Youngstown Police Officer Fatally Shoots Family Pet 13 Times


"I seen her. I had to clean the blood up. I helped bag her up to get her out of this house before the kids would see her, and they did see her."

Curtis Moses is talking about his family pet. a seven-month-old, 42-pound Akita named "Diva."

Diva was shot 13 times and killed by a Youngstown Police officer, after the officer followed a juvenile suspect into the Moses' home on Lucius Avenue April 5.

"They were pursuing them because they were involved in shootings throughout the neighborhoods. They were shooting guns into homes, or out the car," says Youngstown Police Chief Jimmy Hughes.

Police say one of the young men ran into the basement of the home, where the dog was kept.

According to the police report, officers opened the door to the basement and saw the dog growling and ready to attack. That's when they fired the first five or six shots, but Moses says his dog, Diva, was never aggressive.

"Well if she did, that officer was the only one to ever see her growl in her life. Nobody else ever seen that," says Moses.

"The officer felt that his life or his fellow officer's life was in jeopardy, because the dog was in somewhat of an attack mode coming at him," says Chief Hughes.

Chief Hughes says he's not happy with the number of shots fired at the dog, but his officers had to act quickly in the tight quarters of the kitchen.

More than a week later, Moses is still finding bullet holes and fragments in his floors, walls and even the refrigerator.

"They had a job to do, but where does it cross what morals at, where they have to use their instinct, you know what I mean? This was a puppy. What if that was a child that came up the steps?"

Three juveniles were arrested. Moses says he knew one of the suspects, but none of them lived at his house.

Police also found drugs and ammunition in the basement where the kid was hiding. The investigation continues.

This just breaks my heart for that family!
This story is so very sad, but it makes me very angry at the Police......



"If dogs dont have souls, then look into a Akitas eyes""Dear God, please let me be what my Akita thinks I am"
From:*´`*.AMY, PORSCHA, and MERCEDES*´`*

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that the police dept. gets sued for everything there worth. This is big time overkill. With the ammo the police use I can tell you that one should have done it two at the most regardless if the dog was in attack mode or not. 13 shots is overkill by a long shot. Police officers are trained to use only the force required to protect themselves and the public and no more. I agree with this, and I agree that a police officer should have the right to protect themselves, but this is a load of crap. For one if the Akita was in attack mode, well its the dogs home. Second those idiots did not live there, so how did they get past the so called attack dog? HUM! "just threw my bullshit flag"

sorry I havent heard that phrase before, but found it amusing.

You've never heard that before????