Owner of Dog Slain by Officer Is on Trial

A trial to determine whether a dog owner is to blame in an incident that led to the fatal shooting of his pet by a Los Angeles police officer got under way in Van Nuys Municipal Court Tuesday.

The dog’s owner, Robert Moore, 31, is charged with assault on an officer for allegedly permitting his animal to charge Officer Gary Perkins on March 5. Moore is also charged with keeping a vicious dog. The incident occurred in Moore’s backyard in Van Nuys.

Opening arguments in the trial on the misdemeanor charges followed four days of jury selection in which attorneys probed potential panelists’ feelings about dogs and police officers.

Perkins shot the dog, a 6-year-old German shepherd named Jacques, after the “snarling, growling” animal charged him, a Los Angeles deputy city attorney said Tuesday.

Summoned by Manager

Deputy City Atty. Kerrin Tso told jurors that Perkins had been summoned to Moore’s rented house by the property manager, who told the officer he suspected foul play because Moore did not respond to phone calls or knocks on the door. Perkins entered the yard only after getting no response to his calls and doorbell-ringing, Tso said.

A screen door opened and a dog ran out, with Moore following, Tso said. The officer ordered Moore three times to call the dog off and shot it when it lunged at him, Tso said.

But attorneys for Moore, who has filed a $10-million suit in federal court alleging that police violated his civil rights by “forcibly” entering the yard, disputed the city’s version.

Jill Jakes told jurors her client avoided going to the door when the officer rang because he believed it was only the manager trying to collect overdue rent. The dog sprang up and bolted through the door without direction from Moore, she said.

Another attorney for Moore, Stephen Yagman, contended Tuesday that the criminal charges, filed by the city attorney’s office on April 1, are in retaliation for Moore’s civil suit, which was filed three weeks earlier, on March 11.

If convicted of the charges, Moore could be sentenced to a maximum of one year in jail and a $2,000 fine.