Police officers tasered a man and shot two dogs dead in front of stunned witnesses in the United Kingdom (UK). The event occurred on Sunday afternoon in Limehouse, east London, with footage of the encounter circulating on social media.
The video shows officers chasing a man who is holding two dogs on a leash along the canal. The situation escalates rapidly, with the man being tasered to the ground and the dogs subsequently shot.
Witnesses from surrounding flats can be heard screaming as the first animal is shot. One bystander is heard exclaiming, “Why did you shoot the dog?” and later commenting, “I think they’ve killed it, I think they’ve killed it.”
The police said officers arrived at the scene in response to a report of a woman being attacked by a dog, adding that the aggressive behavior of the two dogs was of significant concern and posed a substantial threat to them. After shooting the dogs, the man was arrested on charges of having a dog dangerously out of control.
WARNING. This stopped me in my tracks and is very upsetting. There had to be a way of containing these the dogs instead of shooting them. #Limehouse #TowerHamlets #EastLondon #London pic.twitter.com/KokXHd6uIv
— Dat Brown Skin Gal🐾🎸🇬🇩🇳🇬🇬🇧 (@missdemenor) May 7, 2023
“I don’t think the dogs looked aggressive. They were both wiggling their tails,” a woman named Jen told news broadcaster BBC, adding that they couldn’t believe officers ended up shooting the dogs.
Her partner Marcel said: “I was quite distressed. I was screaming at them, I was trying to stop it somehow, but I couldn’t. We feel kind of powerless that stuff like this can happen.”
The police force expressed that it is never an easy decision to take such action, but police have a duty to act where necessary before any further injury is caused. The woman who said she was attacked by one of the dogs, had a leg injury but needed no medical attention, police said.
“It is been brought to my attention that there is a video circulating of two dogs appearing to be shot dead by police in Limehouse. I am aware this is understandably causing distress. I assure constituents that I am seeking answers as to what has happened,” Limehouse MP Apsana Begum said on Twitter.
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