Cops bust into house without warrant; shoot dog

A lawsuit against a Jackson police officer who fatally shot a dog in 2014 can proceed, a federal appeals court ruled this week.

Officer Matthew Peters fatally shot Kane, a pit bull, on Nov. 28, 2014 in the 500 block of S. Blackstone Street in Jackson, according to court documents. The dog’s owners Dashuna Richards and Eddie Harris filed a lawsuit alleging violations of Fourth Amendment rights.

Peters walked through the front door of the apartment without knocking and without a warrant, according to the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling.

When he announced himself, the dog ran down the stairs and started to growl, according to court documents. Peters said the dog was biting at him, while Harris said the dog was just growling, according to the court ruling.

Peters was at the house trying to locate a man who failed to pick up his prescription medicine from Henry Ford Allegiance Health. Police were supposed to take the man into protective custody. The man did not live at the S. Blackstone Street address, according to court documents.

Peters claims he thought he was in a common area, not an apartment, but the court rejected that in a decision dated Tuesday, Sept. 17.

“In light of all the considerations ... the lack of aggression beyond the common dog behaviors of running down the stairs and growling at a stranger in the home; the absence of high-risk criminal activity that might require seizing the dog to safely sweep the premises; Peters’s unlawful entry into the home where he shot the dog; the material disputes in the record regarding the distance between Peters and the dog; and the lack of any record facts regarding Kane’s size or weight—we conclude that the plaintiffs have created a genuine dispute of material fact regarding whether Kane posed an imminent threat that justified Peters’s decision to shoot,” the court ruled.

The appeals court affirmed the federal district court’s decision the deny Peters’ motion to dismiss the lawsuit on grounds of qualified immunity and Michigan governmental immunity.

No disciplinary action was taken against Peters.

The lawsuit will proceed and a jury could decide whether the dog posed an imminent threat.