Owner Files Claim for 2 Dogs Killed by Police

Two Torrance policemen acted without provocation when they shot and killed a pair of American pit bull terriers in April, the dogs’ owner charged in a $13,700 claim filed last week against the city.

Susan M. Hersey, 24, said in an interview that her 3-year-old pit bulls were shot when they walked outside her apartment to “sniff and greet� officers James Espinosa and Thomas Dorsey.

“The dogs did not attack,� the claim states. “They did not bite. They did not even growl.�

The incident occurred April 2, when Hersey was out of town on vacation.

Police were called to the apartment, at 1828 Plaza Del Amo, just after midnight to quell a loud party held by Hersey’s roommate.

‘Instant Gunfire’

Dorsey and Espinosa knocked on the apartment door and “the two dogs walked outside to sniff and greet the officers,� the claim states. “According to witnesses, almost instantly, gunfire was heard and my dogs were shot and killed in front of their and my front door.�

In an interview the day after the shooting, a neighbor said the dogs had come sniffing out of the door in a friendly manner. “The dogs just came out to sniff at them like they sniff at everybody,� said the woman, who asked not to be named. “I don’t think there was any reason to shoot.�

Denies Allegations

An internal affairs investigator for the Police Department denied the allegations.

“An investigation showed that the officers did follow department policy,� Sgt. Steve Gilliam said. “And they were proper in discharging their weapons.�

Department policy calls for officers to use “reasonable force� to subdue aggressive animals, he said.

Gilliam said that the dogs actually snarled and barked as they charged out of the door toward Espinosa, who backed up about 20 feet before drawing his gun and firing twice, killing one of the dogs.

The other pit bull then turned and charged Dorsey, who killed it with a single shot, Gilliam said.

No Human Injuries

Neither of the policemen were injured.

No witnesses to the shooting came forward, Gilliam said.

Hersey, who now lives in Redondo Beach, said the dogs, one male and one female, had valuable lineages and were worth about $5,000 each because of the breeding fees they would have attracted.

Her claim demanded an additional $3,700 in damages for mental anguish and the costs of an autopsy, cremation and loss of prepaid breeding fees.

“But money doesn’t mean anything,� Hersey said, choking back tears in a telephone interview Friday. “It’s just that I don’t want this to happen again. They will never be replaced. The pictures are all that I have left.�