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Sheriff’s Deputy Dies Protecting Son From ‘Pit Bull-Type’ Dog, Officials Say

Not the dog from the story. (MICHAL CIZEK/AFP via Getty Images)

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An Indiana sheriff’s deputy was killed in her home Tuesday while protecting her 8-year-old son from a dog, authorities say.

Shortly after 7:45 p.m. May 9, law enforcement officers arrived at the home of Marion County Sheriff’s Deputy Tamieka White after reports of a dog attack, according to the Indy Star. White, 46, was pronounced dead at the scene, while her 8-year-old son sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The dog, identified by authorities as a “pit bull-type,” reportedly charged at one of the responding officers and was fatally shot. 


Sheriff Kerry Forestal remembered the 17-year sheriff’s office veteran as a “‘bright light’ to everyone who knew her,” the outlet reported. Forestal described White as a formidable law enforcement officer but stressed she was, above all things, a mother.

“She died last night protecting the most important person in her life,” White’s commander Brittany Seligman said, according to the outlet. (RELATED: ‘Several Hours Of Surgery’: Man Reportedly Airlifted To Hospital After Pit Bull Pack Attack)

Though the attack reportedly occurred in White’s home, White did not own the dog, an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson said, according to the Star. Animal Services seized the deceased dog, three more dogs and a cat from the residence as the investigation continues. While the department conceded a DNA test was needed to confirm the breed of the dogs, all four appeared to be a “pit bull-type,” officials told the outlet.