Police body camera footage emerged on Thursday showing a Minneapolis officer shooting two dogs in a woman's backyard and then apologising to the sobbing owner.
The two Staffordshire terriers named Ciroc and Rocko were seriously wounded in the police-involved shooting that occurred on July 8 while the officer was responding to a false break-in alarm.
Rocky and Ciroc recovering at home after receiving veterinary care for their gunshot wounds.
Just a week after the dog shooting, another Minneapolis police officer shot and killed local yoga instructor Justine Damond after she called 911 to report a possible rape taking place near her home.
Dog owner Jennifer LeMay last week released surveillance footage that captured the moment Officer Michael Mays entered LeMay's backyard and encountered the two pets.
The new video, recorded by Mays' body camera and first obtained by Minneapolis Star Tribune, shows the incident from the officer's vantage point.
In it, the cop points his drawn service weapon at Ciroc, which comes running towards him but stops short.
Ciroc was shot in the face.
The dog appears to be calmly pacing around for a few seconds on the grass, with his tail slightly wagging, before the officer fires his gun, striking the dog in the face.
Rocko then makes a dash towards the officer and also gets shot, about 2-3 seconds later. "I dispatched both of them," Mays is heard telling his partner after the fact.
Mays then climbs over a fence and walks toward the front door, where he is met by LeMay's visibly shaken 18-year-old daughter, who had returned home early from a camping trip and inadvertently set off the house alarm by typing in the wrong security code, which prompted the police response.
Rocko was shot twice, in the shoulder and neck.
"Hey, I'm gonna sit there and say sorry about this," Mays tells the weeping teen. "I don't like shooting no dogs. I love dogs, so... it's unfortunate. Are they A-OK?"
Courtney Livingston, who is heard struggling to contain her emotions, tells the officer through sobs, "I didn't know you guys were coming... I have blood all over my house."
Mays wrote in his initial incident report, filed later that same night, that the two dogs - described as pit bulls - "charged" a him, and the police union defended his actions, claiming that Ciroc let out a growl as it initially approached Mays.
In the bodycam video, however, Ciroc does not appear to be charging and no growling can be heard.
Attorney Mike Padden, representing the LeMay family, told DailyMail.com on Thursday the two dogs are currently not doing well, and their health has taken a turn for the worse in the weeks since the shooting.
He said Ciroc was shot once in the left cheek, with the bullet destroying his salivary gland and making it impossible for the dog to eat solid food.
His companion, Rocko, sustained three or four gunshot wounds and is suffering from complications.
Rocko almost two weeks after the shooting, with his wounds healing. Photo / Jennifer LeMay
The family lawyer also revealed that Livingston's younger sister saw the shooting play out.
"The 13-year-old witnessed the shooting from her window. She was screaming," he said.
Padden added that when Mays and another officer responded to the security alarm, his partner went to the front door and spent several minutes speaking to Livingston before Mays, who had gone around the inspect the backyard, encountered and shot the two dogs, later claiming that they charged at him.
Statement from Chief Harteau Regarding Injured Dogs
"I’ve watched the video, and as someone whose family has included...
Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé Harteau has offered to help the family pay for the two injures dogs' mounting veterinarian expenses - but Padden says the generous gesture has come too late, given that his client had already paid the bills.
In the wake of the shooting, LeMay and Padden have called for Officer Mays to be disciplined. She also wants the cop to be prosecuted for allegedly filing a false report.
Ciroc and Rocko were physician-prescribed emotional support animals for LeMay's two sons, who suffer from anxiety, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.
In an earlier statement, Minneapolis police said they were aware of the incident and were investigating.
Spokesman Corey Schmidt said: 'We are aware of the recent incident involving MPD officers responding to an audible residential burglary alarm and while at this call an MPD officer discharged their firearm, striking two dogs belonging to the homeowner.
"Anytime an officer discharges their firearm in the line of duty there is an investigation. We are in the process of reviewing the video posted online, as well as the officer's body camera video."
The family were furious with the police's heavy-handed response.
Posting on Facebook, LeMay's son Nae Locs said: "The police officer claimed he felt threatened but we got cameras and you can see the whole thing.
"The dogs didn't even charge at the officer the first one was walking up to him with his tail wagging. I'm so mad right now."
Police were called to the house after LeMay's two daughters, aged 13 and 18, accidentally triggered the alarm when they returned home from a camping trip.
Only after the dogs' shooting did the officers learn that alarm had been triggered accidentally.
