Police released more details Wednesday about a canine encounter during a cleanup operation at a Pacoima homeless encampment that left an officer and a sanitation department worker with bite injuries and the dog shot dead.
The biting and shooting occurred at about 10:35 a.m. Tuesday while uniformed patrol officers from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Foothill station were assisting the Los Angeles Sanitation Bureau and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority with a cleanup operation in the 10200 block of Norris Avenue.
“During the operation, a sanitation employee removing debris from a public sidewalk was suddenly attacked by a large dog that emerged from the vicinity of a nearby parked recreational vehicle,” according to an LAPD statement. “Officers immediately intervened to stop the attack; however, the dog redirected its aggression and attacked one of the officers.”
At least one officer opened fire on the dog, who was struck and died as a result, police said.
“The sanitation employee and one officer sustained multiple dog bite injuries, while a LAHSA employee suffered a minor abrasion. All injured parties were transported by the Los Angeles Fire Department to a local hospital for medical treatment,” police said.
The LAPD’s Force Investigation Division was deployed to the scene and assumed investigative responsibility.
The Los Angeles Sanitation Bureau took custody of the dog’s remains, which were transported to the L.A. Department of Animal Services’ East Valley shelter for a necropsy, police added.