A Texas judge granted qualified immunity to a cop who shot and killed a man’s dog for barking at him, meaning the cop cannot be held liable in civil court.
A Texas judge issued an order this month granting a cop who shot a man’s dog for barking and allegedly showing his teeth at him qualified immunity, meaning he can’t be held liable in civil court.
“[The dog} was just kinda walking at me, he wasn’t, he didn’t, I mean . . .” Austin cop Daniel Walsh could be heard saying before cutting off the end of his sentence, according to the lawsuit.
United States District Court Judge Robert Pitman ruled officer Walsh could possibly be held liable for detaining Julian Reyes,49, for a lengthy period of time, initially at gunpoint.
Several more officers drew their guns on Reyes after Walsh cuffed him face down and began conducting an investigation even though Reyes was at his own storage unit.
‘They had me laying on my face,” Reyes recalled.
The order was issued earlier this month, over a year after April 24, 2016 when we reported about Judge Robert Pitman allowing Reyes’ pro se civil claim against Austin officers Walsh, Christopher Anderson, former Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo and the City of Austin to move forward.
United States District Judge For The Western District Of Texas Robert Lee PItman
It was around midnight on April 24, 2013 when officer Walsh shot Reyes’ dog Shiner Bock then handcuffed and detained him for over 15-minutes for suspicion of burglarizing the facility.
Reyes, however, had a key to a unit at the facility where he stored his art.
According to records, before admitting on dash cam Shiner Bock never posed a threat, Walsh arrived at a storage unit to investigate a call about a banging noise, which was later determined to be a piece of tin blowing in the wind outside of Reyes’ warehouse where he stored art for an after party for Eeyore’s Birthday, an annual Austin festival.
But rather than wait outside for the other responding officers, Walsh drove his vehicle past a marked property line, which extended a distance from the storage unit, and exited and approached Reyes’ vehicle on foot.
When he got close to Reyes’ unit, Shiner Bock barked as Walsh spotted the dog.
“Don’t move! Get back!” Walsh commanded.
Shiner barked again just before Walsh fatally shot him in the chest.
Reyes was forced to lay face down while handcuffed and watch his dog bleed to death.
“Your dog is dead,” Walsh told Reyes after inquiring about his dog during his detainment.
“I had him nine years,” Reyes described, recalling the friendly nature of his dog.
“I never had an incident.”
Shiner Bock
Reyes, who runs the youtube channel Lizzardo Gitanticus and Facebook page Support for Shiner Bock, said despite ruling against him, he still thinks Judge Pitman is a good judge whose hands are unfortunately tied by bad case law.
But said he’s looking forward to his day in court to prove his case about the illegal detainment, which he explains in the videos below.
You can also follow Reyes on Bambooser.
