Durham sheriff's deputy shoots, kills dog during service call
DURHAM COUNTY (WTVD) -- A Durham resident's dog died after being shot by a Durham County Sheriff Deputy while on patrol last Monday.
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The incident happened on February 26 in the 100 block of Waltz Drive.
Troy Ennis, who is a self-described pet lover, watched as law enforcement shot the dog to death in front of his family.
"The deputy fired the shot about one foot from my dad's head as he was trying to grab the dog in front of a 5-year-old child," Ennis told ABC11. "They left without ever handling the situation that they were originally called for."
According to the sheriff's office, deputies arrived at the home on for a domestic call involving two people inside the home.
While at the home, deputies noticed two large dogs behaving in an aggressive manner.
Edited dashcam video provided to ABC11 by the Sheriff's Office offered audio into what happened prior to the shooting. One deputy can be heard off camera saying, "(The dog) came right at me. Slammed the door in its face." Another deputy replied by saying, "I thought you were going to smoke him!"
"I almost did," the deputy responded back.
Deputies then told the owner to calm the dogs down and put them in another room. The owner complied with the deputy's request and put the dog in a nearby bedroom; however, the pit-hound mix "charged aggressively" and "lunged at the deputy's face" when it escaped the bedroom.
Ennis said his pit-hound mix, named "D," has never bitten anyone before nor has he acted aggressively. Ennis said his dog would always play in the backyard with his 5-year-old grandson, Ian. "The dog tries to catch the darts and take the guns away from him."
"The dog did jump up. I'm not denying he didn't jump up," Ennis explained.
He said "D" never growled or barked and believes the dog was going after the deputy's gun in a playful manner.
"(The dog) never knew what a real gun was. To him all guns were toys. I know the officer didn't know that," Ennis said. "But a gun? First thing! A Taser? No pepper spray? Kick him? (The deputy) is a 200-something pound man. He couldn't kick him?"
The deputy shot in self-defense and killed the dog.
An upset Ennis said, "(Deputies) have made no effort to offer any type of counseling for the child, replace the blood-soaked carpet, or as far as we can tell, any type of disciplinary action for the deputy."
Also, Ennis said the second deputy never drew his service weapon.
Ennis told ABC11 that the sheriff's office was supposed to contact him by end of business Tuesday, but that never happened.
"They have not even provided an incident report," Ennis said.
When contacted, the Durham County Sheriff's Office said, "As with all grievances, the sheriff's office is conducting a thorough review of the events leading up to the shooting incident. That internal investigation is incomplete and ongoing at this time. For this reason, no additional details are available."
Ennis questioned the response from the Sheriff's Office as well. "If he lunged at his face, how did he shoot him in the mouth," said Ennis.
The Sheriff's Office also provided ABC11 with their version of events, writing, "While the dogs continued to bark, the owner complied with the deputy's request to contain them. The complainant is explaining her situation to the deputy when one of the dogs, which is now older and larger than the photo provided to ABC11, lunges toward another deputy on the scene. While she is sharing her story, a 58-pound dog escapes from the room where it was contained after the owner opened the door. Again, the pit-hound mix dog charged aggressively toward another deputy who shot it as the dog lunged at the deputy's face."
