Maple Heights police release body camera video after officer shoots 1-year-old pit bull

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The Maple Heights Police Department on Friday released body camera video from the moment one of its officers shot a 1-year-old pit bull.

According to authorities, officers had been called to the dog owner's home 13 times over the past year for complaints related to the animal. Upon arriving to Camden Road Thursday morning, officials claimed the dog was behaving "aggressively" before being shot.

In the bodycam video, an officer could be heard firing three shots. The footage, which was partially blocked at times, captured the sound of the dog whimpering after being struck.

Marquita Watford, the dog's owner, says she is "still kind of in shock." Her neighbor, Desiree Jones, claims the pit bull has terrorized her family.

"I shouldn't have to be bullied because you don't want me to tell you 'no,'" Jones said of Watford. "I do not create a threat; your dog is the one creating a threat."

Jones told 3News she called the police around 9:30 a.m. Thursday after the dog named Chino ran toward her daughter and grandchild.

"The pit bull chased them right back to my side door," she said. "Not only — when the pit bull chased my daughter, he decided he was going to stay."

The police video showed an officer arriving at Watford's home and knocking on the door, but no one answered. The officer then went around the house and came face-to-face with Chino.

Seconds later, the officer fired multiple shots, injuring the dog.

Watford, who describes herself as a "dog mom," called for accountability from the police department.

"I would like for Maple Heights to take responsibility," she said. "For the officer, I want him to own up, because you just wanted to shoot my dog. You shot him in my backyard, on his stairs, and you shot up at him."

Maple Heights Police Chief Todd Hansen defended the officer's actions, saying he made the appropriate decision.

"Anything that can threaten our safety, we have to protect ourselves as well," Hansen stated, also asserting that the icy conditions and close proximity between vehicles left the officer with little room to maneuver.

"There is no other way when you have a distance that's 10 to 15 feet or less between two cars," he said. "It's icy out. There's only so much you can move or do to avoid a situation like that, and that was kind of the situation we had here."

Watford was cited for failing to keep her dog on a leash. The pit bull now faces a long road to recovery.