A woman has been shot dead after a police officer opened fire at a loose dog in Texas, Arlington Police Department has confirmed.
The officer fired multiple times, striking the woman, who has not yet been identified, at around 5.30pm on Thursday, August 1.
Police are now investigating the incident, which was captured on the officer’s body camera, the department said in a statement.
Emergency services were called on Thursday afternoon to attend to a woman who’d passed out on a grassy area, according to police. It’s reported the officer was on his way to see the woman, when a loose dog ‘began to run towards the officer while barking,’ police said.
The statement explained:
As the officer called out to the woman repeatedly concerning her welfare, the dog began to run towards the officer while barking.
The officer retreated backward from the running dog while drawing his duty firearm. The officer discharged his firearm multiple times toward the dog.
After the shots were fired, the woman yelled out, and it was apparent she was injured.
The unnamed woman was taken to hospital where she was later pronounced dead. Officials believe at this stage of the investigation that she was struck by the officer’s gunfire, the statement continued.
Police have said the patrol officer, who also remains anonymous at this time, called out to the woman before the dog began running towards him.
Meanwhile, an Arizona police officer who was fired for fatally shooting an unarmed man was rehired so he could receive a special pension.
Officer Philip Brailsford, 28, shot Daniel Shaver, 26, in the hallway of a hotel in 2016 after police were called with reports a man was pointing a rifle out of a window.
It was later revealed the ‘rifle’ was a pellet gun the 26-year-old used for his pest-control work, and he had been showing it to other guests in his room.
The police officer shot Shaver five times in the hallway with a semi-automatic weapon, with the victim seen on bodycam footage begging officers not to fire as he followed their instructions.
Mr Shaver did not have the pellet gun in his possession when he was killed by Brailsford, who was subsequently fired after the incident for violations of department policy, ABC News reports.
Brailsford was later charged with murder, although he was acquitted at trial in 2017; his lawyers argued he was responding appropriately according to his training after Shaver reached for his waistband.
In 2018, Brailsford signed an agreement with his former employer, the City of Mesa, which allowed him to be temporarily hired so he could apply for an accidental disability pension and medical retirement.
The now-technically retired police officer is eligible for a monthly payment of $3,660 for the rest of his life.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677.
Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.