Family Says Officer Shot Their Dog During Search At Miami-Dade Home

Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A Miami family is angry after a Miami-Dade Police officer opened fire on their dog, killing him.

According to the Garcia family, several Miami Dade Police officers showed up Monday morning looking for someone. Once officers walked in to the yard, the family's dog, Charlie, did what he normally does -- protect his turf.

"If somebody comes in the house that he doesn't know, he's gonna bark at them and tell them, 'Hey. I'm here. Get out,'" said Adrian Garcia, Charlie's owner.

The family says the dog was barking and growling at officers but stopped and stood next to Garcia's mother.

"My mom repeatedly said, 'Don't come inside. There's a dog. Let me put him away,'" Garcia said.

Garcia said one of the officers opened fire, shooting Charlie in the neck. Garcia said what also upsets him is a comment one of the officers' made.

"He said the shooting and death of my dog meant nothing," Garcia said. "That he's just an animal."

The family took cellphone video through a screen showing officers in the front yard looking for something after the shooting. The family believes they were looking for the shell casing from the shooting.

Garcia said the officers showed his mother a picture of the man they were looking for. Garcia said it was a black man with dreadlocks and no one fitting that description lives here.

"We don't know if he used to live here," Garcia said.

Garcia and his wife say they moved in about 6 months ago.

"We had absolutely no problem with them looking in here," said Lizett Vila. "It's just that we told them, let's tie up the dog first."

Miami Dade Police said they were at the address to serve a warrant on someone inside the home but they could not elaborate. A spokesperson for the Miami-Dade Police Department said many of the details of the shooting and who police were looking for will be investigated by Internal Affairs officers. But one thing is certain -- the spokesperson said -- no officer wants to shoot and kill someone's animal.

Garcia says they had a Beware of Dog sign posted on the front fence and he is angry that the officers only reaction was to shoot his pet.

"You don't walk into a house without knowing there's a dog," Garcia said. "That's a very rookie move of them."

Garcia said he's going to hire a lawyer to look into a possible lawsuit against the Miami-Dade Police Department.