A sheriff’s deputy in Arkansas has been fired after he shot a dog Friday afternoon.
Faulkner County deputy Keenan Wallace has been relieved of his duties after he discharged his gun near a man and injured the dog. Faulkner County Sheriff Tim Ryals announced Saturday evening that Wallace, a K-9 handler, “fell short” of the standards he expects of his deputies to “protect and serve” residents of their community.
“I believe there were numerous opportunities to de-escalate the incident,” Ryals said in a Facebook statement.
The move came after a 24-hour investigation by the sheriff’s office. Ryals said he will refer the investigation to the prosecuting attorney’s office for further review.
The incident occurred after the Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office received a call about an aggressive dog in the neighborhood of Shiloh Estates in Conway, which is about 30 miles northwest of Little Rock.
In a video shared online, two small dogs can be seen running around and barking on a lawn. The man who recorded it, Doug Canady, can be heard telling Wallace that he is not the owner and that he didn’t want to step out from his house onto the road. After the deputy shoots one of the dogs, Canady yelled, “Are you fucking kidding me?” before being approached by the deputy. Canady said he wanted a lawyer and that shooting the dog right in front of him placed him in danger. The deputy replied that he was only aiming at the dog after it got aggressive.
Canady told ABC-affiliate KATV the dog, a neighborhood chihuahua named Reeses who had been on his property, never posed a danger. “To see that little dog get shot for no reason, it wasn’t a threat,” Canady told the outlet.
The gunshot shattered Reeses’ jaw, but the dog survived and is being treated by a veterinarian in Little Rock.
