A pit bull was shot by police Wednesday afternoon because police feared it could attack someone, Sgt. Bill Hickey of Lancaster police department said Thursday.

While LancasterOnline reported some bystanders criticized the shooting of the dog, and a rally was planned to protest the act on Thursday afternoon, police said the action was justified.

Here is Hickey's account of what happened after police were called about a dog that had jumped out of a pickup and was growling at people on a downtown parking lot at 25 W. King St.:

A civilian service aide from the department was sent to the 4:12 p.m. call, since they usually respond to calls for found and stray dogs. After the dog retreated into someone else's sport utility vehicle, the aide called for an officer to bring a snare to catch it.

The responding officer was met with "passive and verbal resistance" from people when he asked them to move away from the dog, with one man intentionally placing himself between the officer and dog.

"The officer handcuffed this individual in order to keep him from interfering with the officer's efforts and for the safety of the individual," Hickey said, adding that the man was later released without charges.

At one point, the dog bit a bag an individual was carrying, Hickey said.

Additional officers came with a cable-loop snare and tried to catch the dog, but the dog bit at the snare and couldn't secured. A Taser also was tried, but it didn't have the intended effect and the dog ran from the rear of the SUV.

When the dog stopped, turned and was growling at an officer with the hackles up on its back, an officer fired two rounds from his rifle, striking the dog with both, killing it. The officer shot because he feared the dog might attack someone, Hickey said.

The owner of the dog and truck returned to the scene after 5 p.m. and was informed of what had happened, Hickey said.