In a heart-wrenching incident that has sparked outrage and renewed calls for police reform, a police officer in Ohio recently shot a beloved family dog during an encounter. The incident makes you think about the complex relationship between law enforcement and the community, bringing into focus the need for improved training, communication, and protocols to prevent such tragic incidents from occurring in the future.
Bodycam footage of the incident has been released to the public and has caused many people to protest for the officer to be prosecuted for animal cruelty. Tammie Kerns, the owner of Dixie, was attempting to round up her four yellow Labradors after they ran out of her house. While she was doing this, the officer pulled over. When he exited the car, Dixie ran toward the police officer and was shot.
In the bodycam footage, you see the police officer yelling at Tammie to “Get back!” when she was approaching him, rightly upset about what just happened. You then hear the police officer calling in stating, “Get me a bunch of cars out here. We got a bunch of people coming out.”
You continuously hear Tammie screaming, “You killed my dog!” multiple times at the officer, and asking him why he did it. He claimed his reason for doing so was because her dog charged him. Within a short time, neighbors came bursting out of their homes to vent their anger at the police officer.
Dixie was a popular dog in the neighborhood, and that’s extremely clear with the amount of anger being thrown at the officer. The situation got so heated that the officer radioed in that he needed to leave the scene. In the bodycam footage, you can hear him state, “Hey! I’m boogying out of here.”
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In an interview with Inside Edition, Tammie Kerns had this to say, “It hurts, it hurts really bad. He should have stayed in his car if he’s that scared.”
This incident has caused social media to blow up, with people wanting justice for Dixie. Lorain Police Department's Lt. Jacob Morris made a public statement, “I want to offer our condolences to the Kerns family. Regardless of the situation, they’re dealing with the loss of a family member.”
The officer who was involved in the incident is not on administrative leave and is pending investigation.
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