Salt Lake City cop shoots man’s dog in the head during warrantless search

"Just the sheer sight of seeing my dog there — it was traumatizing."

Sean Kendall’s dog, now deceased.

SALT LAKE CITY, UT — A man says police entered his property without permission and then shot his dog in the head.

Sean Kendall was traumatized on June 18th when he found his beloved 2-year-old Weinheimer dead in his yard, courtesy of the Salt Lake City Police Department.

Police had helped themselves into Kendall’s private, fenced-in yard, later saying that they don’t need a warrant or permission to enter. Police were looking for a neighbor’s child that wandered off.

KSL reported the owner’s reaction:

Kendall said Geist had never been aggressive or lunged at anybody, so “the idea that he attacked an officer — it just doesn’t make sense,” he said. “I believe my dog came out of the dog kennel to see what was going on, who was here, stopped right here, and those were his last moments.”

Kendall said Geist had a single gunshot wound to the head.

“Just the sheer sight of seeing my dog there — it was traumatizing,” Kendall said. “Now he’s dead. I have him wrapped up in a blanket in the back of my truck, and now I have to go bury him.”

UPDATE #1:

SLC Officer Brett Olsen has been identified as the shooter. He admitted to entering the yard and shooting at the dog when he was about 20 feet inside the property.

Further details have confirmed that the yard was securely surrounded by a 6-foot tall wooden fence, and the officer had entered without knocking or asking permission.

“You guys killed my best friend,” Sean Kendall said as he confronted Salt Lake City police about the shooting.

“We entered the yard looking for a lost child. He was threatened by the dog and shot the dog. That’s as simple as it gets,” Sgt. Cyr explained.

“So I get to bury my dog because an officer couldn’t back up and close the f***ing gate,” Kendall said during the exchange. “Something’s gotta change, and I know it wasn’t you. I’m sorry but I’m f***ing pissed.”

The situation remains under investigation, Fox 13 reported.

UPDATE #2:

Officer Brett Olson has been cleared of any wrongdoing, KSL reported. His trespass into Mr. Kendall’s yard has been excused due to “exigent circumstances” and the shooting is being deemed as valid self defense.

“This was an unfortunate circumstance in which an officer was doing exactly what we in the public require of them, and an animal who is doing what, by instinct, (the dog) believes appropriate,” Police Chief Chris Burbank commented.

In other words, acquiring permission before entering fenced-in private property is apparently out of the question.

“When police are allowed to be judge, jury and executioner, there is little surprise that Brett Olsen had been allowed to get away with trespassing, discharging a firearm in a residential area, endangering the community and destroying private property,” remarked Sean Kendall, who was unsurprised that the officer would get a “get out of (jail) free” card.