K-9 officer shoots and kills dog in Druid Hill Park

BALTIMORE - They had come to Baltimore’s Druid Hill Park to play with their dogs when a bull mastiff they called “Mann” scampered over a hill out of sight to his death.

"When he ran down, I started walking up,” said Mann’s owner, Mandy Clark, “and then I heard, 'Pow!' and once I got to the top, I saw him laying on the ground and I saw him walking away, and that's when I yelled, 'He killed Mann!'"

A Baltimore Police K-9 officer had killed the dog with a single shot to the head.

While Clark and Tomika Webb say their dog only left their sight for a few seconds, in his report, the officer claimed Mann ran up at him and jumped showing a lot of aggression.

The officer, who was walking his police K-9 dog at the time, also claimed he held back his dog with one hand, while spinning around, dodging the attacking dog a second time and pulling out his gun with the other---shooting the dog in fear for his life.

The report suggests his dog was attached to a six-foot lead.

"They were blaming us,” said Webb, “They were saying our dog was off the leash.  Well, his dog was off the leash as well because when he ran up to get his dog, he put him on the leash."

The sign in front of the nearby Police K-9 Headquarters carries the slogan “working hand and paw for a safer Baltimore”, yet Mann’s owners are left to wonder why an officer who works with dogs every day would shoot first and ask questions later in the middle of a public park.

"If he ran towards you and you were intimidated by his size or whatever, scream,” said Webb, “Your first reaction should not be to pull out your gun and shoot."

Right now, city animal control officers say there are only two dog parks in Baltimore where you can take your dog off its leash, and they’re in Canton and Locust Point.

Mann’s owners say they’ve contacted the police department’s internal affairs to file a complaint over the shooting.