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Deputies crash home, shoot dog, seeking man already in their jailTue, 08/29/2006 - 4:57pm
By: Ben Nelms
It was a case where the officer said he was doing his job, and the homeowner said it was excessive. During the Aug. 21 incident, a 12-year-old dog in its accustomed place on its back porch was shot in the mouth during an attempt by Fayette County Sheriff’s deputies to serve a warrant at a Fayetteville residence on a man already in the Fayette County Jail. The incident began as Fayette sheriff’s deputies and officers from the Warrant Division arrived shortly after 6 p.m. Aug. 21 at the North Jeff Davis home of Brian and Yvette Tilton to serve a Clayton County warrant on Michael Horton, the brother of Yvette Tilton. The problem was that Horton was not at the residence. He was in Fayette County Jail, where he had been since Tilton turned him into authorities back in May. Unaware of the fact that the man they sought was already behind bars at their own jail, deputies went to the front and back doors of the residence in their attempt to locate Horton. As Deputy Ryan Phillips rounded the back of the house near the steps to the back porch, he said in his statement that he was charged by the Tilton’s large Catahoula, Jasper. It was then that Phillips shot the dog under the chin. The bullet shattered the dog’s left jaw and teeth and damaged the upper teeth. The animal survived but later had extensive surgery on its jaw. “Upon my arrival, Sgt. Vickery and D/S Mindar went to the front door as I went toward the back door, due to Mr. Horton’s history of flight and obstruction,” Phillips’ report said. “As I reached the northeast corner of the residence, I encountered a large canine (later identified as a Catahoula breed) growling and charging me front the back porch of the home,” Phillips said. “The dog was unsecured by fence or leash. As the dog was approximately six feet from me, I drew my duty weapon and fired one round into the animal. The dog immediately retreated and ran back onto the back porch. I then holstered my weapon and went to check on the animal’s well-being,” the deputy said. A renter at the residence, Erik Wagner, was present during the incident. Wagner said he overheard two unidentified deputies talking about the shooting after the incident, with one of the deputies saying, “The dog stood up and growled, so I shot him.” That statement differs from Phillip’s statement on the Aug. 21 Supplemental Report. Though he could not identify the officers by name, Wagner said he spoke with two of the officers after the incident, asking if they carried pepper spray. Wagner said he was told that deputies did carry the spray. “I asked, ‘Why didn’t you use it?’ but there was no answer,” Wagner said. Commenting on the incident, Yvette Tilton said Jasper had been seen by a vet and would wear a protective brace for several months. Blood stains were still evident on the back porch, splattered approximately three to eight feet from the back door and approximately six feet from the steps leading down to the northeast side of the house. Tilton said Jasper had attacked a person only once before, 10 years ago when someone threw rocks through the fence and entered the yard. Today, Jasper will charge at another dog but not at people, she insisted. Beyond the shooting of her dog, Tilton said she was also concerned by the way her family was treated. “I’m concerned about cops on my porch with drawn guns. We’ve been nothing but cooperative with the cops both times I turned my brother in for breaking the law,” Tilton said. “We’re law-abiding and we don’t bother anybody. With guns drawn on my porch, it makes me feel like we were treated like a threat to society. It’s just the opposite reason why we moved here. We moved here to have a safe place to live and raise our kids.” Her brother is still in the Fayette County jail on three charges: theft by receiving, possession of marijuana (less than one ounce) and interfering with police. The dog, after veterinary treatment, is recovering on his back porch. login to post comments
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