Police: Dog that attacked child, charged officer shot and killed

July 2, 2018

VALDOSTA, Ga. (WCTV) -- The Valdosta Police Department says a dog was killed after it attacked a child and charged at a responding officer.

At 7:23 p.m. Sunday, VPD officers responded to the 1500 block of San Bernardino Way for a report of a dog attack.

Officers say a 10-year-old boy was playing in his front yard when he was attacked by a neighbor's pit bull that was wandering the neighborhood. The child suffered multiple puncture wounds to both legs and was treated by EMS.

Police determined that the dog was still loose in the neighborhood and belonged to a resident in a nearby home on San Bernardino Way.

The investigating officer responded to the home where the dog's owner lived and located the resident and the dog, which was still running free. VPD says while the officer was talking with the resident, the dog began to growl aggressively and charged the officer. The officer then backed away and fired one shot to defend himself, fatally wounding the dog.

No other injuries were reported.

Lowndes County Animal Control responded to the scene and filed three separate charges on the owner of the dog.

The officer had his police body camera activated during the incident, which was reviewed by internal affairs and the Chief of Police. VPD says the video confirmed the details of the incident.

“We have concluded a complete review of this incident with the help of the officer’s body-camera video and witness statements. In no way did the officer do anything wrong in this case and fault resides solely on the owner of the dog who failed to adequately restrain the dog to avoid this from happening,” stated Valdosta Police Chief Brian Childress.