Off-duty Tulsa police officer shoots, kills pit bull
Posted: Saturday, September 13, 2014 12:00 am
An off-duty Tulsa police officer shot and killed a pit bull late Thursday afternoon after it approached his dog and he felt threatened, a police official said.
The incident unfolded around 5 p.m. in the 6900 block of East 18th Street. Sgt. Jeff Davis said the officer was walking his own dog while he was off-duty when a pit bull that was loose approached his pet.
The officer felt threatened, so he shot the dog, killing it, Davis said.
"It’s an unfortunate thing," Davis said, adding that the officers who responded to the call were upset to learn of the dog's death.
On Friday, Tulsa Police Department spokesman Leland Ashley said the incident will be treated the same as a citizen shooting an animal when threatened.
The officer, Ashley said, used his personal firearm, not a police-issued weapon.
One of the pit bull's owners, Nicholas Blazek, posted a photo of a ticket on Facebook that showed he had been cited for having a dog at large. The citation noted that the pet wasn't confined to the owner's property.
Blazek said in a post on the social media site that his 5-year-old pit bull, Titus, posed no threat.
Davis said the dog's owners intend to file an Internal Affairs complaint.
Davis said it is his understanding that the owners didn't see what happened but that several neighbors did. Police took statements from all of them, and the investigation remains open, he said.
Blazek wrote on Facebook that his dog was sniffing the off-duty officer's dog when the officer pulled the trigger.
"Once he was on the ground crying he shot two more times," Blazek posted.
Sarah Slane, who is listed on Facebook as being in a relationship with Blazek, wrote on Facebook that the officer had "no reason" to shoot Titus. She said the neighbors are "all on our side."
Attempts to reach the owners late Thursday weren't immediately successful.
The owners have the option of paying the preset fine of $75 for the violation or having their day in municipal court, Davis said.
Davis, who declined to release the name of the officer, said he won't be placed on administrative leave because he was off-duty and the shooting didn't involve a person.
Corey Jones 918-581-8359
corey.jones@tulsaworld.com
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