Police kill dog as owner is arrested

The canine bites as Huntington officers answer calls about an assault and vandalism.

Two Huntington Beach police officers fatally shot a dog Sunday night while other officers were trying to arrest the animal’s owner, who witnesses said had hit cars and assaulted a man in a Sunset Beach neighborhood.

“It’s really too bad,” Huntington Beach Police Chief Robert Handy said. “Nobody wants to shoot a dog.”

About 10 p.m., a resident notified police that a man had threatened to cut another man’s throat, Handy said.

Police searched the neighborhood for about 30 minutes and couldn’t find the suspect.

About 11:22 p.m., two people reported the same suspect was throwing patio furniture and hitting vehicles in the 16000 block of 14th Street, Handy said. At least one car window or mirror had been broken, the chief said.

The suspect had also punched a man in the face and body and used the dog to try to attack the man, Handy said.

When officers arrived, they saw Kenneth McFadden, 53, with his German shepherd and tried to talk to him, but he was “disruptive” and “uncooperative,” police said.

McFadden was intoxicated and one of his hands was bleeding, Handy said.

As officers talked to McFadden, he reached for his waistband several times, Handy said. He told officers he had a shotgun, although police never saw one, the chief said.

One of the officers then used a Taser on McFadden, and he fell to the ground, Handy said. As officers took McFadden into custody, his dog bit one of the officers on the leg, he said.

Two other officers then shot the dog, who died at the scene, the police chief said.

Handy said the officers had requested animal control assistance and tried to corral the dog. But the animal posed a risk to officers and the community, he said.

The officer who was bitten suffered puncture wounds and was taken to a hospital.

McFadden was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, assault on an officer, resisting arrest and vandalism, Handy said.