Los Angeles police on Friday released bodycam footage of an officer killing a woman’s dog in a case that has sparked controversy and questions.
Jameson, a 2-year-old Saint Bernard doodle, was shot and killed by police Saturday after officers responded to a report of a woman screaming at her home in the 7500 block of Jordan Avenue at 8:55 p.m.
Footage of the shooting went viral and sparked outrage, showing a woman, Marie Marseille, crying over Jameson, who was wearing a Knicks shirt.
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Footage released by the LAPD on Friday shows the moments leading up to the heartbreaking incident.
In the footage, which lasts several minutes and comes from two body cameras, a police officer can be seen approaching the door of the woman’s apartment and announcing that he is the LAPD. A second officer paused at the bottom of the complex corridor.
Marseille answers the door and the police see a large dog barking.
As police ask Marseille to put the dog down, dash cam video shows a second officer draw his gun and back away from the barking dog. He then puts his gun down after Marseille closes the door.
“Jeez, that’s a big dog,” the first officer was heard exclaiming.
“I don’t care about that, bro,” said the second officer.
Marseille goes back to the door and the officer asks again if he is taking the dog away. He replies, “he is not a violent person.”
The policeman said, “Hey, big guy, do you know what I mean?”
Meanwhile, Jameson walks past Marseille out the door away from the first officer, who tells him to “put him in.” However, a barking Jameson walks down the corridor towards the second officer, who draws his gun with his right hand and fires four shots.
The big puppy falls to the ground as Marseille shouts: “No!”
The incident sparked outrage and questions across the city, prompting Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell to promise a full investigation. The LAPD and Mayor Karen Bass are facing mounting political pressure to release body camera footage of the incident.
The release came after LAPD brass and top city leaders reviewed the footage and McDonnell conducted what is known as a 72-hour review of police actions, the first step in a lengthy internal investigation into the shooting of an LAPD officer.
Amid loud cries, Bass gave the dog a public charge. “Every life lost to violence is a tragedy, and we know that Jameson’s heartbreaking loss will be felt by his family forever.”
Bass posted on social media Friday night that he watched the video, calling it “disturbing and sad.” He said he asked for the city to review how it prepares officers to respond to situations like this, saying written policies and procedures are “not enough.”
In an interview with NBC4, the neighbor who called the police expressed regret for making the call. He told the station that after hearing a noise in Marseille’s apartment, he called her but there was no answer and called the police, concerned for the well-being of his neighbor.
“I feel guilty for what happened,” the neighbor said, adding that the knock on Marseille’s door sounded “hostile.”
“I didn’t think like that how the medical examination would go,” he said.
In this video that went viral after the incident, neighbors can be heard angrily reprimanding the police for killing the dog.
The incident has raised new questions about the practice of using force when it comes to dogs and whether changes are needed.
In a statement after the shooting, McDonnell acknowledged Marseille’s loss.
“Losing a pet is deeply personal. For many, a dog is not just an animal, but a friend, a source of comfort, and a member of the family,” the statement said. “LAPD officers face unknown dangers every day, but I expect them to use good judgment, exercise restraint, and respect life whenever possible. That expectation is reflected in our training, policies, and specific guidelines regarding dealing with dogs. All of those aspects will be carefully reviewed as part of this investigation.”
A GoFundMe has raised more than $200,000 for Marseille and her son.
The family has now hired lawyers, who issued a statement Friday criticizing the police response shown in the video as “unnecessary and extremely dangerous.”
Marseille told NBC4 that his family was celebrating the Knicks’ NBA Championship win when police arrived.
“The next thing I know, he was down,” Marseille said. “I see a police officer shoot him twice. I saw that. I was there when it happened.”
In a telephone interview with The Times, his sister, Vanessa Marseille, said the family was shocked and distraught by the incident.
“We just don’t know why it happened,” he said. “The most frightening thing is that those guns could have hit anyone, it was reckless.
“It’s just sad,” she said.
Marseille said her sister was born and raised in New York and moved to California in 2014 for work. Two years ago, she said, her sister bought Jameson, the oldest of seven puppies.
He said the pet was always there when he was talking to his nephew.
“Every FaceTime with Jeremiah, he’s always walking the dog,” she said. “When he takes my sister to work, Jameson is in the car, wagging his tongue.”
California, unlike Texas and Colorado, does not mandate canine association training for police officers. The LAPD issues a detailed guide on how to report to the police. An attempt to authorize such training failed to pass state lawmakers in 2017.
LAPD Use of Force Directive No. 11 describes the protocol for meeting dogs.
According to the department’s executive order written in 2023, officers must consider voice commands and several other options before using deadly force. The order advises officers who arrive on the scene to check for a dog and remind them their primary concern when they arrive is “safety.”
The order advises officers to remember all dogs that can bite and gives them a list of flexible options for dealing with a “hostile” dog.
Officers can use voice commands, and if those options don’t work include pepper spray, a baton, a TASER or a fire extinguisher, although some are more difficult to use on a fast-moving animal, the order said.
“Continued spin motion can stop an approaching animal,” the order said. If necessary, the dog should be hit on the nose or throat, he adds.
Deadly force is permitted “if it is reasonable to protect the officer or other person(s) from the risk of death or serious bodily injury.”
Police are warned: “The size and speed of the animal can increase the potential for a missed shot and the chance of an officer or bystander being seriously injured by a bullet.”
“The police must not use lethal force on a dog to protect property including other animals,” said the order.
Law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles County have a record of fatal incidents with dogs.
In 2013, Hawthorne police shot a dog four times after it got out of a car while detaining its owner. In a video that has been viewed more than 7 million times, the owner pleaded with the police not to shoot the dog.
In 2005, a Times investigation examining two decades of LAPD data found that one in four LAPD shootings were directed at dogs. Police shot more than 465 dogs, killing at least 200 and injuring at least 140, the incident report said. However, in the latest year available, 2024, with stricter restrictions than before, one animal was shot by an officer.
According to LAPD statistics, its officers have been shot with dogs 32 times since 2018, a decrease from seven in 2018 to one last year.
