Police officers shot a dog they had just hit with their car to put it down in front of members of the community, including children, on a suburban street in north-west Queensland.
In footage taken from down the street, an officer can be seen standing over the injured animal before firing straight down with his hand gun.
The dog can then be seen wagging its tail, as people begin to shout.
“That was a pet, and you’ve just run over it – that was the little girl’s dog,” a woman behind the camera shouts, as two young girls can be seen running away from the scene in tears.
While the footage only shows the officer firing once, the woman who filmed it can be heard saying the police had already shot the dog once.
A police spokesperson defended the officers actions, which occurred after the dog had apparently run in front of a police vehicle on Mill Street in the Mount Isa suburb of Pioneer about 3.40pm on Sunday.
“A dog is believed to have come from under or behind a parked car and was run over,” they said.
“Neither the driver nor the passenger saw the dog prior to the impact.”
They said a supervising officer was on the scene within three minutes, and the decision was made to put the dog out of its misery.
“This incident was traumatic for the officers involved, the community and the dog’s owners, however it was considered the most humane and suitable course of action available at the time,” they said, adding police had spoken to the dog’s owners.
The body-worn camera footage of the officers had been reviewed, and it was confirmed the officers had made the right decision, the spokesperson said.
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