A man who witnessed the police shooting of a dog in the East Village yesterday says that the pit bull mix named Star first snapped at a woman before turning on police.
"[The police] were telling people standing around to get back, but a lady was standing behind the passed out-guy got a little too close, so the dog nips at her." Here's video of the whole disturbing incident.
[Warning: the graphic video below does show the dog getting shot.]: Johnny Rodriguez, who was visiting the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary nearby, said he and three other people alerted nearby police officers that the owner of the dog was in danger of being hit by traffic.
"He was having a seizure, I saw him lying down on the ground and his head was twitching and shaking." The two officers who responded called for backup ("I guess they didn't have the training or something") and the dog began growling as officers approached the man.
"I told one of the cops, 'Hey, that dog is growling, be careful,' because they were getting pretty close," Rodriguez says.
"I used to have a pit bull and that's just how they are, they protect their owners." Rodriguez thought that one woman had placed herself too closely behind the man as she was observing what was happening.
"It grabbed her pants, but it didn't bite her, then the dog starts running at the cop." Contrary to previous reports, Rodriguez, who lives in Bay Ridge, says that police used mace only after the dog was shot.
"If they used it, I didn't see it, I was ...
