Mesa officer shoots, kills dog in park as unhoused owner slept nearby

MESA, Ariz. – An encounter between Mesa police officers and an unhoused man’s dog ended with gunfire, after police said the dog was going to attack officers.

The backstory:

This incident took place just before 3 a.m. on Nov. 29, when officers arrived at Fitch Park in Mesa and found the dog’s owner, Jarell White, asleep on a picnic table— a violation of city code.

White said he was there with his 3-year-old pit bull Dutch, who was seen on police body camera video sitting on top of the table.

When officers shined flashlights on White and Dutch, the pit bull began to growl at the officers. Dutch leaped off the picnic table toward police, barking. Officers said the dog was snarling and attempting to bite. 

Dig deeper:

One officer then reportedly discharged three rounds, and Dutch ran off.

Dutch was then taken to a local animal hospital, where he was put down due to the extent of his injuries.

What He’s Saying:

According to White, he had been approached previously by officers while in a park after hours, but said they didn’t leave their vehicle and radioed for him to leave. 

He said he wishes that kind of precaution was taken by these officers.

“To me it’s like okay well if the first officers that ever did that was about a month and a half ago. Why isn’t it that you guys couldn’t do the same thing,” said White. “Especially if pit bulls have such a bad rep, they have such a bad rep for being aggressive, why would you get out of your vehicle? And the officers said, ‘We were watching you sleep for a few minutes,’ so obviously you guys knew I had a dog, you knew I had a pit bull, so you debated whether or not you were gonna get out of the car or not so you prepared yourselves of when worse comes to worse what you were gonna do.”

What’s next:

Mesa Police said they have done an initial review of the use-of-force and found it consistent with policy when confronted by an aggressive dog. The incident has been sent on to the Critical Incident Review Board.

Advocates, along with White and his partner, said they will be at the city council meeting on Dec. 8 to voice concerns over the incident.

Map of the incident location.

Crime and Public SafetyPets and AnimalsMesaNews