An officer in Missouri is being sued over the shooting of a blind and deaf 13-pound dog named Teddy. (Body camera footage via KMIZ/YouTube). Inset: Teddy the dog (via city of Sturgeon, Missouri).
A $1 million lawsuit has been filed by the owner of a 13-pound blind and deaf Shih Tzu named Teddy that was shot and killed by a Missouri police officer responding to a call that the dog had been found wandering in a neighbor’s yard.
Nicholas S. Hunter is suing Officer Myron Woodson and the city of Sturgeon, Missouri, for the unlawful seizure by killing and destruction of his beloved dog, Teddy, according to the lawsuit filed on Tuesday.
The shooting happened on May 19. A neighbor called the cops after finding Teddy in her yard and waiting an hour after sending a message on social media to try to find the owner. Woodson responded to the call and tried to corral Teddy with a catchpole but wound up shooting the dog point-blank twice in an incident caught on his body camera, according to the lawsuit.
“Rather than keeping Teddy safe until Plaintiff Hunter could be notified and retrieve Teddy, Defendant Woodson ‘resolved’ the call by shooting Teddy at point blank rage and thereby executing the small dog,” the complaint says.
Lawyers for Hunter say that Woodson’s actions were egregious — and unnecessary.
“Unfortunately, these types of shootings occur all too frequently. Contrary to the common misconception that ‘it’s just a dog,’ every federal circuit to have addressed the issue has held that the unreasonable killing of a companion animal by law enforcement violates the owner’s most fundamental rights as secured by the Fourth Amendment,” said attorney Daniel J. Kolde.
In a statement, Hunter said, “I hope this case can generate attention that will result in state-level laws to provide mandatory training and procedures for all law enforcement or anyone that could possibly have interactions with animals. I just don’t want anyone else to experience what we’re going through.”
On HuffPost, he discussed how much Teddy meant to him, saying, “I don’t have kids, so my dogs are my family.”
The body camera footage obtained by local ABC affiliate KMIZ shows Woodson shot Teddy about three minutes after encountering the dog.
The lawsuit says Woodson removed his firearm from his holster and fired at near point-blank range a single shot into Teddy, causing his body to jerk back and fall to the ground. Woodson fired a second shot into Teddy’s body about five to seven seconds later, killing the pooch, court documents said.
The neighbor heard the shots and confronted Woodson as he walked back to his car.
“I’ll pick it up,” he said as she questioned his actions, court documents said.
Later, the neighbor wrote a statement to the city, saying, “I cannot stress enough that this animal was in no way a threat to others!”
At Sturgeon City Hall, Hunter spoke with Woodson, who told him he did not believe Teddy posed a threat but initially said he thought Teddy was injured before admitting Teddy was not showing any signs of serious injury, court documents said.
At one point, Woodson told Hunter, “We don’t have a freaking animal control here,” court documents said.
He also said that even if he had been able to catch Teddy, he had no place to take him and “thus had no other option but to execute the small dog,” the lawsuit alleges.
Hunter filed a complaint about the shooting with the city the next day when then-City Mayor Kevin Abrahamson released a statement saying the city had reviewed the dispatch report and body camera video and cleared Woodson of any wrongdoing.
Amid community outrage, Abrahamson resigned as mayor days later, and Woodson was placed on administrative leave.
“The board of Alderman and myself do not agree with former Mayor’s statements and were not giving any notice before release,” said the statement from acting Mayor Seth Truesdell. “The first time any Alderman saw the bodycam video was during the KMIZ news release. Like you we were just as appalled by what we saw. The actions of the Officer involved are not the values and beliefs of the residents of Sturgeon or the board of Alderman. Currently I have made calls to the Boone County Sheriff to meet and discuss an investigation. The officer involved was placed on leave and will remain on leave until further notice. The board of Alderman will be holding a future special meeting to discuss personnel including Officer Woodson. I personally give my condolences to the owners of Teddy. I know nothing I do now or in the future will bring Teddy back. The board of Aldermen and myself are committed to helping the City of Sturgeon heal.”
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