An Iowa cop who was found fatally shooting a family dog on August 21 was discovered to have also killed another dog on July 13 after running over it with his police vehicle.
According to Davenport Police Department’s news release, officer Ethan Bock responded to a report of four dogs, who appears to be aggressive, at large.
“While the officer was following-up to the call in the alley of 2100 Telegraph Road, a dog ran out of a yard in the officer’s direction,” the Police Department wrote.
“The officer is seen on the public video slowly backing up while the dog advances. The dog’s behavior became aggressive, resulting in the officer discharging his firearm at the dog. The dog died as a result of its injuries.”
However, the family released a footage of the fatal encounter with the police officer. X (Formerly Twitter) user Don Hesseltine, owner of the dog, posted the surveillance video of the cop shooting his pooch, two-year-old Myst, in front of his kid and nephew.
Hesseltine explains that the police officer drives by and tells the kids to put their dog on a leash. As the two young kids comply, officer Bock decides to get out of the car and come up to their house.
“The dog runs up to him and he decides his best option is to draw his gun and murder our dog in front of my child, his cousin, and his mother all while they are standing there and could have easily been shot as well,” he wrote.
In the disturbing footage, the two kids can be heard screaming and sobbing after hearing the gunshots. And then the wailing dog tried to run inside the house, before going limp, and then dying in front of the family’s house porch.
The mother can be heard repeatedly screaming “oh my god!” while the two kids continue to cry.
Hesseltine provides additional footage and context of what Myst was doing prior to the incident.
In the additional footage, Myst can be seen playing with Hesseltine’s kid and nephew.
He wrote, “The cop was dispatched to a call that was a few blocks away from here and was looking for 4 dogs trying to get into some ladies yard and trying to attack her dog. Not a dog playing with peacefully with kids.”
After the incident, Hesseltine organized a GoFundMe for the family’s counseling and to raise funds for legal fees as they seek justice for what happened to their dog.
Hesseltine wrote “This fight is not just about our dog, but about standing up against such cruelty and ensuring that no one else has to endure what we have experienced.”
The incident sparked outrage on social media, with locals calling for the officer to be fired.
However, the outrage didn’t end there. Because the Davenport Police Department released another statement on August 28, defending the police officer’s action. They said, “Based on a review of the facts, the officer’s actions were deemed lawful.”
A few days after, the Police Department also released the police officer’s body cam footage of the incident.
A Facebook user wrote, “No one was in danger. No situation was present that warranted the officer exiting his vehicle. He created a situation. Then he chose the WORST option.”
“Should the dog had been leashed yes, would it had killed your man to stay in the cruiser for one more minute? No instead he made a poor decision that cost a family dog it’s life and scarred a woman and her child and nephew,” another user wrote.
And to add fuel to the fire, the same cop involved in the fatal shooting was found to have ran over another dog back in July.
The incident happened on July 13, according to the Quad-City Times, through the New York Post.
A man named C’edward Spears said he was taking out the trash with his dog at about 10:00 PM when he encountered officer Ethan Bock.
Spears told the news outlet that he warned the officer about his unleashed dog. “I’m like, ‘Stop — the dog.’ So he stops. He acknowledges me. Then he speeds up and he goes.”
Bock’s bodycam footage, which was obtained by the outlet, showed the officer getting out of the police vehicle to approach the lifeless pooch.
“That’s why you gotta’ have your dog on a leash, bro,” Bock tells to a distressed Spears.
