LODI, Calif. — Demonstrators are slated to gather in downtown Lodi Saturday calling for justice after a dog accused of chasing a family with young children and attempting to bite them was tased to death by a Lodi Police officer.
Protestors are planning to meet at the arch in downtown Lodi near Pine and Sacramento Streets at noon Saturday and march through downtown passing by Lodi's city hall and police department before a press conference at 12:30.
The march is being planned by the Lodi Alliance for Animals and People Advocating for Animal Welfare (PAAW).
Organizers are calling for the immediate firing of the officers and animal control officer involved. They are also calling for the District Attorney's Office to file animal cruelty charges against the three.
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. The 3-year-old husky named Enzo allegedly followed the family into 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.
Animal Services officer said they 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.
"[The cop] looked up at the animal control officer and said he was going to tase [the dog]," said Presley Quenzer, who lives in front of where police tased the dog. "He was wagging his tail just looking up at them. He could've easily put the snare around his neck."
In surveillance video images obtained from neighbors, the dog is tased twice before being dragged to an animal services vehicle.
"Enzo did not attack anyone. They should have not tased him," said Aline Galeno, the dog's owner.
Neighbor Hans Bruch and his 10-year old daughter witnessed the tasing and described it as unnecessary.
"Animal Control should have taken control of the situation because he has all the tools to deal with that and he didn't. And he kind of stood back and let the cop like tase," said Bruch.
People in the neighborhood where the initial incident happened, say they've seen the dog along with two other dogs on many occasions loose running around in their neighborhood.
Amber Ramirez says the dog in a pack killed her cat named RC last October.
"There were two huskies at that point coming back and forth circling. They would come across the street right here. The other one would be on the other side kind of like triggering the cats to come back and forth," says Ramirez.
But, Aline Galeno says it wasn't her dogs. She and her mother do own two other Huskies.
She has vowed to sue the city with the hopes of getting the officers involved fired.
"It's not going to go away. It's not going to get swept under the rug," said Galeno.
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