Fullerton : Police Board Clears Officer Who Shot Pet Dog
A Fullerton police review board Tuesday exonerated the officer who killed a Brea family’s pet dog last week.
Capt. Phil Goehring said the review of the incident was standard procedure to determine whether the officer, Ron Gillett, acted within police guidelines when he shot Dumpy, a 10-year-old mixed breed.
“The board determined that the officer fired his weapon defensively . . . only when other means at his disposal were futile,” Goehring said.
Gillett shot the dog, who belonged to Robert and Mary Lee Burdett, shortly before midnight on Jan. 2 when and he, two other officers and a police dog chased a burglary suspect across the Burdetts’ backyard and Dumpy bit the police dog.
A tearful Mary Lee Burdett said Tuesday night of the report, “That’s totally sickening. I hope this (incident) will not be overlooked, because it will happen again.”
Goehring said the department regretted “the loss to the Burdett family.” He said any claims the Burdetts file for their loss of Dumpy would receive a speedy response.
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