Owner speaks out about NYPD officer fatally shooting her beloved dog in the Bronx

BELMONT, Bronx (WABC) -- A grieving dog owner in the Bronx is now planning to sue the NYPD after an officer shot and killed her beloved pet.

The deadly encounter was caught on camera in the Belmont section.

NYPD policy says cops are only allowed to use their weapons as a last resort to stop an animal attack.

The dog's owner says the pit bull was never a threat and she believing surveillance video proves that.

Yvonne Rosado says she couldn't have asked for a better a dog in Spike.

She's scarred for life after watching her 4-year-old pit bull Spike die in her arms after being shot by a police officer outside their home.

The shooting and Spike's final moments were caught on a security camera.

"I threw my body on top of my dog. I was begging him don't go. He was wagging his tail and really trying to hold on. Eventually he just stopped breathing," Rosado said.

On February 13th, police responded to a domestic violence call at a neighbor's apartment around 5:30 a.m.

Rosado opened her door and the pooch trotted out.

"I'm like he's friendly. He's friendly. And there I just hear a pop. And he's twitching," Rosado said.

Neighbors who heard the gunshot and ran out to see what happened feel the officers reacted badly.

"It's just wrong. He didn't have to shoot him. He came out wagging his tail with an affectionate bark," said Irma Santiago, a neighbor.

"It was like she was losing a child. It was heart wrenching. As for the police it was like they were trying to cover it up immediately," said Najha Williams, a neighbor.

Rosado plans to file a grievance against the officers with the city's Civilian Complaint Review Board.

She also has a lawyer who filed a notice of claim for a possible lawsuit against the city.

"He fired his gun in an apartment stairwell, in a situation very similar to Peter Liang who was convicted of manslaughter for accidentally killing a person. He could have hit a person," said David Thompson, an attorney.

"My house feels dead. When I open the door there's no barking, there's no happy guy waiting for me, jumping on me. He's just gone," Rosado said.

A spokesperson for the NYPD says the incident is being reviewed by the Force Investigation Division, and that the findings will be subject to a Firearms Discharge Review Board.