Police officer under investigation after shooting leashed yellow lab in backyard

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On June 12, Tyler Muzzi returned home after lunch to discover a stranger walking back and forth outside his neighbor's home. Muzzi saw the man walk up the neighbor's driveway twice before disappearing around the opposite side of the home. Muzzi alerted the homeowner, Bryant Steele, who then called the Cleveland police.

The police arrived at Steele's home within minutes and arrested the man, who had entered his house but exited to give himself up to police.

Assuming that police were finished with the scene, Muzzi said he was surprised to hear gunshots later. Unsure of where the shots were fired, Muzzi opened his front door to see what had happened. "At first, I thought I had heard only two shots, but there were actually three that had been fired," said Muzzi. "I thought they had shot the man in custody or something."

An officer told Muzzi that his yellow labrador was shot and that he needed to check on the dog. Muzzi rushed to his backyard to find his dog, Miller, injured, while the officers and the investigator who shot the dog looked on silently, hesaid. The dog had been tied to a leash before the police arrived on scene. When he saw his dog lying on the ground wounded, Muzzi said he was in complete shock. Quickly, he wrapped his dog in towels and called the Cleveland Pet Clinic to say that he was coming with his injured dog. The police called animal control which arrived to help Muzzi transport his dog to the vet. The veterinarians found that Miller's spine had been severed in two places. Shortly after, the dog died.

Muzzi said the police officer who shot the dog apologized to Muzzi and told him that he felt threatened and didn't see the leash, but later on, Cleveland Police Chief Charles Bingham told Muzzi and his wife Bethany that the investigator saw the leash but had the right to shoot the dog since he felt threatened. 

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