Melvin Felix After the shooting, this cop car with a kennel in the trunk likely hauled the wounded pit bull to a veterinarian.The pit bull that took a bullet in the middle of 14th Street last week continues her remarkable recovery. “She is showing more signs of improvement,” wrote a spokesman for Animal Care and Control. “Her swelling has gone down and she is more alert.”
Meanwhile, the debate continues on The Local’s Facebook page regarding whether the shooting was justified. Graphic video of the incident shows that the dog, named Star, did indeed lunge at the police officer who shot her. But most commenters believe that deadly force was unnecessary. “Star was doing what she was suppose to do,” wrote one reader. “If you watch the video in entirely you see for 9 min they did not even attend to her owner still on the ground. This was not justified.”
“That cop will remember this for the rest of his life and if he owns dogs at home I hope he doesn’t do this to his own pets,” wrote another. “I smell a huge lawsuit against that cop and the N.Y.P.D. for not helping Star and his owner.”
Melvin Felix The scene on Monday.Star the pit bull is still hanging on for dear life after being shot by a police officer on 14th Street Monday.
On Tuesday, a police source said the dog’s prognosis was not good, but yesterday a spokesman for Animal Care and Control of New York City told The Local that the feisty mutt was still in stable condition at a shelter in Harlem. Today that spokesman said, “Star’s condition is still serious, but thankfully she is showing signs of slight improvement.”
It’s still unknown whether the dog, if it survives, will be returned to its owner, who was passed out on the sidewalk when the shooting occurred and was arrested for an open warrant related to an open container charge.
On The Local, commenters debated about who was to blame for the shooting.
“That’s a sad story. But I wouldn’t want to get bit by that dog,” wrote Delphine Blue, apparently sympathizing with the police officer who fired the shot. Read more…
A witness showed us a video he took of the shooting’s aftermath.
Melvin Felix Officers loaded a dog kennel into the trunk of a
police car as friends of the
owner of the dead pitbull looked on.
A police officer shot a pitbull that was apparently trying to defend its passed-out owner on 14th Street at around 4:15 p.m., horrifying passersby who watched the wounded mutt suffer a slow death.
A man who identified himself as Steve-o, who was lingering at the scene near Second Avenue said he was a friend of the passed-out man, known as Pollock. The dog, according to Steve-o, was named Star.
Another witness, Roland Bueler, said the dog was protecting his master as a police officer tried unsuccessfully to rouse him while an ambulance awaited. “People who live in the neighborhood say he’s along here all the time,” Mr. Bueler said of Pollock. “He had a dog that was, I think, a pitbull mix. And the dog was defending the guy so no one could approach him.” Read more…
