HOMETOWN — A suburban Chicago
police officer was fired after shooting to death a family dog.
Nicole Echlina says her
6-year-old daughter saw the shooting of their dog, Apollo, by the Hometown
police officer
The owners of the 14-month-old,
German shepherd mix called police for help after he ran off. Authorities say
police officers found the dog and tried to coax him to go inside. They say that
is when the dog growled and approached the officer, prompting the officer to
shoot.
In a statement released on the
department's Facebook page, Hometown Police Chief Charles Forsyth said the
officer may have been justified under state law governing deadly force, but he
decided to fire the officer. Forsyth said reports and witness statements will
be forwarded to the Illinois State Police for review.