MAPLE HEIGHTS, Ohio — Marquita Watford is in shock after her one-year-old pitbull named Chino was shot in her yard by a Maple Heights police officer Thursday morning.
"I really can’t believe this. He shot my dog for no reason," said Watford. "He wasn’t a threat to him, he wasn’t biting him, he wasn’t aggressive— he’s not an aggressive dog. he’s a house dog.”
As of Thursday night, the dog was still in surgery at Metropolitan Veterinary in Highland Heights, suffering from several gunshot wounds.
“Chino is in God’s hands right now," Watford said.
The family set up a GoFundMe to help with the expensive bill. Metropolitan Vet raised the money to try to save the dog instead of putting him to sleep.
"They did not have to do that. So for that, we are very grateful," said Teeana Newell.
Maple Heights police released the following statement:
The Department was dispatched to Camden Road for a report of an aggressive pitbull dog in a neighbor's yard. Upon arrival, the officer spoke with the female caller. This dog has been the subject of numerous, prior complaints of being loose and aggressive. Today, the dog was being aggressive toward her and her young daughter as they tried to leave the house. She ran back inside and also took some pictures and a video, through the door, of the dog in her yard. She also told the officer she wanted to press charges for the dog being loose again.
The officer then went to the home of the dog owner. The officer knocked on the front door of the residence numerous times but no one came to the door. The officer then walked around to the side of the residence to knock on the side door. As the officer walked down the driveway toward the door, he looked into the backyard for the dog. The pitbull then came from the open door of the house and onto the back porch, which was also open with no door or chain.
The officer froze to calm the dog. The dog puffed up his chest aggressively and lurched toward the officer twice. The officer drew his gun as a precaution, hoping the dog would go back inside. He called for the owner. The dog then aggressively ran at the officer in the driveway. The officer shot the dog and the dog then went back inside.
This incident is being investigated by Maple Heights Police Department Detectives. Anyone with information related to this case is urged to contact the Maple Heights Detective Bureau.
Watford told News 5 that Chino is trained to go outside, do his business and then return inside the house.
Watford said she heard the dog come in and then believed Chino went back outside.
She said she forgot to tell her boyfriend to shut the door.
The two were upstairs getting changed when the officer arrived. Once her boyfriend heard the officer, she ran downstairs, and that's when she heard the gunshots ring out.
"I hear him run in, and I go to the door and I’m just like, 'You just shot my dog?' and he’s like, 'What?' standing back about six feet from my stairs," said Watford. "He was like, 'He was aggressive' [and] I was like, 'How he got aggressive?' He wouldn’t answer me."
The family is now waiting and hoping for a miracle.
They said the explanation the police gave for shooting their dog doesn't make sense.
"Obviously everybody is trying to save their own butt," said Newell.
Newell said the officer should have retreated if he felt threatened. He did not have to shoot the dog.
"That dog, regardless of the back door being wide open, locked, whether the dog had a leash or no leash that dog was on his own property. He never left his property," said Newell. "Ok, he went into the neighbors' yard for a second, that was at 9 a.m. the police arrived at 9:40 a.m., that’s 35 minutes later."
News 5 has requested the officer's body cam video.
