ELKHART, IA -
An Elkhart family is grieving their beloved pet after off-duty State Trooper maces and shoots their dog.
The Iowa State Patrol is investigating one of its own for his actions at his Elkhart home last Friday night.
Trooper Mike Current shot and killed a neighbor's dog he says was acting aggressive. But the dog's owner says he was sweet and timid.
"The story doesn't make sense as far as why our dog deserved this," says Dani Frampton.
Tears come to Dani's eyes every time she sees a picture of her now deceased dog Gus.
"He was a wonderful dog, a huge baby. He loved kids, other dogs, and tennis balls."
Last Friday, Gus and the Frampton's other dog, Karl somehow got out of their fenced in back yard, and ended up at neighbor and State Trooper Mike Current's house. Minutes later, Gus was dead, shot in the chest.
"I don't see why he would deserve an action like that," says Dani.
We knocked on Trooper Current's house today to get his side of the story, but he refused to answer any of our questions. However, according to Trooper Current's incident report, Gus was growling and threatening his dog. Pepper spray didn't get him to settle down, so fearing for his safety, Current drew his service weapon and fired one shot into the dog's chest.
"He felt threatened. He felt the situation was out of control," says Capt. Curtis Henderson of the Iowa State Patrol.
Capt. Henderson says Current acted out of fear for his life. He says Current did something any officer would do to protect themselves.
"Our officers are trained to use their weapon when they or someone else feels threatened. In this occurrence it was an animal."
But Gus' owners and neighbors believe Gus would never threaten anyone. They say, whatever Gus was doing in Trooper Current's yard that day, he didn't deserve to die.
"Knowing Gus there's no way he's aggressive. Honestly, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time with someone who was having a bad day," says neighbor Alexis Gibson.
The Polk County Sheriff's Department investigated the incident and said no charges would be filed, but has now decided to take a second look. Tuesday night, it announced it was assigning the case to its detective division for further investigation.
The Iowa State Patrol is also looking into the case to make sure department policy was followed.
The Iowa State Patrol is investigating one of its own for his actions at his Elkhart home last Friday night.
Trooper Mike Current shot and killed a neighbor's dog he says was acting aggressive. But the dog's owner says he was sweet and timid.
"The story doesn't make sense as far as why our dog deserved this," says Dani Frampton.
Tears come to Dani's eyes every time she sees a picture of her now deceased dog Gus.
"He was a wonderful dog, a huge baby. He loved kids, other dogs, and tennis balls."
Last Friday, Gus and the Frampton's other dog, Karl somehow got out of their fenced in back yard, and ended up at neighbor and State Trooper Mike Current's house. Minutes later, Gus was dead, shot in the chest.
"I don't see why he would deserve an action like that," says Dani.
We knocked on Trooper Current's house today to get his side of the story, but he refused to answer any of our questions. However, according to Trooper Current's incident report, Gus was growling and threatening his dog. Pepper spray didn't get him to settle down, so fearing for his safety, Current drew his service weapon and fired one shot into the dog's chest.
"He felt threatened. He felt the situation was out of control," says Capt. Curtis Henderson of the Iowa State Patrol.
Capt. Henderson says Current acted out of fear for his life. He says Current did something any officer would do to protect themselves.
"Our officers are trained to use their weapon when they or someone else feels threatened. In this occurrence it was an animal."
But Gus' owners and neighbors believe Gus would never threaten anyone. They say, whatever Gus was doing in Trooper Current's yard that day, he didn't deserve to die.
"Knowing Gus there's no way he's aggressive. Honestly, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time with someone who was having a bad day," says neighbor Alexis Gibson.
The Polk County Sheriff's Department investigated the incident and said no charges would be filed, but has now decided to take a second look. Tuesday night, it announced it was assigning the case to its detective division for further investigation.
The Iowa State Patrol is also looking into the case to make sure department policy was followed.
