UPDATE: Officer 'acted in self-defense' when he shot & killed dog, DA says

UPDATE: The Decatur Police Department says no criminal charges will be filed after an officer shot a dog in “self-defense”.

The woman who owned the dog shared the incident report by the Decatur officer.
The report says a the officer responded to a report of a child being attacked by “the brown dog”.

The child said the dog knocked him down and he “thought he was going to die”.

The officer says in the report that when arrived at a home that had two dogs on the property, the dogs began barking and chased the officer.

The officer says he tried to back further down the driveway but due to the dog’s aggressive nature and the likelihood of it being the same dog that prompted the response, the officer shot the dog, claiming he "feared an imminent attack” was coming.

Decatur police say body cam footage shows the officer acted in self-defense.

The officer is not being named because he has not been charged with a crime.


PREVIOUS STORY: The 9th Judicial District Attorney's Office has determined that an officer who shot and killed a family dog Sunday will not face criminal charges.

The Decatur Police Department submitted all evidence related to the shooting on Ledge Lane to the DA's office, including bodycam footage.

According to a statement from the department, the office determined that the officer involved "acted in self-defense."
 
It is unclear if that dog attacked a child, which is the reason officers were initially called to respond to the scene.


PREVIOUS STORY: A child was reportedly attacked by a dog near Ledge Lane on Sunday, July 20th, according to a phone call the Decatur Police Department received.

Officers responding to the call found two dogs at a nearby residence on Ledge Lane.

The incident is still under investigation.

This is all the information currently available.