ComPol says Police Should have Stayed Away from Dog Entirely  

On Thursday, we told you about a nursing dog that was shot by a police officer on Supal Street in Belize City. Brendalee Riverol, the owner of the dog says three officers visited their home on Wednesday evening seeking the whereabouts of her son for an ongoing investigation, but instead found her family pet and its litter of puppies. The officer claims that the dog was aggressive in nature and in fear for his safety fired a shot, injuring the animal. We spoke with Minister of Home Affairs, Kareem Musa and Commissioner of Police Chester Williams who told us that the injury to the animal is unacceptable. Here is News Fives Britney Gordon with that report.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

On Wednesday, a family witnessed their beloved family pet, a mother of ten two-week old puppies, become severely wounded after a police officer shot her during a search of the pet owner’s home. The officer claims that the dog was aggressive, and he simply acted out of fear for his safety; however, Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, says his actions are unacceptable.

 

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“Well upon the thing happening the same night in question I was called by the family and was given information I put them on to mister Romero and direct that the complaint be taken. I know the police PSB have taken a complaint and so the matter is going to be dealt with by a professional standard branch. Certainly the actions of the police is not one that we are going to condone. We don’t think that he ought to have used the amount of force that he used on that dog. And yes There were reasons for the police to be there, but the amount of force the police used, we believe, was not justified. And so that’s a matter PSB is going to be dealing with.”

 

Paul Lopez

“There’s protocols in place for dealing in situations like this?”

 

Chester Williams

“Well, I think that the warning that the ladies actually gave the police was a good one. The police are to have taken precautions and not go in the area considering what was said to them. So when they still went to the area and eventually used lethal force against the dog, that cannot be countenance, no”

 

 

 

 

We also spoke to vet technician Ingrid Lima, of the SAGA Humane Society, who told us that nursing dogs tend to exhibit aggression to protect their litter.

 

Ingrid Lima, Vet Technician, SAGA Humane Society

“Let’s talk about a dog that recently have a babies, right? Most mom has recently give birth. They acting a little differently. Don’t worry, it’s normal many mothers that display behavioral change after giving birth and those can range from mild to extreme and that is natural behavior in a mom dog, so some are, they are protecting the babies and sometimes they’re just for natural behavior, they’re just acting, in defense of the babies. The trick is understanding how to deal with the changes and caring for your pet in the meantime.”

 

 

Lima advised that in scenarios such as these, those unknown to the animal should heed warnings and stay away from the animal.

 

Ingrid Lima

“If the mom is, doesn’t know this person, I will give you an advice like go and talk in a common voice and give the mom space. That’s very important. If you know that this mom have her body, give you, normally a dog give you like a warning. That’s very important. They not just attack just because they want to attack. So if you not the owner or you are a person the dog doesn’t know you, give the dog a chance. space, talk to the dog in a calm voice. Don’t go or don’t go to the area that the dogs know that they’re gonna defend the puppies. They’re gonna defend the babies. They’re acting by instinct.”

 

 

Minister of Home Affairs, Kareem Musa said that the use of a lethal weapon on an animal is not the protocol for situations like these. He said that they have advised the family affected to make a report to the Professional Standards Branch.

 

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs

“I spoke with the commissioner about that because I saw it on social media as well. What the commissioner is saying is that he has encouraged the family that owns the dog to make a report to Professional Standards Branch. I’m fairly certain the officer is saying that he felt under threat From the dog. Pit bulls are considered aggressive in nature, especially ones that is nursing. And so you’d have to look at or assess the degree of aggression. Was the dog coming after the officer or was it just standing in place barking? What prompted the officer to take that additional step of pulling out his service weapon and firing a shot? Very regrettable circumstances all around. But definitely that is something that’s going to require an investigation from professional standards branch.”

 

Britney Gordon for News Five.