After an outcry of public backlash over the weekend, Cheatham County Sheriff Mike Breedlove released surveillance video of a fatal dog shooting involving one of his officers, and in the video, it appears his officer was about to be bitten by the dog seconds prior to it being shot.
The incident happened last week in Ashland City. Deputy Darrel Hooper was serving a subpeona to Lori Pardue and her fiance Travis Binkle. As Deputy Hooper exits his vehicle, the couple's dog Sadie can first be seen walking across the front porch with her tail wagging, but seconds later, she appears to lunge at the deputy who was pinned against the door of his patrol car.
Deputy Hooper fired at the dog, who quickly retreated and later died in the front yard of the home.
"This dog was vicious, she was trying to bite the deputy. We aren't out there to hurt anyone, especially someone's pet... but there was no time to diffuse the situation. By our standard he did, unfortunately, everything he had to do," Sheriff Breedlove said on Wednesday.
NewsChannel 5 first interviewed Sadie's owners on Friday who said their dog was needlessly shot by Deputy Hooper. They questioned his decision to not use a taser or mace, but in the video there appears to only be three seconds from the time Sadie tried to bite Deputy Hooper, to the moment he fired the fatal shot.
"There were two attempts for the dog to bite him. This deputy loves animals. It was the first time he had to draw his weapon," Sheriff Hooper added.
The surveillance video has been shown to the TBI and is being turned over to the District Attorney. Sheriff Breedlove said given the evidence, there is no need to reprimand the officer involved.
