Video shows Chicago police officer shooting man's dog; COPA has questions

CHICAGO (CBS) — New surveillance video has raised questions about an incident last month involving an off-duty Chicago police officer who shot and killed a dog in the Bridgeport neighborhood.

On Tuesday, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability released two videos of the shooting and said CPD should rethink the officer's employment status. Chicago police have not issued any citations for this incident.

CPD records show that around 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 21, off-duty CPD officer Carmen Mostek was walking her corgi east in the 500 block of West 29th Street, just west of Normal Avenue .

That's when his neighbor's dog, Aggie, described by Officer Mostek in a 911 call and by police in incident reports as a pit bull, but referred to by the owner as a “rescue dog” or “mixed breed rescue dog”, ran away. from the backyard. According to Mostek, Aggie tried to bite the corgi.

At that point, surveillance video shows Aggie's owner on the ground trying to separate the dogs.

Then, according to the video, Mostek shot the crossbreed dog at point-blank range while Aggie was still in her owner's arms.

According to the tactical response report, Officer Mostek said, “I thought my dog ​​would be killed in an instant if I didn't intervene. »

The owner of the other dog can be heard telling the officer in the video: “You shot my dog! Why?”

The video showed that moments after Mostek was shot, the corgi and Mostek ran away.

In a 911 call after the incident, Mostek said: “Hello, I'm an off-duty PO. I'm at 29th and Normal. There was a dog attacking my dog ​​and I had to shoot it , and the neighbor panicked.” “.

In a statement released in conjunction with these videos, COPA said: “Given the serious nature of the incident, COPA recommends that CPD evaluate the officer's current assignment and whether administrative duties or relief from powers are warranted while this investigation is ongoing. “.

The dog's owner filed a lawsuit earlier this month against the city of Chicago, the CPD and the officer involved in the case. The lawsuit alleges Mostek never tried to help separate the dogs before shooting.

“Mostek shot Aggie, without justification, at point-blank range while Aggie was in Plaintiff’s arms and Plaintiff was in the line of fire,” the complaint states.

The dog's owner declined our request for an interview Tuesday, citing pending litigation.

CBS 2 also wanted to know if the officer was still active with the Chicago Police Department. However, on Tuesday, a spokesperson said it would make no further statements on the matter and referred all further inquiries to COPA.