A Louisiana police officer shot and killed a dog belonging to a traveler from Maine, even though the friendly animal had done nothing menacing, according to a witness.
Brandon Carpenter, a 28-year-old native of Maine, was traveling with his 15-month-old Labrador, Arzy, and a friend. While in the town of Sulphur, Louisiana, Carpenter and his dog became caught in the rain and took shelter in the back of a parked box truck. The truck was parked in a lot belonging to the Southwest Daily News, and personnel inside the newspaper office called the police about the suspicious men and their dog.
Sulphur Police Department Officer Brian Thierbach arrived at the scene and placed Carpenter and his companion, 21-year-old Logan Laliberte, in handcuffs. (RELATED: Sicko Cop Shoots Texas Man’s Dog On Site)
Eric Midkiff, circulation manager for the Southwest Daily News, witnessed the arrest. He said that Carpenter’s dog continued to wag his tail and act in a friendly manner throughout the arrest of his master. The officer asked Carpenter whether the dog would bite, and Carpenter said he would not.
But after the dog brushed up against Thierbach, the officer abruptly shot him in the end — even though Arzy was still leashed and posing no threat, according to Carpenter’s account.
Thierbach claimed that the dog bit him, but Midkiff insisted that never happened.
“That dog did not bite that officer,” said Midkiff in a statement to The Huffington Post. “The dog was wagging his tail, his tongue was hanging out.”
The department has decided to investigate the matter.
“Why didn’t he ask me to move the dog or just take one big step back if he was uncomfortable?” wondered Carpenter in a statement to the newspaper. “I’m not going to allow this to get swept away.”