Regina police investigating after officer fatally shoots dog
Pitbull had lunged at an animal protection worker, officer before it was shot: RPS
The Regina Police Service (RPS) says it is investigating what led to a police officer fatally shooting a pitbull Wednesday night.
In a news release, RPS said the incident began when police received a call about a woman "behaving strangely" with a medium-sized brown pitbull near Fourth Avenue and McIntyre Street around 8:30 p.m. CST.
Police were told the pitbull had attacked another dog and was behaving aggressively toward people by barking, growling and lunging at them, the release said.
Officers found the woman and dog in an alley in the 100 block of Albert Street North, and proceeded to safely escort them to a relative's home in the 1200 block of Rae Street, police said.
Soon after, an animal protection worker was called in to "assess the threat level" of the pitbull.
Police said that after the worker decided the dog should be seized due to its aggressiveness, the woman took off the dog's leash "for reasons yet unknown."
"The dog lunged at the animal protection worker, prompting one of the RPS officers to step toward the dog, in order to distract it," the release said of the events that followed.
"The dog then charged at the officer, who discharged one round from his sidearm, fatally wounding the animal."
Police said they will continue to investigate "the chain of events that led to this unfortunate outcome."