BELLMEAD, Texas (KXXV) — A Bellmead family says they have unanswered questions after police shot their dog during a welfare check earlier this month.
Watch the full story here:
Bellmead police responded to reports of a decaying smell coming from the Draper family home on March 3. Officers say that while searching inside the fenced property, a dog attacked an officer.
Shayna Draper has lived at the house on Nealton Street for nearly a decade. She says she believes police should not have pulled a gun on her dog, Honey.
"There are a lot of different ways they could have handled it," Shayna said.
Honey survived the shooting but still has the bullet in her body.
"I was terrified I was going to get here, and she was going to be dead," Shayna said.
Shayna was at work when the shooting happened. Her aunt, Robin Draper, was home at the time and says she had no idea police were outside until after the dog had been shot.
"They could have used their bullhorn, turned on their lights, I mean their sirens, honked the horn, something to get someone's attention," Robin said.
"My mind was racing, trying to figure out what happened to her. And then when I finally realized what it was, I was not happy with them at all," Robin said.
Bellmead Assistant Chief Correy Harrison says the officer did not see the two dogs in the yard before entering the gated area.
"Upon entry to the yard and approaching the residence, the officer was attacked from behind by the dog, so it definitely caught the officer by surprise and it did approach in an aggressive manner, which unfortunately, he discharged his firearm," Harrison said.
Harrison says police are conducting an internal review of the incident because the officer fired his weapon. While police are limited in what details they can share — including what steps the officer took to survey the yard before entering or how officers tried to contact anyone inside the home — Harrison says a preliminary review shows the officer followed protocol.
"We just want them to know that the process that we have internally is very thorough, and we will get the full story and you know, we will make sure that, you know, everything that was done that day was within policy and procedure, and assure them that this was not our intent on that day and we do feel for them and their family during this difficult time," Harrison said.
Police determined the smell was coming from an outdoor refrigerator with old food inside.
Shayna and Robin say they want access to the body camera footage from the incident.
"We want the body footage camera because we want to see exactly how he came in the yard, but we don't want to see what happened to her. I really don't want to see her actually getting shot, but I wanna see everything that led up to that moment," they said.
Shayna tells 25 News she has still not received a copy of the police report. The family has also paid for and requested the body camera footage, but is currently waiting for access, while police say it remains under review.
We will follow up with police when they complete their internal review.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
