LODI, Calif. — The investigation surrounding a dog tased to death in January by a Lodi police officer ended Friday.
The San Joaquin County District Attorney concluded no charges were warranted and the officer used a reasonable amount of force.
"Use of force incidents by a Peace Officer must be legally analyzed and judged in the perspective of what a reasonable officer in a similar circumstance would do," said the DA's office. "Given this standard and the totality of the circumstances surrounding the incident, the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office has determined no criminal charges are warranted."
Case History
According to the Lodi Police Department, on Jan. 24, officers received calls of a dog chasing and attempting to bite a family with young children. Enzo allegedly followed the family to their home on Sandpiper Circle.
The dog ended up interacting with police and animal services on Finch Run and Robin Lane, several blocks from the call location, where officials say they saw a person using a piece of wood to block himself and his pet from the dog.
Officials said an Animal Services officer tried using a snare twice, but the dog broke loose both times. That is when officers responded to help with the situation.
"At this time the aggressive dog approached a group of individuals that were standing out front of their residence and the officer deployed his taser, which is a less lethal device, to stun and incapacitate the dog, in order to give our Animal Services officer the opportunity to safely secure the dog," Lodi Police Department said in a Facebook post.
The dog died after being tased.
In surveillance video images obtained from neighbors, the dog is tased twice before being dragged to an animal services vehicle.
Some neighbors in the area have said the tasing was unnecessary. Another neighbor said a dog in a pack killed her cat last October, but Enzo's owner said it wasn't any of her dogs.
