Anderson County Sheriff's Office deputy shoots, kills dog that attacked him, agency says

An Anderson County Sheriff's Office deputy shot and killed a dog that attacked him Wednesday at a home in a rural area between Belton and Honea Path, according to a captain with the agency.

Capt. Darrell Hill said the deputy, identified in an incident report as A.G. Banister, is a school resource officer and had gone to a home on State 252 to check on the welfare of a child who had not shown up at school.

"The deputy was attacked by a vicious dog and he had to put the dog down," Hill said.

Hill said the dog was a pit bull. Hill said the pit bull grabbed the deputy, and that the dog's saliva was visible on the deputy's pants.

Hill said he does not believe that the dog punctured the deputy's skin with a bite.

He said the deputy does not have any significant injuries.

The dog was shot shortly before noon Wednesday.

According to a Sheriff's Office incident report that was made public late Wednesday, Banister told another deputy that Banister was walking toward a ramp near the front porch of the home when a large dog "came running down the wheelchair ramp towards him very aggressive."

Banister told the officer who wrote the incident report that he attempted to get back to his patrol car after the dog ran toward him. The dog then attempted to bite Banister, according to the incident report. Banister pulled out his county-issued .40 caliber Glock and fired it twice, striking the dog both times, according to the the incident report.

The child who deputies had gone to check on was not at the home, Hill said.

Earlier this month, Greenville County deputies shot a dog they said charged at them while they were serving a search warrant at a home in Taylors.

More: Greenville County deputies shoot pit bull while serving search warrant in Taylors

Lt. Ryan Flood, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Office, said people inside the home Jan. 8 refused to come out, but later opened the front door to release a pit bull. Three people inside the home were arrested.

A woman in the Taylors home was arrested as part of an unlawful conduct toward a child investigation based on the conditions of the home including unsafe wiring, structural concerns and a roach infestation, Flood said. Two men in the home were also arrested. One was charged with interfering and resisting arrest, and another was charged with interfering with an arrest.

More: Pit bull shooting: Mother accused of keeping children in roach-infested home

Daniel Gross contributed to this report.

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