Video shows Columbus officer fatally shooting loose dog that attacked other dog, owner

• A Columbus police officer fatally shot a dog attacking a woman and her leashed dog.
• Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant stated the officer acted to protect the woman and her dog.
• The incident sparked debate on social media regarding the officer’s use of force.

Some residents expressed outrage on social media after Columbus police released body camera footage that has gone viral showing an officer fatally shooting an off-leash pit bull that attacked a woman and her leashed dog on Sunday, May 4, in North Linden.

Officers responded to the area of Arlington Avenue and Bremen Street just before 3:30 p.m. and were speaking with a woman who was walking her dog on a leash, body camera footage shows. Seconds after officers begin chatting with the woman, an unleashed brown and white pit bull runs up, confronts and begins attacking the woman’s dog.

The bodycam video shows the dogs fighting and snarling as the woman is screaming and trying to separate them. One of the officers gets out of his cruiser and takes aim at the pit bull with his gun while telling the woman to move out of the line of fire, the video shows.

The officer then shoots the pit bull two times, video shows. The woman and her leashed dog appear to be unharmed as she pulls her dog named “Kevin” away from the scene.

Warning: This video contains graphic content

In a video posted on Facebook, the owner of the pit bull is seen crying and pleading with officers to let her take the wounded dog to the veterinarian to receive medical attention. The officer refuses, telling her that the dog is “under jurisdiction” of the Franklin County Animal Care and Control and that they would have to take the dog. The dog can be seen lying in the grass as it bleeds out.

“My dog is literally dying,” the woman says to the officer. “He’s still alive, let me take him to the vet.” The woman also repeatedly tells officers that the dog wasn’t aggressive. Another woman tells officers that “dogs run around loose” every day in the neighborhood. Other people at the scene continue to ask officers what led up to the shooting and if the dog tried to attack an officer.

READ MORE: ‘Vicious,‘ The Columbus Dispatch and USA TODAY Ohio Network’s statewide investigation into why Ohio law gives dogs a second chance when they attack people and cause disfigurement, amputations, psychological trauma and sometimes deaths.

Over two dozen people commented on the woman’s Facebook video, with some agreeing with the officer’s actions and chastising the dog owner for her dog running loose, while others questioned if the officer needed to use that level of force or if pepper spray or a Taser device would have worked to subdue the dog.

In a statement released a day after the incident, Columbus police Chief Elaine Bryant said the officer who shot the pit bull did so to protect both the leashed dog and its owner from further harm. Bryant also said that per police division policy, there would be an internal administrative investigation to “ensure all appropriate policies and procedures were followed.”

“We understand that any incident involving the use of force, especially involving animals, can be upsetting to the community. Our thoughts are with all those affected,” Bryant said.

Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky. 

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