Danielle Husband
A family in Mansfield, Texas, is demanding answers after alleging an off duty-officer shot their beloved family pet as the family’s children played nearby.
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Reports indicate 5-year-old Caesar, a Great Dane, took the shot in his family’s yard in the 4200 block of Iron Drive.
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From there, the stories diverge.
The officer reportedly claims the dog came at him aggressively, forcing him to shoot walking past with his own dog.
Caesar’s owner, however, claims the barking dog never attacked either the officer or his dog:
“He did go over there, and they kind of started barking, so I said, ‘Caesar!'” owner Carol Evans said in an interview. “I walked over there to get him. I was probably two to three feet away from him, went to pull Caesar, and he pulled a gun out and shot it.”
The officer said he tried yelling at the dog to get it to back down before he felt forced to shoot it with his personal weapon.
Riding bikes in the street with two friends, Evans said her children and their friends witnessed the incident.
“When I saw the gun in his hand, I panicked, because the kids were right there, and, I was like, ‘Get the kids inside, get the kids inside!'” Evans said he recalled.
Garrett Martinez, a neighbor, backed up Evans’ story:
“There was no rustle or tussle of dogs,” Martinez said in an interview. “There was no barking, screaming or anything like that. It was five, maybe eight, seconds.”
Caesar died on the way to the veterinarian’s office.
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The sheriff’s office did not release the officer’s name, but, according to a statement, the incident is currently under investigation:
“The department is continuing to look into this matter as we would with any citizen involved in a similar circumstance.”
This is an ongoing investigation.
RIP, Ceasar.
