A police officer investigating a noise complaint shot a German shepherd in the head, an action the dog’s owner says was uncalled for.
Owner Scott Schuett, 31, said the 11-year- old dog, Jake, was standing next to him and barking when Schuett opened the door at 1 a.m. Friday and one of two officers immediately shot the dog.
“I don’t think it was necessary to pull out a gun,” Schuett said Saturday. “I thought it was way overboard. It was pretty disturbing.”
Jake was treated at Alameda East Veterinary Hospital for a gunshot and is back at Schuett’s apartment in the 8800 block of West Belleview Avenue, Schuett said. The bullet is still lodged in Jake’s shoulder.
Sonny Jackson, Denver police spokesman, said Saturday that the officer felt threatened by the dog and shot it to defend himself. The shooting will be reviewed by a use-of-force team, he said.
Schuett, a retail store manager, acknowledges that he was playing music too loud for that late at night. One of his neighbors called police to complain.
“That’s where I was wrong,” he said.
When he answered his front door, he was expecting to see friends, but instead two police officers were at the door.
Jake weighs 100 pounds and can be intimidating, Schuett acknowledged, but the dog did not lunge at the officers or bite them. The dog, standing about 6 inches to Schuett’s side, barked loudly, he said.
“I had just opened the door. Police were standing there. That’s when they shot. It was just that quick,” Schuett said. One bullet was fired, he said.
Jake, bleeding profusely, wobbled into the kitchen. The officers immediately pulled Schuett out of the apartment, shut the door, put handcuffs on his wrists and called animal-control officers, he said.
Police refused to let Schuett back inside to see how Jake was doing, and he didn’t see his dog for more than 10 hours, he said.
Jake is bandaged up and can barely walk, Schuett said.
Staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com.
