Holly MatkinDetroit, MI – A Detroit police officer was accidentally shot by a fellow officer who was trying to stop a dog from potentially attacking them on Sunday.
The incident occurred at approximately 4:45 p.m. on Sept. 18, after the Detroit Police Department (DPD) received a report about a possibly suicidal individual near Prevost Avenue and Hackett Street, WJBK reported.
As officers approached the home, a neighbor happened to let her American bulldog outside.
The dog was not on a leash.
Police said the animal began running at them aggressively, WJBK reported.
“The dog charged at the officers,” DPD Commander Brian Harris told WXYZ. “The officers, fearing for their safety, one officer fired one round at the dog.”
“The round didn’t strike the dog,” Commander Harris continued, according to The Detroit News. “It struck his partner in the lower right calf.”
The wounded officer was rushed to Sinai-Grace Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.
He is expected to make a full recovery, WJBK reported.
Both of the officers involved in the incident have been with the DPD for approximately five years, WJBK reported.
One neighbor told WXYZ that the dog’s owner should have been more cautious when she let the animal out of her house.
“The officer probably was protecting himself,” he said. “This could’ve all been avoided with a leash. Simple as that.”
Commander Harris said the incident is an example of why responsible pet ownership is so important.
“That’s what this boils down to,” he told WJBK. “The owner let the dog out of the house unleashed…it could have been a child walking down the street or anyone else and the dog would have charged at them.”
The dog’s owner, identified by WXYZ only as “Thomasina,” is now facing two counts of harboring a vicious animal.
She argued that her nine-year-old dog is not aggressive and said she plans to fight the citations in court.
