Posted on 07/06/2023 2:28:27 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A family’s pet lab mix was gunned down in their neighbor’s driveway over the Fourth of July weekend.
The 3-year-old lab mix named Dixie was shot and killed by a Lorain Police officer on July 2.
The shooting is still under investigation by the LPD Office of Professional Standards, but police released the bodycam footage on July 5 of the officer using force on the dog “in order for the Department to be fully transparent about the incident,” Acting Chief of Police Capt. Michael Failing stated.
Mellenie and Tammie Kerns’ four dogs were already on edge Sunday due to the constant crackling and popping of Fourth of July fireworks all weekend long.
“I am jumping at the sound of every firework I had a breakdown panic attack on my front porch because someone set off a firework down the street nowhere near me,” explained the dog’s owner, Mellenie Kerns. “I heard the boom and all I could remember was the bang bang bang over and over again hitting my dog as this officer unloaded into her.”
Amidst the chaos, the pups accidentally ran outside of their Lorain home on Oberlin Avenue near the intersection of West 8th Street.
It was about 1:45 p.m. when Mellenie noticed a Lorain Police officer pull up.
“I thought hey this man’s gonna help us stop traffic so if any of our dogs do happen to run in the street, he was gonna stop it that’s what most cops do,” Mellenie said.
Sadly, that’s not what happened.
Mellenie said she had gotten a hold of two of her dogs, including Dixie, when the officer started yelling.
“Dixie is not used to screaming when she’s around people they all want to play with her or let her lick them or be lovable as labs do and Dixie took off not towards the officer mind you, she was six feet away from him running that way he was nowhere near her, and she was no way near him or charging him as he claimed later on. She charged to go across the street,” explained Mellenie. “When he fired on her she was in the middle of the street on the yellow lines.”
Mellenie said the first bullet hit Dixie in the spine.
“She dropped to the ground with a yelp,” Mellenie recalled. “A car almost hit her and she had to pull herself back across the street so she would not get hit. She could not move either of her back legs. That was enough at that point. He could’ve stopped. He unloaded three more bullets into her in the driveway. There was children out and these bullets could’ve went through my dog and ricocheted. They could’ve missed my dog and ricocheted and hit a child, a little kid.”
The family said the worst part was they weren’t even allowed to comfort their dying pup.
“The bad thing about it is they wouldn’t let us touch the dog until they took pictures and did their little thing they had to do and by that time she was already dead,” said Tammie.
“There was no aggression, nothing,” said Mellenie.
“She is one of the most lovable dogs ever possible,” Tammie added.
“This dog has never had any biting incidents,” Mellenie told 19 News. “Never had any aggression filed against her. None of my dogs have had any of that.”
19 News reached out to the Lorain Police Department for comment.
Police confirmed that an officer used force on a dog.
“He didn’t care and then when he finally unloaded that last shot, he still had his gun out, but it was down,” Mellenie said. “He turned to look at us again and told my mom to go. I thought my mom was gonna get shot when he walked up to her and started pushing her away.”
Capt. Failing said the case will be thoroughly investigated by their department’s Office of Professional Standards while Chief McCann works with several outside expert consultants who will assist and review the facts of this case.
“At this time, the Department must reserve comment until such time that the current investigation is completed,” Capt. Failing stated on July 5. “We know the public wants to know more about what happened, which is why we’re moving quickly to gather the facts. We will provide information as soon as we know more.”
“I just want justice for my dog,” Mellenie said. “I want this man off the street. I want his firearm removed. I want him in jail for as long as physically possible. This was uncalled for.”
The family claims the police department encouraged them to cremate Dixie right away.
“They had the gall to tell us to cremate her knowing there was going to be an investigation,” the dog’s owner said. “They told us where to cremate her said they would willingly take her to cremate if we followed and paid for it. We didn’t even get any notification she would be needed for an autopsy until after she was already in the fire.
19 News will continue to follow the police investigation.
Below is 19 News’ previous report on this story:
Amidst the chaos, the pups accidentally ran outside of their Lorain home on Oberlin Avenue near the intersection of West 8th Street.Nice jornolizing there: "pups."
I have no problem with your opinion. It’s yours and it certainly applies in many situations.
Now here is my opinion. The gun is the last resort, not the first. Cops needs to learn restraint as much or more than how to shoot. This officer had options. He choose to go full on a$$hole pooch killer. This is the kind of cop who, if confronted with a Uvalde or Nashville school shooting situation, would shoot the kids or teachers running out of the line of fire. Bad judgement.
Did you not read this???
“...midst the chaos, the pups accidentally ran outside of their Lorain home...”
You don’t keep a pet on a leash inside your home...
If the cop couldn’t tell an agressive dog from a friendly one, then maybe the cop can’t tell an agressive human from a friendly one, and should turn in his badge.
And besides, a dog has a right to be agressive to someone who is intruding in his family’s space. Do they all deserve to be shot?
> Unpopular opinion: leash your dog. <
Well, yes. That would have helped. But there is no legal obligation to do so.
In a free country it’s not up to the citizens to show restraint. It’s up to the authorities to show restraint.
Thank you.
Not in Lorain OH:
505.02 CONFINEMENT OF DOGS; DANGEROUS DOGS AND VICIOUS DOGS.
https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/lorain/latest/lorain_oh/0-0-0-6961
Except when a dog is lawfully engaged in hunting and accompanied by the owner, keeper, harborer or handler of the dog, no owner, keeper or harborer of any dog shall fail at any time to do either of the following:
(1) Keep the dog physically confined or restrained upon the premises of the owner, keeper or harborer by a leash, tether, adequate fence, supervision or secure enclosure to prevent escape;
(2) Keep the dogs on a leash and under the reasonable control of some person when off the premises of the owner and remove any feces originating from the dog from the property;
(3) The running at large of a dog off the premises of the owner is prima facie evidence that it is unconfined in violation of this section.
You are probably a dog Karen. Glad you don’t live in my neighborhood.
You want to focus on a leash law and ignore a cop who shot a dog that was not a threat. Running towards a cop by itself is not threatening.
So many other options to fall back on if he felt some fear. Kick the dog, hit him on the skull with your baton, hell, you might even lean over and scratch his ears and get some licks. But his first instinct was to shoot the dog dead.
Now what were you sea lawyering about leash laws?
Oh yes a big talker. If they shot your dog you would not shoot them. You don’t know what you would do but virtually certain you would not shoot them, especially a cop.
Another big talker.
And anyway, why does someone have 4 labrador sized dogs? Why do they not keep the dogs in the house with the doors closed when people all around are setting off fireworks? Why do they not have a fence if they decide to have 4 large dogs? Why would they think that police are interested in the safety of their dogs? They should have known that the police would shoot their dogs considering how frequently it happens. Not excusing the police but you have to be aware.
Thank you for the info. And it’s really not a bad statute. It’s not a good idea to allow dogs to roam freely all over the neighborhood.
However, the cop here decided to make the violation a capital offense. Shoot and kill the friendly dog who was in violation.
(No disrespect meant to you, nicolio. None at all! Huge disrespect meant to the POS cop who just couldn’t wait to use his gun to kill something.)
Mother and daughter? Sisters? I think that dog was doomed from the beginning.
Especially a police officer.
Dog leash law, Lorain, OH. bkmk thanks
Come take a shot at my dog and find out for yourself.
L
I don’t justify the cop. Said so in my first post here. Doesn’t change that the “pups” release was not “accidental” and not in violation of the law.
As for our friend who calls me a “dog Karen,” Lol. Just don’t let your dog anywhere near me and my dogs when we are lawfully walking through the neighborhood. Didn’t end well for the pit owner or his dog that attacked one of my Cavvies.
Really, really bad. What a POS!
He only shot one?
He’s going to get ribbed pretty good down at the station, for not killing all the dogs.
Officer Elliot Palmer is a COWARD. First he shoots the dog and crippled it, THEN puts three more rounds into her. I hope Elliot enjoyed the hardon he got from murdering a crippled dog. Damn you to Hell Officer Elliot Palmer!!!!
After incidents like this it’s damn hard to have ANY RESPECT for law enforcement. Respect needs to be EARNED.
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