Is pulling a gun to ward off an off-leash pooch the appropriate first response for a person?
According to Wednesday's Boston Herald, the Boston, Mass., police department is currently investigating an incident involving one of their own officers who pulled her gun on an off-leash dog on Tuesday.
The officer, whose name is not mentioned, was walking her pug near near White Stadium around 2 p.m. yesterday when she encountered a German shepherd named "Lia."
Lia belongs to Geoffrey McGaffigan, who admits that he had let his pup off-leash to play with another dog, named "Ruby," at the park.
Lia saw the woman and her dog and ran over to them, but her approach was not welcomed by the pair.
According to McGaffigan, the woman un-holstered her gun and ordered McGaffigan and the other dog's owner to leash their dogs.
Both dogs were immediately put on to their respective leashes, but McGaffigan was unnerved by the woman's over-the-top response to his dog. In fact, he phoned 911 after she left to report what had happened.
Responding officers questioned the off-duty officer, who informed them that Lia had approached her in an "aggressive-manner," and that she took her gun out because of the "threat of the dog."
A department spokesperson stated:
“The department is reviewing the facts and circumstances of the incident to ensure that no policies or procedures were violated.”
Though McGaffigan stated that the officer never threatened to shoot, he still thinks that her response was over-the-top.
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