Racine WI SWAT shoot small dog in back because it was a "distraction"

Protected by body armor, riot shields, a police dog and an armored vehicle, a fully militarized SWAT team feared for their lives when a small dog stepped into a front yard during a standoff, shooting the dog twice as the dog was retreating from them.

The incident was caught on a neighbor’s cell phone video, prompting outraged cries from the citizens watching the drama unfold from their home.

Racine Police Chief Art Howell said he was “saddened” by the incident but said the officers had to kill the dog to avoid unnecessary distraction.

"After the dog was released, the dynamics of this encounter changed. Officers, who for over three hours were focused on peacefully resolving this crisis through dialogue, were now forced to deal with the distraction and unpredictability of having the subject’s dog moving through the scene of this active encounter at a critical time."

The incident took place Saturday when the dog’s owner allowed the dog to defecate in a neighbor’s yard. When the neighbor demanded he pick up his dog’s feces, he simply kicked it over into a pile of leaves.