First Coast News obtained body camera footage showing the moment an officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office shot and killed a local woman's pit bull terrier, an incident that is not under investigation, according to JSO.
On April 8, police were called out to Janice Smith's home on Nevada Street around midnight. Smith said her daughter was having a seizure.
JSO officer E. Hairston arrived first to secure the scene before paramedics arrived, according to the police report.
Upon arrival, Smith's 3-year-old pitbull named "Fat Boy" reportedly charged at Hairston and Hairston shot the dog three times, the police report states.
Previous story: Jacksonville family grieving after dog shot, killed by police
New bodycam video of that incident shows the officer walking onto the property. After Hairston uses his flashlight, you see Smith’s dog run out from underneath the truck in the bottom part of the screen.
The officer draws his weapon and fires three times, according to the police report. The officer falls in the exchange, he gets up and starts recording.
“Stop, stand back,” Hairston says after he starts recording the video.
You can hear Smith and her family near the house.
“Please get out of the yard,” Smith and her family say after the dog was shot.
You can hear Smith’s son say that the dog ran at the officer.
“He ran at him momma,” Smith’s son said.
“Just relax,” the officer told Smith.
It’s important to note that there is no audio until the officer starts recording his body camera. JSO says the body camera was in standby mode until the officer started recording the incident.
Once recorded, the body cameras capture the previous 30 seconds of video but no audio, according to JSO.
When additional officers arrive on scene, Hairston describes what happened.
“I fell back on my butt, I didn’t have the tendency to turn it on, I turned it on but it was in standby,” Hairston told responding officers. “I was trying to gain distance going that way and I didn’t do very good."
Smith claims she asked the officer to stay out of the yard so she can put her dog up before he walks into the yard.
We reached out to JSO to see if the incident is under investigation or if the officer faced discipline.
JSO says that the incident was administratively reviewed. Following the review, Hairston was found to have acted within department policy.
In a previous story, JSO says shooting a dog is justified if the officer feels there is a threat of great bodily harm.
Smith says she is seeking an attorney on how to proceed.
Watch the video below:
**WARNING: The video below contains graphic images and language that some may find offensive.**