Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
CLAYPOOL - A police officer opened fire on a dog Tuesday afternoon as it allegedly attempted to attack him.
Cpl. Steve Brown of the Warsaw Police Department responded to a call of an aggressive dog preventing a Claypool resident from leaving his house. Brown is the city's ordinance control officer, but he also is handling animal control calls for the county this week because that officer is on vacation.
Brown made several attempts to catch the dog, but the 4-year-old female Rottweiler reportedly kept charging at him, barking and showing its teeth. Brown kept the animal away from him by extending a catch-pole between himself and the dog but, at one point, the dog got to within inches of Brown's leg. The animal was acting aggressively at that point, so Brown unholstered his weapon and fired three shots at the charging dog. The injured animal then went into the backyard of its residence.
Two neighbors witnessed the dog's attempt to attack Brown.
The dog's owner, Robert B. Marshall, South Clay Street, Claypool, was apparently sleeping inside his home while Brown and Claypool Town Marshal Eugene Warner were trying to catch the animal. Another family member drove up to the residence after the dog was shot.
Marshall's dog was still alive after the incident and it was taken to a veterinarian in Silver Lake for treatment of its wounds. No citations were issued.
