Fatal Dog Shooting: Body Cam Footage Released, Owner Demands Officer’s Arrest
The Davenport Police Department has released body cam footage of an Iowa police officer fatally shooting a dog in front of two children, stating that the officer’s actions were justified. However, the dog’s owner strongly disagrees.
The footage, released on Wednesday, shows the incident where Officer Ethan Bock encounters a dog that appears to be salivating and aggressively confronting him. The video captures the dog lunging toward the visibly frightened officer, with the report indicating that the dog was baring its teeth and snapping at him.
Despite what the footage shows, the dog’s owner, Don Hesseltine, believes Officer Bock should be criminally charged and jailed for shooting his beloved dog, Myst. Don insists that Myst only started barking after Bock drew his service weapon and began shooting, and he firmly denies that Myst ever attacked the officer.
The tragic event was also recorded by a home surveillance camera, which captured the horrifying moment witnessed by Don’s 7-year-old son, Maverick, and his cousin, who is also 7 years old.
Don shares that Maverick has been deeply affected by the loss of Myst, now calling out for the dog around the house and struggling with sleep. The young boy has been seen screaming into his pillow while clutching a stuffed animal, pretending it’s Myst. Don describes his son as having once been a happy child but now sits in a daze, likely needing counseling to cope with the trauma.
Don also claims that the police have provided him with little to no explanation about the incident. However, the officer’s report and the body cam footage indicate that Officer Bock fired his weapon out of fear for his safety. After reviewing the evidence, the police department cleared Bock of any wrongdoing.