$1 Million Lawsuit Filed Against Cop Who Shot Blind, Deaf Dog

The 13-pound Shih Tzu was stumbling around a woman's backyard when it was shot at point-blank range by the officer who was called to help, the lawsuit states.

A federal lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the owner of a blind and deaf dog that was repeatedly shot by a Missouri police officer after it became lost in someone’s yard earlier this month.

The complaint, filed on behalf of dog owner Nicholas Hunter on Tuesday against the city of Sturgeon and police officer Myron Woodson, seeks more than $1 million in damages, the Animal League Defense Fund announced Wednesday.

Woodson had been called in to help find the owner of the dog, a 13-pound Shih Tzu named Teddy. The officer shot him twice at point-blank range, as seen in body camera footage. Minutes after the shooting, Hunter, who’d gotten a call from a friend about Teddy escaping his backyard kennel, confronted the officer.

“At no time during the encounter between Teddy and Defendant Woodson did Teddy show any aggression towards Defendant Woodson,” states the complaint. “Teddy never barked, growled, or even moved towards Defendant Woodson. Instead, the small, blind and deaf dog simply kept trying to walk away, oblivious to the danger that Defendant Woodson posed to him.”

The city failed to properly train, supervise and discipline Woodson, resulting in the unlawful seizure and killing of Teddy, Hunter’s lawsuit maintains.