Lawsuit says police didn't need to shoot, kill Rosie

A Des Moines couple have filed a federal lawsuit against the city's Police Department after officers shot their dog two years ago.
By Mike Carter
The Seattle Times
Dec. 03, 2012

To Deirdre and Charles Wright, their 4-year-old Newfoundland named Rosie was a member of the family — a big, hairy, doe-eyed friend and companion who "aided in their enjoyment of life, well-being, personal development and daily activities."

To the trio of Des Moines police officers who confronted the barking bear-of-a-dog in the driveway of the Wrights' home two years ago, she was something else entirely.

"He doesn't want me to get very close," one of the officers is heard saying on an audio recording from a patrol cruiser's dashboard camera, the deep bark of the dog in the background.

The officers had responded to a report of a loose dog in the Des Moines neighborhood, phoned in by a neighbor who was concerned that the animal might get hurt. The Wrights were out of town. When police arrived, there was Rosie, all 115 pounds of her, woofing away.

Over the next hour, police used a Taser on Rosie twice, chased her for blocks and ultimately shot the dog — four times — with an assault rifle in a stranger's back yard.

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