A police officer shot and killed an aggressive dog Wednesday at a North Portland bus stop after it charged the officer, the

said.

An apparently intoxicated man tried to board a bus with the pit bull at the stop on North Lombard Street at Interstate Avenue about 4:30 p.m., said Lt. Robert King, a police spokesman. As officers headed to the scene, they heard the dog had tried to attack someone.

When the officers arrived at 4:40 p.m., the pit bull went after one of them, who evaded it without injury, King said. But when the dog charged again, the officer shot it dead.

Late Wednesday,

-- reckless endangerment, interfering with an officer, menacing and disorderly conduct. His bail was set at $9,000.

An employee of the Shell gas station next to the bus stop said she heard two gunshots and saw the dog writhing on the sidewalk for about 30 seconds before it went still.

The employee said the dog's owner was a regular at the station's convenience store and the pit bull, which was black except for a white belly and paw, was always friendly. Employees liked to give it food and water.

Another woman said she frequently saw the man and dog riding the bus together and the dog was always well-mannered.

Some witnesses and passers-by at the busy intersection were upset that the police did not cover the dog's body after the shooting.

When neighborhood resident Jameson Harkins, 33, heard the news, he headed straight to the bus stop with his own pit bull, Tigger, and a sign that said, "PDX P.D. Stop shooting us!"

Harkins called the shooting another example of a culture of violence among Portland police. "They shoot first, ask questions later," he said.

The shooting closed the bus stop for several hours, said Bekki Witt, a

spokeswoman. Yellow Line MAX service on Interstate Avenue was not affected.

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