A Florida deputy blew off her finger while trying to shoot and kill a pit bull charging towards her in an incident captured on body cam video.
Pasco County Deputy Monica Bray was dispatched to a homeless camp on November 25 after the pit bull attacked a resident.
Deputy Bray’s body camera shoots footage as she approaches a tent when the dog begins towards her, aggressively growling.
“Better stay there, brother,” Bray tries to warn the dog, reaching out her hands in an attempt to keep the dog at distance.
But almost instantly, the dog lunges at Bray, and she trips to the ground.
At this point, what exactly happens is unclear because the camera lens becomes obstructed.
Deputy Bray blasts two rounds, tearing through the dog, and one bullet tearing off her finger.
The dog goes silent.
Bray gets up from the attack and shouts at officers at the scene, “Fucking shot my finger off! I just shot my fingers!”
“Huh?” asks another deputy.
“I just shot my finger,” Bray repeats.
“Okay, it hurts. I don’t want to look at it. Go in my trunk; there’s a towel,” she can be heard telling another deputy who orders her to her car.
“Hold on. Get in my car. Let’s go,” insists a male deputy.
The dog’s owner stated she doesn’t believe Bray had to shoot the dog and said the dog was on a leash and later posted a video to Facebook where she can be heard sobbing, “Why don’t you put him out of his misery? You let him suffer like that.”
Her neighbor disagrees.
“I saw the dog come out and attack the Pasco County Sheriff’s officer, a female, and she was backing up to get away from the dog, and she fell down,”the dog owner’s neighbor, Jim Aimes said. She was on her back and the dog was headed for her. Someone had cut the leash.”
Ames said he feels sorry for the dog’s owner, but says he felt Bray had no choice but to fire.
The Pasco County Sheriff’s officer released footage from the attack on Monday.
PCSO says Bray was forced to use deadly force on the animal, which blew off her finger, after the dog had attacked her.
Deputy Bray owns three pit bulls, and says she is familiar with the breed.
The homeless man who was attacked by the same dog was treated for injuries an released from the hospital.
Its’ unclear if the dog’s owner will face criminal charges.
