Authorities in Arkansas say a deputy has been fired after video footage revealed him shoot a small dog last week while investigating a report of an aggressive animal at the location.
According to Fox News, Faulkner County Sheriff’s Deputy Keenan Wallace was himself a K9 handler and responded to a location in Conway on Saturday.
In a Facebook post, Sheriff Tim Ryals confirmed the deputy was fired after a social media post showed he shot and injured the dog near its owner, Doug Canady.
The sheriff said evidence shows “there were numerous opportunities to de-escalate the incident” prior to Wallace’s decision to discharge his service weapon.
In the video, Wallace can reportedly be seen walking toward the Chihuahua after Canady declined the deputy’s instruction to walk toward the road to discuss the situation.
“Are you f***ing kidding me?” the dog’s owner can be heard asking after the shot rang out. “You’re f***ing kidding me.”
As the animal, reportedly named Reese’s, can be heard yelping and is seen writhing on the ground, Wallace responded to Canady.
“I told you,” the officer said.
Canady said his “heart broke” following the shooting, which required emergency surgery to repair a shattered jaw and save the dog’s life.
Though an initial investigation did not show the deputy violated the law, Ryals said he was fired for the inappropriate behavior.
“I hold my Deputies to the highest standard to protect and serve the residence of our community,” he said. “Unfortunately, a deputy fell short to those standards.”
Calling the shooting a “disheartening event,” the sheriff said he would be referring the case to prosecutors for additional review.
“We will keep Reese’s in our thoughts through the recovery process,” Ryals added.
Viewer discretion advised: The following video contains graphic content and language that could be considered offensive.
Officer in Conway AR shot a innocent dog on private property without a warrant! just a stray dog wanting attention and barking like any other didn’t even kill the dog just left it to suffer. Total bullshit. Prayers to the owner who just lost their dog:( pic.twitter.com/lXYKk06ehG
— Catie (@catiejwoodson) January 5, 2019
[Featured image: Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office]
