WACO, Texas — The Waco Police Department made a statement on Monday regarding an incident that occurred over the weekend.
Officers were dispatched to a residence about a burglary around 3 p.m. on Saturday, but arrived at the wrong home due to an error in the dispatch computer system. One of the officers shot the owner's dog in her backyard.
Dispatchers heard the caller screaming that a male had kicked her door in, and had said "Please come now."
The dispatch call taker also heard a man's voice during the call stating, "I'm not trying to hurt you," before the call disconnected.
According to the police statement, when dispatchers entered the address into the system, it was "autocorrected" from 3204 North A 20th Street to 3204 North 20th Street.
When police arrived to the residence, they "saw the backdoor ajar which corroborated information received in the initial call, and announced their presence in the backyard, then multiple dogs approached the officers.
Police claim one dog, Finn, lunged at one of the officers.
After Finn lunged at the officer again, the officer shot the dog. The officer also tased and injured another one of the owner's dogs, according to the owner, Cassie Page.
Finn was then taken to an emergency vet by Page, and died due to his injuries.
A Waco Police Department Commander met the family at the emergency vet, "offered his sympathy, and provided information regarding services provided as a result of the incident".
The police department is working to confirm the accuracy and precision of their Computer Aided Dispatch system, and "dispatchers will be directed to evaluate any address that occurs on any of the streets that have an adjacent 'A' street."
"My boyfriend and I are devastated," Page said.
Page told 25 News that she is speaking with the city of Waco about the issues that have arose with her street address and the 3204 North 20th A Street residence that is a block over, and said she plans to press charges on the Waco Police Department.
"They [police] came into my backyard and shot my dog — for no other reason than barking at a stranger who came into his house."
Page has been a veterinary technician for 11 years, has worked at Hewitt Veterinary Hospital for over four years, and owns five dogs with her boyfriend, Matthew Vasquez.
"We do not have any children and these [dogs] are our world," Page said.
A friend of the couple, Tori Russell has created a fundraiser to help pay for legal services regarding the issue.
