine if the officer abided by department policy when firing the weapon.
