Officer Involved Shooting (OIS) Animal NRF019-23lr

On May 9, 2023, at 10:24 a.m., 77th Street Division uniformed patrol officers responded to a call for service a vicious dog in the area of 70th Street and Vermont Avenue. When the officers arrived at scene, they observed a female victim lying in the roadway bleeding from a dog bite to her leg. A few feet away from her was an additional male victim also lying on the roadway, who was struggling to restrain a large male pit bull. When the officers approached the male victim, they observed his hands were still in the dog’s mouth and that he was fighting to keep the dog’s mouth open. As that occurred, an additional male stood nearby holding a wooden broom handle in the dog’s mouth to prevent it from fully closing its jaw.

In an effort to rescue the male victim, the officers devised a plan that involved deploying less lethal options which were ineffective. Believing the male victim was in jeopardy of sustaining serious bodily injury, an officer then utilized his pistol and fired one round at the dog at close range. The dog was struck by gunfire and died moments later. Both the male and female dog bite victims were transported by Los Angeles City Fire Department rescue ambulances to a local hospital. The female victim sustained a serious injury and the male victim sustained minor lacerations to his hands. The dog owner has not been identified.

Representatives from Los Angeles Animal Services responded to the scene and transported the dog’s remains to the South Los Angeles Animal Shelter. No officers were injured during this incident.

Force Investigation Division (FID) detectives responded to the scene and are investigating this incident.