Otto, the 5-year-old German shepherd that was shot and killed by a Wyckoff police officer, is shown in this photo provided by the family.
MAY 20, 2015, 12:57 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2015, 8:06 PM
BY STEVE JANOSKI
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
WYCKOFF — A police internal report has been released showing the chain of events that ended with an officer’s fatal shooting of a family’s dog on April 29.
The report released Tuesday by the Police Department includes a description by Lt. David Murphy, who had been on traffic duty near Lawlins Road, of the shooting’s immediate aftermath.
Murphy found Patrolman Kyle Ferreira “very distraught” and “pacing back and forth” after he’d responded to the wrong address on a possible burglary call and shot Otto, the Vukobratovic family’s 5-year-old German shepherd.
“He was shaking his head and several times, he put both hands on top of his head. To me, he appeared to be visibly upset by whatever events had transpired prior to my arrival,” Murphy said.
Algis Setikas, who lives across the street at 621 Lawlins Road, had reported the possible burglary after finding damage to a window screen and exterior light bulb. The report said he had gone to the Police Department in person so as to not disturb his wife, recovering from surgery, or his newborn.
Minutes later, a police car pulled up in front of his house, but the officer never came to the door. As Setikas walked towards the car, the report said, he heard “four or five consecutive loud bangs,” and looked across the street to see Ferreira in what he described as a “shooting stance.” Setikas checked on his family, then ran to the Vukobratovics, yelling to Ferreira that he had the wrong house.
“He observed that the officer was standing on the driveway outside of the gate with his hands on his head, looking upset and distraught,” the report said.
