Several neighbors in the 1100 block of S.W. Plass Ave. were upset Monday night after a Topeka police officer drew his weapon and shot a dog to death.

"He drew his gun and fired five or six shots," said neighbor Constantinos Miklas Acton. "He killed that dog dead for no reason."

Acton said he was painting guttering on the front of his house about 7 p.m. Monday when he saw a uniformed officer approach a neighbor’s house and knock on the door.

Acton said the officer didn’t get an answer so he walked across S.W. Plass Avenue and made contact with Acton. The officer told Acton there had been a call about a barking dog, Acton said. After the two spoke briefly, the officer went back to the house and Acton went back to work. A few minutes later, Acton took a break and saw the dog, a German shepherd and border collie mix, galloping playfully toward the officer.

A few seconds later, shots rang out.

"He knew I saw it," Acton said. "He really got hot under the collar."

Topeka police Sgt. Jennifer Cross didn’t release the officer’s name Monday night. She did confirm there had been several calls made about a barking dog and another dog possibly loose in the area.

She said the officer tried to make contact with the dog’s owner, and when the dog approached the officer, "he felt in danger."

"His training is to protect himself," Cross said.

Detectives and officers spent more than an hour talking to neighbors. Cross said the investigation is ongoing.

On Monday night, several neighbors watched as police worked in the driveway where the dog was shot at 1181 S.W. Plass.

The owners of the dog, who arrived at the scene after the shooting, were visibly upset.

One woman shouted at a group of officers that she was upset they shot and killed the dog when there are other crimes happening in Topeka.

Neighbor Audrey Dukes said the dog, who neighbors call Dallas, often played with her children and was friendly. Dukes said she saw the dog earlier in the evening without a leash. She added that the dog never was unfriendly toward her three children.

She said she is upset because the officer fired several shots at a "friendly dog when we have a block full of kids outside playing."

When Dukes tried to talk to the officer who shot the dog and a corporal on the scene, she said she was treated rudely.

"They told me to mind my own business," Dukes said. "They wouldn’t tell us anything. We had a police officer out here who shot a dog five or six times. I think the Topeka police handled this poorly. There was no way that dog was aggressive. And five or six shots? I don’t know the reason the officer had to shoot Dallas. It’s unbelievable."