Thibodaux Chief of Police Bryan Zeringue announced that an officer was forced to use lethal force on a loose dog, when the dog attacked and bit the officer on Christmas Day.
On the morning of December 25, 2023 shortly after 10:30 a.m., a Thibodaux Police Department Officer on patrol, pulled up on several vehicles and bystanders on foot in the 600 block of North Canal Boulevard. When the officer observed the lanes of travel to be blocked, he immediately assumed it was a traffic crash. The officer then activated his emergency lights, pulled his police cruiser to the shoulder and attempted to render aid and clear the roadway.
It was at this time that the officer realized that it was in fact not a traffic crash and the bystanders and motorist were trying to corral a loose dog. Realizing that clearing the roadway would not be an option until the dog was secured; the officer turned around and proceeded back to his unit in attempt to place it in the roadway to assist in blocking traffic. The dog, unprovoked then charged toward the officer, at which time it bit and latched onto the officer’s lower buttocks area. As the officer tried to get the dog off him, it released the bite and latched onto the officer’s calf where he was bitten a second time, then again on the other calf for the third time before the officer was able to get away.
The dog then sprinted back across the boulevard eastbound, which allowed the officer time to retreat westbound into the grassy embankment area behind his police cruiser. The dog then ran back westbound crossing the median, where a subject gave chase and continued to try to corral the animal. As the dog circled the front of the police cruiser, it came back in the direction of the officer. The officer then began back peddling, while trying to create distance. As the dog circled around the officer, the officer feared that either the dog would lunge back toward him or the subject trying to corral the dog, not knowing it was the animal’s owner at that time. In fear of the dog attacking again, the officer fired one shot, striking the dog. The dog succumbed from this injury shortly thereafter.
The Thibodaux Police Department Criminal Investigations Division then conducted a thorough investigation into the incident. Through the investigation, it was confirmed that the loose dog did escape from a nearby neighborhood and was being chased by its owner and other motorists/bystanders.
Based on the entire investigation and evidence provided, Detectives deemed the actions taken by the officer are not only reasonable, but are in accordance with all Thibodaux City Ordinances, Louisiana State Laws and the Thibodaux Police Department Policy and Procedure. Due to the nature of the incident not meeting Thibodaux Police Department criteria to involve an outside agency, no additional investigations were conducted.
To elaborate, Detectives learned that although not required, the officer did attempt to go to a less lethal option (OC Spray), but wind conditions prevented. The officer ultimately resulted in justifiably using deadly force instead, after being bitten three times. The officer’s use of the service weapon was deemed to be in a safe, downward direction, with the ground being the object beyond the dog. The officer’s actions of stopping the threat were deemed intentional, but legal as under applicable law. Use of Force Policy allows officers to go to the appropriate level of force deemed necessary by the situation.
Verification of vaccination records led Detectives to securing two separate search warrants at local Veterinarian Clinics. The first clinic confirmed for Detectives that the vaccination records for the (8 YOA) Labrador Mix (Golden/Male) were in-fact up to date as of August 2023, however the Veterinarian advised that was the only record on file with that office. This led Detectives to the second Veterinarian Clinic in question. The second Veterinarian advised that the office was familiar with the dog in question. The Doctor advised that the office had only seen the dog once in March of 2023. The Veterinarian and the records indicated the dog records were labeled with an alert “WB” (WILL BITE). The notes went on to say “Bit me in the office, Became very aggressive, Recommended removal from home, Dog is a danger if not careful, I do not take what I said lightly”. The Veterinarian elaborated by saying the dog seemed fine in the exam room and showed no signs of being aggressive during the initial examination, but said it was as if the dog flipped a switch when the Doctor stepped out and re-entered the room, as the dog immediately attacked and bit the Doctor. The Veterinarian recommended to the owner to get rid of the dog and definitely would not leave this dog alone in a room with children. The Doctor further explained that the fact that the dog’s temperament changed so abruptly like that with no previous indications, points to the obvious safety issue in the home. The Doctor further told Detectives that the dog’s behavior resulted in the refusal of any future visits for that animal, at that clinic.
Although we as a department never take pride in taking the life of an animal, we are expected to protect the life of the public and ourselves if/when a situation ever arises. Our agency has offered our condolences to the affected family, while working with them through their grieving process. Taking into consideration the unfortunate situation and loss to the family, a citation pertaining to the City of Thibodaux Leash Law Ordinance was not issued.
Chief Zeringue would like to take this time to address the 19-second social-media video that went viral following the incident. In today’s society, it is very easy to get miss-led by a false narrative or partial video posted to social media. Unfortunately, in this case as well as many other situations, the entire incident contained vital information that was not seen in the 19-second clip captured by the cellular device. As we understand everyone can exercise their First Amendment right and form their own opinion, we encourage the public to wait until facts of the investigation are released. Taking to social media with presumptive information of what and why you assume something happened, can falsely diminish the public’s opinion of people involved in the investigation.
In addition, Chief Zeringue would like to remind our community partners that the Thibodaux Police Department cannot use a comment on social media as an official statement nor a factual statement of that person, due to not being able to verify if they were actually the person posting the statement. Through this investigation, we have learned there were countless alleged “witnesses” to the incident, but most of which did not come forward. As we understand that public perception and opinion may not always agree with the factual evidence and legal actions taken by the Thibodaux Police Department, we do want to remind our community partners that our social media outlets are considered a legal public forum, which reserves the right to remove information posted by anyone who violates the terms of use. The agency also reserves the right to remove and/or block anyone who posts inappropriate or offensive material as determined by the department.
As we move forward into this New Year, we would like to thank all the supporters of our agency and law enforcement in general, while we continue to ensure our officers’ serve the community with utmost respect and professionalism. We could only hope that this incident serves as a reminder to the public that any officer from this point forward should be afforded the opportunity of a thorough investigation and explanation of facts before degrading the officer with slander and defamation.