A search for a missing boy ended with a cop shooting and killing a neighbor’s dog. INSIDE EDITION spoke to the dog's owner about the incident that has sparked a huge public outcry.
A distraught man raced home from work after getting terrible news. His beloved dog has been shot and killed. He filmed himself on his cell phone as the tense situation unfolds.
In the video, he said, “About 15 minutes ago I got a call from Utah Animal Control calling to tell me that an officer had shot my dog. What was the cause for an officer to shoot and kill my dog? I just arrived at my house. There's Utah Animal Control.”
He approached officers in his front yard boiling over with anger, screaming, "You guys killed my dog!"
Sean Kendall raised the Weimaraner named Geist since he was just an eight-week-old puppy.
Kendall told INSIDE EDITION, "Immediately, I just wanted to know who did it and why.”
Watch Kendall's Interview with INSIDE EDITION
In the video he asked, "Which officer shot my dog?"
An officer responded, “He left.”
Kendall then said, “I've had this dog for three years. He was my best friend and he was shot because an officer couldn't back the [expletive] up out of my house."
So, how did Geist the dog end up dead? It started when frantic parents called police to report a three-year-old child missing. That set off an urgent search through the neighborhood to find the missing child. That's when Detective Brett Olsen, entered Sean Kendall's backyard as part of a house-to-house search for the child.
Kendall told INSIDE EDITION, "Geist was in his own backyard. The officer was not supposed to be there. So, he did what he was supposed to do which was to protect his property."
Police say the 110-pound dog threatened the officer.
The Police Chief Chris Burbank said at a press conference, "Evidence showed that the dog was extremely close, in fact, within feet of the officer."
But Kendall says his dog did not deserve to die, saying, "Why did he feel the need where he had to escalate the situation to a point where he had to shoot my dog in the head?"
Geist's death has led to a public outcry, with hundreds protesting the killing outside police headquarters.
A "Justice for Geist" Facebook page has received more than 53,000 likes. Police have even received death threats.
Burbank said, "After 23 years in law enforcement, I haven't seen this type of public outcry when certain human beings have lost their lives.”
That missing child was found safely sleeping in his own basement. Meantime, members of the city council have now asked the police chief for an independent review of the shooting.
