Disturbing footage has emerged of a cop shooting dead a family dog in front of its horrified owners – just one month after he ran over and killed another pet.
Ethan Bock is seen opening fire on the animal after it ran across the yard and jumped up at him outside the home in Davenport, Iowa on August 21.
Two young children and their mother are heard shrieking in horror as their black retriever-mix called Myst writes around in agony beside the front porch.
A few weeks before, the same officer struck and killed another man’s unleashed dog with his police cruiser. In body-worn camera footage after the smash, Bock tells the owner: ‘That’s why you gotta have your dog on a leash bro.’
Davenport Police Department confirmed to Our Quad Cities News they were conducting an internal review of the incident.
Disturbing footage shows how a police officer shot and killed a family dog on their lawn last week
Pictured, one of the boys seen in the clip, Maverick, and his beloved two-year-old Myst, who is now dead
‘We are aware of the information circulating on social media and are sensitive to the concerns of our community,’ the local police department said of the footage last week.
‘At this time, it would be premature to speculate on the results of the internal review, but the department is committed to sharing more information to include additional video once the review has been completed.’
A later statement offered more detail, confirming the incident involved ‘an officer discharging his firearm in an encounter with a dog, as family members are present.’
Offered up days after the tragedy as the clip gained traction on the internet, the statement specified the shooting happened on August 21, ‘at approximately 7:20pm.’
The officer in the footage, identified by Myst’s owners as San Diego native Bock, arrived to the home on North Pine Street after receiving ‘a report of four dogs at large, appearing aggressive.
‘The caller stated the dogs were attempting to get over a fence to reach their dog,’ the statement claimed.
‘While the officer was following-up to the call in the alley of 2100 Telegraph Road, a dog ran out of a yard in the officer’s direction,’ it added of the scream-filled encounter in the now viral footage.
The incident happened on August 21 in Iowa , and the surveillance video shows Davenport Police Officer Ethan Bock (pictured) pulling the trigger
The footage, meanwhile, shows the dog run up to the officer before darting back toward the woman and the kids
The officer proceeds to fire two shots, despite the mother being just a few feet from the line of fire.
The barrage leads the two-year-old dog to collapse and die slowly on the ground, all as the mom, identified as Brandy Russell, and the two elementary school-aged children look on
‘The officer is seen on the public video slowly backing up while the dog advances,’ it further claimed.
‘The dog’s behavior became aggressive, resulting in the officer discharging his firearm at the dog. The dog died as a result of its injuries.’
The footage, meanwhile, shows the dog run up to the officer before darting back toward the woman and the kids, later revealed to be one of the dog’s owners, her son, and his cousin.
The officer proceeds to fire two shots, despite the mother being just a few feet from the line of fire.
The barrage leads the two-year-old dog to collapse and die slowly on the ground, all as the mom, identified as Brandy Russell, and the two elementary school-aged children look on.
The father of Russell’s son, Don Hesseltine, insisted the dog merely barked at the officer, and shared the footage along with another clip recorded from a different angle as proof.
Both were shared by the outraged father on social media, who was able to make out Bock’s identity from one of the clips.
One appears to show Bock’s police vehicle approach Hesseltine’s son, his son’s cousin and the dog just before the shooting, while the boys were riding bicycles in the alley behind Hesseltine’s home.
A few weeks before, the same officer stuck and killed another man’s unleashed dog with his police cruiser, in an incident not caught on camera. Instead, Bock’s body-warn camera began filming seconds after the smash took place
Lacindra Spears’ dog Muneca was struck and killed by the officer’s squad car in the alleyway behind her home, where her brothers were walking him off-leash
‘I needed that dog,’ Spears told Our Quad Cities News, revealing the police department offered $1,700 as compensation for the killing on July 30
Bock reportedly went on to roll down the window to tell the boys know they had to put Myst on a leash, Hesseltine said – an exchange that caused the boys to drop their bikes in the alley and begin walking toward the house alongside the dog, the footage showed.
Bock is then seen exiting the car while staring at the boys, after which Myst runs back toward him, barking.
A young officer who joined the force last year, Bock is seen bending town to meet the dog who responds by briefly stopping barking, before beginning again.
Bock then reaches for his hip and extends his hand before letting off the two shots, leading Myst to run back through the yard toward the house before falling over.
Hesseltine, after starting a petition that seeks retribution for the murdered mutt, told Our Quad Cities News of the encounter: ‘The kids drop their bikes, walk down my sidewalk, up the back porch there, and the cop slowly creeps down the alley, stops his car, and for whatever reason decides to get out.
‘The cop steps out and the dog starts in the police officer’s direction,’ he continued. ‘With that being said, the dog is barking at the officer. He decides to pull out his sidearm and kill my dog.’
Responding to the statement claiming his dog had been aggressive, the Army vet who served in Afghanistan said, ‘It wasn’t even my dog they were looking for,’
‘And your best course of action is to pull out a gun and execute my dog?’
Maverick’s father Don, seen with Russell here, insisted the dog merely barked at the officer, and shared the footage along with another clip recorded from a different angle as proof
Adding fuel to the furor is another incident involving Bock that occurred the night of July 13, where Lacindra Spears’ dog Muneca was struck and killed by the officer’s squad car in the alleyway behind her home.
‘I needed that dog,’ Spears told Our Quad Cities News, revealing the police department offered $1,700 as compensation for the killing on July 30.
The offer came shortly after she first spoke to the paper that same day, after a week of the department allegedly giving her and her family differing stories about what happened.
Spears was supposedly told her witnesses were ‘not credible.’ as her brother, C’edward Spears, was taking out the trash at about 10 p.m. to the alleyway behind buildings when he encountered Bock.
At the same time, another brother was taking Muneca out to do her business, creating a perfect storm that culminated with Muneca’s death.
‘He comes speeding down, so I stepped in front of the police car, I say, ‘stop’ so the dog can come out so he stops,’ C’edward Spears told the local paper.
‘The dog goes out into the field and a few seconds go by, and another police car, he comes up speeding as well, and by this time the dog has used the bathroom already and is on the way back.
‘I step out again. I’m like, ‘stop — the dog.’ So he stops. He acknowledges me. Then he speeds up and he goes.’
As for the more recent incident, The Davenport Police Department said in its statement that is committed to taking the time to ensure all standards, policies and procedures of the department were followed. Bock is seen being sworn in to the force last year
The 17-minute body camera video from Bock, meanwhile, begins with him getting out of the car to approach the already dead dog lying on the ground.
‘God dammit,’ he said before speaking into his radio for backup.
The two brothers, meanwhile, stood in the alley, the video shows – one with his hands clasped over his forehead and another with his hands on his hips.
‘Let me get on with a sergeant all right?’ Bock tells them, after which C’edward Spears can be seen walking over to Muneca’s body with his hand over his mouth in shock.
‘That’s why you gotta’ have your dog on a leash bro,’ Bock tells him.
He is heard telling his comrades over the radio: ‘Hey, I’m 10-2. Some frickin’ dog just ran out here, and I smoked it.’
A person off camera asked Bock to get his badge, a paper, and pen and make a report.
The video was only released after it was requested by the Times through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The dad said of Bock, ‘Thanks to the coward murderer cop who shot and killed the family dog in front of the kids. I hope the memory that my child will forever have of this moment haunts your punk a**’
It does not show the moment the police officer’s vehicle struck the dog, supposedly because the vehicle’s emergency red and blue lights were not on, and did not trigger its dash camera to record.
At a point, a sergeant who arrives is heard admonishing Bock, telling him: ‘You’ve gotta say that different on the radio.’
‘Say what different?’ Bock asks in reply.
‘You said you smoked a dog,’ the sergeant says.
‘Oh I did?’ Bock responds.
‘Yeah,’ the sergeant replies.
The Spears family paid $200 for Muneca to be cremated, and the Davenport Police Department said of the incident in an August 26 email to the Times: ‘This incident was resolved with the help of Ms. Spears.’
As for the more recent incident, The Davenport Police Department said in its statement that is committed to taking the time to ensure all standards, policies and procedures of the department were followed.
The Hesseltines, meanwhile, have since put Myst to rest with a burial, with Don sharing a Photshopped photo of the two boys who witnessed the dog’s death, son Maverick and nephew Ezra, paying their respects
‘Davenport Police are investigating the incident. Additional information will be released as it becomes available.’
The Hesseltines, meanwhile, have since put Myst to rest with a burial, with Don sharing a photo of the two boys who witnessed the dog’s death, son Maverick and nephew Ezra, paying their respects.
Took Maverick and Ezra to see Myst yesterday. We put up a cross and planted flowers. I told Maverick Myst would always be by his side. He said, ‘I know, Dad. I can still feel him.’
He added in a seperate post to social media, in which he tagged the Davenport Police Department: ‘Thanks to the coward murderer cop who shot and killed the family dog in front of the kids.
‘I hope the memory that my child will forever have of this moment haunts your punk a**. RIP Myst – you were our best friend dude.’
As of writing, his petition calling for Bock to face repruscussions has received nearly 2,000 signatures. The investigation into the incident remains underway.