Witnesses say Laval police shot dog for no reason

A short police chase ended with Laval police arresting two men and shooting what they believed to be a pit bull on Saturday.

According to Laval police spokesperson Evelyne Boudreau, the force received a call about a break-in at a Vimont residence around 11:40 a.m. The suspects fled but not before a neighbour managed to take down a description of the car and its licence plate number.

Police later intercepted the car on Highway 440, near Highway 13 North.

“After intercepting the vehicle, a dog exited the car from the passenger side and aggressively ran toward the police,” Boudreau said. “For their protection, they had to shoot it.”

The two men in the car were arrested at the scene and are expected to face charges.

Soon after the arrests, a video started circulating online from a dog trainer and animal advocate claiming police shot the dog for no reason.

“We just witnessed two men getting arrested, and they had a dog with them,” Katherine Davidson, 26, said through tears in the video she posted around noon.

“Their dog was laying next to them, and the cops just shot the dog.”

Reached by phone on Saturday, Davidson said she was driving back home with her boyfriend, Corey Hunt, when they noticed police cars along the highway and slowed down.

“There was no reason whatsoever for the police to shoot the dog,” Hunt says in the video. “The two cops had the situation under control.”

Asked about the video, Boudreau said Laval police were aware of it and suggested Davidson had only witnessed the end of the incident.

After gathering more information from the police officers involved, Boudreau said the dog had charged toward one of them while he was handcuffing a suspect.

The dog was shot at that point, but not fatally.

After police had handcuffed both suspects, they shot the dog again to prevent further suffering.

“I can’t say what happened before I got there,” Davidson said. “But I know the dog was still alive.”

Davidson said she wants to know if police have any footage from the incident.

“For me, at that moment he looked completely innocent,” she said. “We have a right to know what happened.”