At first, New Orleans police claimed the dog they had killed had bitten an officer which was a lie.
But they stuck with that story for a week before admitting the truth; that Hilo, a Doberman Pinscher service dog owned by a bipolar veteran with PTSD, never did bite the cop.
Nevertheless, police tried to justify the shooting by saying the “involved officer felt it was unavoidable” to kill Hilo – as if we’re just supposed to trust their instincts and “training” that dictates all dogs must die if they come within a 10-foot radius of a cop.
“My dog didn’t attack the officer,” Clayton Crawford told The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate. “She barked at him and rushed at him, that’s it.”
Crawford said he opened the back door to his home to allow Hilo to relieve itself. However, the backyard is not fenced and Hilo ran into the street where it was shot by the cop who has not been identified.
The incident took place on January 2 and New Orleans police initially released the following statement about the shooting, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
A dog was shot dead after it bit a New Orleans police officer on Thursday night, NOPD confirmed.
The shooting happened near the intersection of North Dupre and Onzaga streets.
An NOPD spokesperson said the officer was on-duty and following up on a case when the dog bit the officer, and the officer fired at the dog, killing it.
But after it was revealed that Hilo was a trained service dog, police issued another statement saying the original statement was “premature” and that the dog never bit the cop.
“On January 2, 2020, a shooting involving a NOPD officer occurred near the intersection of North Dupre and Onzaga Street in the First District.
“As a result, a dog was killed.
“During ‘use of force’ incidents, the NOPD has protocols in place to relay information regarding these incidents to the public.
” Unfortunately, in this case that procedure was not followed and resulted in a premature report to the media that the dog bit the officer.
“At no time did the officer involved in this incident report to investigators that he was bitten by the animal, nor was the officer actually bitten.
“The NOPD’s Public Integrity Bureau Force Investigation Team is currently investigating this incident.
“Furthermore, officers with the NOPD never want to resort to using force.
“Unfortunately, in this instance, the involved officer felt it was unavoidable.
So how did a police spokesperson determine the dog bit the officer when the cop supposedly never claimed that to be the case?
It’s called the Police PR Spin Machine and the department flacks excel at it. It’s not about the truth but about the spin. It’s all about damage control.
A perfect example of this was when Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo came out in defense of a pair of rogue cops who killed a couple during a drug raid that turned up no drugs other than a small amount of weed and cocaine. He has since changed his tone now that both those cops have been criminally charged, including one who may end up spending the rest of his life in prison.
For police, another dead dog is just another day on the job but for Crawford, it was a family member that was killed.
”It’s been just spasms of crying and wailing since it all happened. All I have left of her is her toys and blanket she was laying on and laying with me every night,” Crawford told WDSU. “I’m still crying over it, seeking her comfort. The trauma is just so big.”
Watch the interview Crawford below.
