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Do Not Call Cops: Reason number 3,591,234
Woman thought she was doing the right thing; now her dog is dead
http://www.news-leader.com/story/ne...an-thought-right-thing-now-dog-dead/29837545/
Harrison Keegan, News-Leader 10:48 a.m. CDT July 8, 2015
Shena Matthias thought she was doing the right thing when she called 911 to report a possible burglary in her neighborhood.
Matthias, 29, believed someone might be in danger, so she reached out to police for help. But if she had it to do over again, she would have kept her mouth shut.
Matthias called 911 on Sunday evening after her fiance saw a masked man trying to get into a residence near their house on the 1000 block of East Pacific Street in Springfield.
A short time later, however, Matthias would be holding her dying dog in her arms.
Two officers responded to the scene after the 911 call, but Matthias said, due to confusion with the dispatcher, officers went to the wrong home.
Then, the officers decided to go to Matthias' home to get clarification on which residence they were supposed to be checking out.
The officers undid the two locks on Matthias' gate and began walking toward the porch, when Matthias' two dogs burst through the screen door and charged at the officers.
Matthias said one officer Tom Spence pulled out his duty weapon and fired three shots at Hydro, a 4-year-old black Labrador retriever.
Hydro spun around, stumbled, dragged himself to the porch steps and died in Matthias' arms, she said.
"I felt the warm blood dripping on my fingers," Matthias said. "I held him. I watched my dog's eyes go gray. I know when he took his last breath."
Matthias said she is grieving the loss of a family member, and she is now looking for a lawyer who will take her case.
"My dog died for no reason," Matthias said. "It just doesn't make sense to me."
Matthias said Hydro has never bitten anyone before, but she believes his protective instincts were triggered and he might have bitten the officer Sunday had the officer not shot him.
She believes, however, that the officers should not have come into her yard the way they did.
Matthias said she specifically told the 911 dispatcher that if the officers wanted to make contact with her, they needed to call her first so that she could put her dogs in a room.
The officers told her they never got that message about the dogs.
Police spokeswoman Lisa Cox said officer Spence — who is a K9 officer — asked dispatch to contact Matthias before he went to her home, but dispatch could not reach her.
Matthias told a News-Leader reporter she did not have any missed calls.
"It completely could have been avoided," Matthias said. "That officer should have made himself known. My front door was wide open, he could have made himself known."
Matthias said within minutes of the shooting, there were more than 20 police cars on her block and officers put crime scene tape around her yard.
She said she was hysterical after Hydro was shot, and the whole incident still doesn't seem real.
"I was screaming frantically for two hours, you probably would have called a mental institution on me," Matthias said. "I laid on my dog's dead body just holding him and telling him I was sorry."
Matthias said she got Hydro when he was a puppy and he was for the most part a friendly dog. She said she would often take him outside without a leash.
She said Sunday's events have been tough on her, but they have been even more difficult for her 4-year-old son, who witnessed the shooting.
Matthias said her son is having nightmares and asking when Hydro will come back.
As of Tuesday morning, Hydro's body was in an ice- and toy-filled box on Matthias' back porch. The box was decorated with a card made by her son.
Matthias said she got some good news Tuesday afternoon when a local organization stepped up to pay the costs of Hydro's cremation.
"My dogs are my world," Matthias said. "We haven't stopped crying for days."
Police say the complete report from Sunday's incident is not available because it has not yet been reviewed by the officer's supervisor.
Cox, with the police department, said anytime a weapon is discharged, the involved officer's chain of command reviews the use of force.
Police provided some details of the shooting with an entry in their daily media report.
Officer Spence wrote in that report that he was dispatched to 1066 E. Pacific St. for reports of an abandoned house being burglarized.
Spence noticed, however, that the house was not actually abandoned. The residents of the home told the officer there was no burglary occurring, according to the report.
Spence then went to 1056 E. Pacific St. to contact the people who made the 911 call and get some clarification on where the alleged burglary had occurred, the report says.
As Spence was approaching the home at 1056 E. Pacific St., two dogs broke though the screen door of the house and attacked the officer, according to the report.
The officer writes in his report that "the dogs did not retreat and came at me aggressively to attack, forcing me to shoot one of them."
Cox said the second dog ran away after Spence shot Hydro.
The Springfield Police Department's Resistance Response guidelines address dealing with animals. The guidelines say officers "may use weapons to destroy severely injured non-domesticated animals or to defend themselves against vicious, rabid or otherwise dangerous animals."
Cox said Spence is not on administrative leave.
Woman thought she was doing the right thing; now her dog is dead
http://www.news-leader.com/story/ne...an-thought-right-thing-now-dog-dead/29837545/
Harrison Keegan, News-Leader 10:48 a.m. CDT July 8, 2015
Shena Matthias thought she was doing the right thing when she called 911 to report a possible burglary in her neighborhood.
Matthias, 29, believed someone might be in danger, so she reached out to police for help. But if she had it to do over again, she would have kept her mouth shut.
Matthias called 911 on Sunday evening after her fiance saw a masked man trying to get into a residence near their house on the 1000 block of East Pacific Street in Springfield.
A short time later, however, Matthias would be holding her dying dog in her arms.
Two officers responded to the scene after the 911 call, but Matthias said, due to confusion with the dispatcher, officers went to the wrong home.
Then, the officers decided to go to Matthias' home to get clarification on which residence they were supposed to be checking out.
The officers undid the two locks on Matthias' gate and began walking toward the porch, when Matthias' two dogs burst through the screen door and charged at the officers.
Matthias said one officer Tom Spence pulled out his duty weapon and fired three shots at Hydro, a 4-year-old black Labrador retriever.
Hydro spun around, stumbled, dragged himself to the porch steps and died in Matthias' arms, she said.
"I felt the warm blood dripping on my fingers," Matthias said. "I held him. I watched my dog's eyes go gray. I know when he took his last breath."
Matthias said she is grieving the loss of a family member, and she is now looking for a lawyer who will take her case.
"My dog died for no reason," Matthias said. "It just doesn't make sense to me."
Matthias said Hydro has never bitten anyone before, but she believes his protective instincts were triggered and he might have bitten the officer Sunday had the officer not shot him.
She believes, however, that the officers should not have come into her yard the way they did.
Matthias said she specifically told the 911 dispatcher that if the officers wanted to make contact with her, they needed to call her first so that she could put her dogs in a room.
The officers told her they never got that message about the dogs.
Police spokeswoman Lisa Cox said officer Spence — who is a K9 officer — asked dispatch to contact Matthias before he went to her home, but dispatch could not reach her.
Matthias told a News-Leader reporter she did not have any missed calls.
"It completely could have been avoided," Matthias said. "That officer should have made himself known. My front door was wide open, he could have made himself known."
Matthias said within minutes of the shooting, there were more than 20 police cars on her block and officers put crime scene tape around her yard.
She said she was hysterical after Hydro was shot, and the whole incident still doesn't seem real.
"I was screaming frantically for two hours, you probably would have called a mental institution on me," Matthias said. "I laid on my dog's dead body just holding him and telling him I was sorry."
Matthias said she got Hydro when he was a puppy and he was for the most part a friendly dog. She said she would often take him outside without a leash.
She said Sunday's events have been tough on her, but they have been even more difficult for her 4-year-old son, who witnessed the shooting.
Matthias said her son is having nightmares and asking when Hydro will come back.
As of Tuesday morning, Hydro's body was in an ice- and toy-filled box on Matthias' back porch. The box was decorated with a card made by her son.
Matthias said she got some good news Tuesday afternoon when a local organization stepped up to pay the costs of Hydro's cremation.
"My dogs are my world," Matthias said. "We haven't stopped crying for days."
Police say the complete report from Sunday's incident is not available because it has not yet been reviewed by the officer's supervisor.
Cox, with the police department, said anytime a weapon is discharged, the involved officer's chain of command reviews the use of force.
Police provided some details of the shooting with an entry in their daily media report.
Officer Spence wrote in that report that he was dispatched to 1066 E. Pacific St. for reports of an abandoned house being burglarized.
Spence noticed, however, that the house was not actually abandoned. The residents of the home told the officer there was no burglary occurring, according to the report.
Spence then went to 1056 E. Pacific St. to contact the people who made the 911 call and get some clarification on where the alleged burglary had occurred, the report says.
As Spence was approaching the home at 1056 E. Pacific St., two dogs broke though the screen door of the house and attacked the officer, according to the report.
The officer writes in his report that "the dogs did not retreat and came at me aggressively to attack, forcing me to shoot one of them."
Cox said the second dog ran away after Spence shot Hydro.
The Springfield Police Department's Resistance Response guidelines address dealing with animals. The guidelines say officers "may use weapons to destroy severely injured non-domesticated animals or to defend themselves against vicious, rabid or otherwise dangerous animals."
Cox said Spence is not on administrative leave.
And he left paw prints and then resisted arrest. 
