Family’s dog shot and killed by investigator who went to wrong home, Arkansas cops say

A family’s dog is dead after an investigator in Arkansas shot it last week while responding to the wrong house, police say.

Investigator James Freeman was doing a compliance check on a registered sex offender Nov. 9 and went to the address listed as the person’s residence, Faulkner County Sheriff Tim Ryals said in a statement posted on Facebook.

When he arrived, there were several mobile homes that were “not distinguishable by letter or number,” and a young girl directed Freeman to the mobile home next to hers, explaining that a sex offender lives there, Ryals said.

But it was the wrong house, officials told KARK.

Chris Coiner, who lives at the house with his family, said the investigator shot his family’s dog, Clide.

Coiner said the incident happened while his daughter was in the yard, arriving home from school, according to a Facebook post.

“Before I was even around the corner here, I heard a shot, and the officer had shot my dog right here in the yard for barking at him,” Coiner told KATV. “My girlfriend watched it out the window, the dog was not attacking him, the dog was barking, in my yard, on private property.”

Coiner said that Freeman didn’t try to get away from the dog by getting back in his vehicle, opting instead to shoot the dog, according to KARK.

“We lost a family member,” Coiner told the outlet.

Freeman has not publicly commented on the incident.

Police say the dog emerged from under the home and started barking and growling at Freeman, before someone called it back behind the residence.

When Freeman started to walk to the back of the home, the dog approached “more aggressively,” pinning Freeman with his back to the mobile home, according to police.

“Investigator Freeman was placed in an unfortunate situation with his back against the mobile home and no way to escape the dog,” Ryals said. “He again told the dog to get back and the dog lunged at him.”

That’s when police say Freeman shot the dog.

After, Coiner filmed his interaction with Freeman. The video may be disturbing to some — the dog can be seen on the ground throughout.

In the video, Coiner is heard asking Freeman which home he was looking for. Freeman is seen checking a piece of paper before he tells Coiner the address.

Coiner then yells that the residence Freeman named is “over there” and orders him to “get off my property.”

“You shot and killed my g-- d--- dog,” Coiner yells, adding “that dog ain’t never bothered nobody.”

Ryals requested an internal investigation into the incident. He said Monday that Franklin County investigators talked with multiple witnesses who said the dog “had a history of acting aggressively towards humans.”

Investigators determined that Freeman had not broken any state laws or violated any of the department’s policies or procedures.

“We, in law enforcement, answer calls every day that require split-second, life and death decisions,” Ryals said. “We strive to be right 100% of the time. Our department is saddened by this unfortunate incident and sincerely apologize for any distress it may have caused.”

Faulkner County is just north of Little Rock.

This story was originally published November 17, 2020 at 8:17 AM with the headline "Family’s dog shot and killed by investigator who went to wrong home, Arkansas cops say."