City council members Tuesday backed a Kewanee Police officer’s decision to shoot a pit bull dog last week, saying the officer was justified in prioritizing his and the public’s safety above the animal.

The defense of the KPD came after two residents complained about the shooting, asking that the city resurrect its animal control department or better train officers to deal with animals.

The department on Monday released a video of the incident from the officer’s body camera, which showed close up the officer’s actions and the ensuing confrontation with the dog. The KPD said it released the video because of social media posts questioning the officer’s actions and claiming that children were nearby and possibly in danger because of the officer’s actions.

The department denied that anyone was put in harm’s way and blamed the owner of the dog, who was issued an ordinance violation for not properly securing it. The officer was called to the neighborhood because of complaints about the dog’s aggressiveness toward neighbors – to the point that one neighbor had to jump in the back of a nearby pickup to escape the dog.

Betty Dorsey, who lives in the neighborhood, told the council the officer’s actions were unwarranted and confirmed there were children on a patio behind a house next door. She said she was offended by the KPD’s press release and felt like she was being called a liar.

“I know what I seen,” she said, claiming the footage released by police “didn't show the whole thing.”

She said she saw from her house the dog running away after being shot, but told police she didn’t see where the dog went.

“It really made me upset,” she said of the release. “There was kids and I'm not a liar. It made me feel like the whole town is calling me a liar.”

She said the officer approached the situation in the wrong way and suggested the city needs to bring back an animal control department with knowledge of animals and special training.

“People with animals are afraid to call the cops,” she said. “They're not trained to do that. We have to think about our four-legged friends, too.”

Resdient Tricia Foles said she didn’t blame the officer for acting inappropriately to protect himself, but said he could have handled it in a way that wouldn’t have led to the shooting of a pet in a residential neighborhood.

She said that the number of animal calls cited in the KPD’s press release -- 777 in the last year -- was proof that more resources need to be dedicated to animal control.

Resident Tricia Foles told the council she believes Kewanee police officers have grown weary of answering so many animal complaints, which takes time away from pursuing criminals.

“I think the police department does an awesome job most of the time,” she said. “You can tell they're frustrated with all of these animals calls.”

Mayor Gary Moore, whose career has been in law enforcement, defended the officer’s actions. He said the officer was acting on the complaint of an aggressive dog, and that the dog did make a move toward him even as he tried non-lethal measures that included an attempt to deploy a catch pole.

“That's the information this officer went to the call with,” Moore said, “and when that dog started approaching him, I'm sure it was in the back of his mind.”

Moore said catch poles are difficult to use and that he personally has had limited success using it on dogs.

“He didn't have time to watch a video, he had to react,” said the mayor. “We have the benefit of slowing it down and looking at it.”

Councilman Chris Colomer said the officer was there to protect the children on the back patio that Dorsey had witnessed. He said the officer’s actions were warranted.

“His job was to protect the kids because there was a dog at large,” Colomer said.

Colomer said the city’s budget is incredibly tight right now and that an animal control department was unlikely. The city has already spent in the neighborhood of $100,000 to construct a new animal control facility last year.

But he said there should be further discussion about having officers go through additional animal-handling training due to the high volume of animal calls.

Councilman Mike Yaklich said the city’s officers are already well trained, which was evident in the officer’s decision to not take any chances by shooting the dog.

“If some little kid gets killed, then are you going to come up here and say, ‘Why didn't your officer pull his revolver and shoot that dog when it was attacking people?’” he asked Dorsey. “It's a catch-22. We're caught in the middle.”

He said the responsibility, especially if it is a reportedly aggressive dog, lies with the dog owner.

“If you've got a dog that’s a dog that will attack people and it's out running loose,” Yaklich said, “It's not legitimate to expect that there aren't repercussions from that. I want that officer to shoot and shoot straight and not have second thoughts about what his gut feeling is.”

Ainley told councilmen the city gets on average 500 “dog at large” complaints, which doesn’t count nuisance or attack calls.

He said tickets can be given out after the second incident and that an estimated half of the incidents are for repeat offenders.

“It gets to where the officers know (the owner), given a description of the dog,” he said.

Despite the high number of calls, “we want to see them go back to their owners safe,” the chief said.

Ainley and other councilmen agreed with a Moore suggestion that city ordinance fines be reassessed and possibly raised as a deterrent.

“If you get a hefty fine you're going to think twice about letting your dog run loose,” said Councilman Steve Faber. “We’ve got a lot of irresponsible pet owners out there. That I think is more of our problem and probably why our calls are going up so high. They are pet owners not pet lovers.”