Minneapolis cop's camera shows dog wagging its tail before shooting

  • 23/07/2017

Warning: This video contains content which may disturb some people.

Video has been released from the body camera of a police officer in Minneapolis, US, who claimed two pet dogs had "charged" at him before he shot them both.

His claim had been disputed by the dogs' owner, Jennifer LeMay, who released her own security camera footage earlier to show the dogs weren't a threat.

Both of the dogs were pitbull mixes and were seriously injured in the shooting.

Officer Michael Mays was being investigated by the police department after the shooting.

He had been responding to a false security alarm when the incident occured.

The video from his body camera showed Mr Mays entering Ms LeMay's backyard. The first of the two dogs, Ciroc, approached him, tail wagging. At this point Mr Mays raised his firearm and aimed at the dog.

It stopped when Mr Mays began to back away, before walking towards him slowly with its tail still wagging. In response, Mr Mays fired his pistol, striking the dog in the face. The second, Rocko, ran up and was also shot multiple times.

"I dispatched both of them," Mr Mays could be heard saying on camera. He then vaulted back over the fence and exited the backyard.

The body camera also captured the moment Mr Mays talked to the dogs' distressed owner, who said she didn't know police were coming over.

Mr Mays apologised, saying: "Hey, I'm going to sit there and say sorry about this. I don't like shooting no dogs. I love dogs, so... it's unfortunate. Are they A-OK?"

Mr Mays originally claimed he thought the dogs were "charging" him, which is why he shot them. But in a press conference, Ms LeMay said Ciroc wasn't growling or barking when he was shot, disputing Mr Mays' account.

The Minneapolis police department called for a use-of-force review of the incident and promised to help pay for the dogs' medical expenses.

A GoFundMe page to help the dogs had also raised more than US$50,000.

Newshub.