KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A woman whose dog was shot by police Thursday morning is asking for an apology.
The police officer shot Lindsey Hartnett's dog, Rectangle, twice in the leg and once in the head while responding to a burglary alarm at her home in the 5700 block of Highland Avenue.
It was a false alarm, and Rectangle is expected to make a full recovery.
Still, his injuries cost Lindsey more than $400. She picked him up Friday afternoon from the FMA Animal Hospital and said she felt lucky that he's alive.
The shooting happened after Hartnett let Rectangle out while she searched the basement of the home for signs of a burglar. Not long after, she heard gunshots and thought the possible intruder shot her dog.
"I heard four gunshots go off and immediately went into panic mode," Hartnett said. "I could hear Rectangle screaming and yelping."
After calling dispatchers, Hartnett learned police already arrived at the home and fired the shots at Rectangle.
Hartnett walked around to the front of the home where she saw two responding officers standing as her dog bled on the porch. The officers told her they opened fire because he was not tied up, but Hartnett believes their actions were too harsh.
"I just feel like they could have handled it differently," Hartnett said. "They could have used tazers. The could have used mace."
Steve Young, a spokesperson for the police department, said the officer who fired at Rectangle felt threatened after the dog charged towards him and the officer responded accordingly.
But Hartnett said Rectangle had never attacked anyone before, and had always been fine around strangers. She said she felt the police officer owed her an apology.
Captain Steve Young said an apology would be warranted if there was wrong-doing, but the officer was doing his job.
"It is unfortunate, but the officer was within policy," Young said. "He acted appropriately if he thought he was going to be bit, and he did feel that way."
Read more: http://www.kshb.com/dpp/news/local_news/kc-woman-wants-apology-after-police-shoot-her-dog#ixzz1yd1oBOZm
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