EAST VILLAGE — A graphic video has surfaced depicting the moment a cop shot an agitated bit bull on East 14th Street Monday as its owner lay on the sidewalk.
The clip first posted by Gothamist shows the female dog, whose name is Star, run at the police officer before he pulled the trigger. Despite the gunshot wound, the dog survived, and is now recovering at Animal Care and Control in East Harlem.
The incident began just after 4 p.m. on Monday outside a KFC on 14th Street and Second Avenue when the cop attempted to wake the dog’s owner who was lying on the sidewalk.
The dog was seen barking and standing over her owner, protecting him from the officers, before running at a cop.
The dog was first reported as dead, but it is in a stable condition as of Tuesday, according to Richard Gentles, a press representative for the organization that is contracted by the city to care for lost and abandoned animals.
"Star's condition is still serious, but she is showing slight improvements," Gentles said Thursday. "Please understand that due to legal and privacy issues, at this time we’re not at liberty to disclose any further information about her case."
The 29-year-old dog owner, whose name has been reported by the New York Time's The Local as Lech Stankiewicz, is a regular along the strip, according to neighboring businesses, friends, and residents. People who knew him said he suffers from epilepsy, and has frequent seizures, the paper said..
If people would like to help animals like Star, they can donate to AC&C's Special Treatment and Recovery Fund, Gentiles said.
