A mother in Berkeley, Illinois was given a citation after police shot her dog in front of her two young children.
Gina Marie Stone told WMAQ that the shooting happened while her children, ages 4 and 5, were playing outside on Friday.
“When I was putting daughter’s clothes away I heard like a noise,” she recalled. “The kids came in running like ‘The cops shot Rayleigh, they killed Rayleigh.'”
Neighbor Wanda Williams said that she was shocked that Berkeley police would shoot a dog with children nearby.
“What startled me even more is that these babies were right there by the cops,” Williams explained.
Berkeley police spokesperson Sgt. Justin Patti insisted that the officer was forced to shoot the animal because it “lunged at him.”
“It was reported by one of the callers that called our station that [the children] were using conduit pipe, sticks, chasing after the dog and hitting it,” Patti said.
“The dog actually became aggressive towards the officer, lunged at him, got within close proximity and the officer had to protect himself,” he added.
Rayleigh survived the shooting, and was recovering after police reportedly transported the dog to a nearby animal hospital. As of Sunday, vet bills had already reached $350.
Stone was given a citation for having a “vicious dog at large without tags.” Officials said that additional charges were possible.
Watch the video below from WMAQ, broadcast Oct. 6, 2014.
Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. Like you, we here at Raw Story believe in the power of progressive journalism. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and legal efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. And unlike other news outlets, we’ve decided to make our original content free. But we need your support to do what we do.
Raw Story is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. Unhinged from billionaires and corporate overlords, we fight to ensure no one is forgotten.
We need your support to deepen our investigative reporting. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us in the future. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click to donate by check.
Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. Like you, we here at Raw Story believe in the power of progressive journalism — and we’re investing in investigative reporting as other publications give it the ax. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. We need your support to do what we do.
Raw Story is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. Unhinged from corporate overlords, we fight to ensure no one is forgotten.
We need your support to keep producing quality journalism and deepen our investigative reporting. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us in the future. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you.
Report typos and corrections to:
[email protected].