Camden resident Lona Compton is looking for answers. According to her, a visit to her home on Wednesday, Dec. 28, by the 24th Judicial Drug Task Force resulted in the death of a family dog, Bitty.
“The only people at the house were my 15-year-old brother and our three dogs,” explained Compton in a Facebook post. “DTF had been to the house four months ago, so they knew about the dogs. They had issues last time and knew the dogs are reactive to the chaos and commotion, as most dogs would be.”
According to Compton, one of the DTF officers took Bitty as a threat. “He decided to shoot the dog upstairs with only the 15-year-old present,” said Compton. “Bitty did not deserve that.”
In her post, Compton acknowledged that the dog Bitty “did have the officer cornered, not attacking him or biting him, only cornered.”
“In the eyes of an animal, no matter what you wear, they view you as a threat and they will protect their family. They do not have the ability to know the police are supposed to be the good guys,” Compton opined.
Compton believes there were other options that the DTF could have used to subdue the dog that wouldn’t have resulted in a family pet being killed and 15-year-old being traumatized. She wrote, “They have tasers, pepper spray, and animal control for these exact reasons.”
This is an ongoing story that will be updated as more information is obtained. The Camden Chronicle has reached out to local authorities for more information but has not received comment as of press time.
