Police shoot, kill two attacking dogs
Pit bulls attacked walker, turned on police
By Molly Montag Journal staff writer | Posted: Friday, March 28, 2008
SIOUX CITY -- A Sioux City police officer shot and killed two pit bulls Thursday evening after they attacked a man walking his dog on South College Street.
Police Sgt. Mike Post said officers had received numerous reports of two pit bulls running loose in the Morningside area.
He said around 5 p.m., someone reported two dogs were attacking a man, who was trying to fend them off with an umbrella. The man had been walking his own dog, a black Labrador retriever, near two apartment buildings on the 500 block of South College Street.
Sioux City Police Sgt. Jim Cunningham, who was the first officer on the scene, said the man and his dog had already been bitten.
"Two pit bulls had a gentlemen and his black lab pinned up against a car and would not let them leave," Cunningham said.
Cunningham said the dogs came toward him when he got out of his vehicle, so he fired two shots, killing both.
South College Street resident Verna Powell said she was talking on the phone when she heard lots of barking outside her house in the normally quiet neighborhood.
Powell said when she looked outside, she saw a man with a dog on a leash and the two pit bulls around him.
"They were barking and all around him," Powell said.
Although Powell said she didn't see the animals killed, she said she did see police arrive and later heard two shots.
Officers said they believe the dogs escaped earlier that day from their owner, who Post said lives on the 2200 block of South Paxton Street. Post said he was unaware of anyone else being injured by the dogs.
"Sounds like they've been running loose quite a while, because we've getting calls all afternoon," Post said Thursday evening.
Cunningham said the final call came from a resident of one of the two apartment buildings, who told police she saw the dogs attacking the man.
Later that evening a resident scooped bloody snow from the deck of one of the buildings.
Police said the man suffered bites to the calves of both legs and his dog also appeared injured. He refused medical treatment.
Police would not release names of the dogs' owner or the bite victim.
Officials with Sioux City Animal Control cited the dogs' owner for allowing the dogs to run at large.
The Sioux City Council recently changed the city's dog ordinance to require that any animal declared vicious must be euthanized. Pet owners are now assessed the cost of having their dogs killed if they refuse to have it done.
Post said shooting dogs, even those that have injured someone, isn't something police officers want to do.
"We hate to even think about hurting an animal or shooting an animal," said Post.
Police Sgt. Mike Post said officers had received numerous reports of two pit bulls running loose in the Morningside area.
He said around 5 p.m., someone reported two dogs were attacking a man, who was trying to fend them off with an umbrella. The man had been walking his own dog, a black Labrador retriever, near two apartment buildings on the 500 block of South College Street.
Sioux City Police Sgt. Jim Cunningham, who was the first officer on the scene, said the man and his dog had already been bitten.
"Two pit bulls had a gentlemen and his black lab pinned up against a car and would not let them leave," Cunningham said.
Cunningham said the dogs came toward him when he got out of his vehicle, so he fired two shots, killing both.
South College Street resident Verna Powell said she was talking on the phone when she heard lots of barking outside her house in the normally quiet neighborhood.
Powell said when she looked outside, she saw a man with a dog on a leash and the two pit bulls around him.
"They were barking and all around him," Powell said.
Although Powell said she didn't see the animals killed, she said she did see police arrive and later heard two shots.
Officers said they believe the dogs escaped earlier that day from their owner, who Post said lives on the 2200 block of South Paxton Street. Post said he was unaware of anyone else being injured by the dogs.
"Sounds like they've been running loose quite a while, because we've getting calls all afternoon," Post said Thursday evening.
Cunningham said the final call came from a resident of one of the two apartment buildings, who told police she saw the dogs attacking the man.
Later that evening a resident scooped bloody snow from the deck of one of the buildings.
Police said the man suffered bites to the calves of both legs and his dog also appeared injured. He refused medical treatment.
Police would not release names of the dogs' owner or the bite victim.
Officials with Sioux City Animal Control cited the dogs' owner for allowing the dogs to run at large.
The Sioux City Council recently changed the city's dog ordinance to require that any animal declared vicious must be euthanized. Pet owners are now assessed the cost of having their dogs killed if they refuse to have it done.
Post said shooting dogs, even those that have injured someone, isn't something police officers want to do.
"We hate to even think about hurting an animal or shooting an animal," said Post.
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