ROTTWEILER SHOT DEAD IN POLICE RAID ON APARTMENT

Dog Lunged At Officers Bursting Through Door

A drug raid on a downtown apartment that netted a few grams of
cocaine and marijuana ended in police shooting a Rottweiler dead when
the dog attacked officers as they stormed through the door.

Ottawa police said a tactical officer opened fire on the dog after
being bitten on the knee, moments after battering down the door to
the eighth-floor apartment in a highrise building at 199 Kent St. at
about 11 p.m. Wednesday.

The 110-pound, eight-year-old Rottweiler -- named Black Sabbath --
was shot four times.

While officers found only a small quantity of drugs, police said a
Taser, pepper spray and more than $10,000 in cash were seized in the raid.

Ottawa police Staff Sgt. Mike Ryan said the officer who shot the dog
was the first one through the door and only used his gun after the
dog lunged repeatedly at him.

"We take no pleasure in shooting dogs, but we're not going to have
our officers injured," said Staff Sgt. Ryan, adding the officer was
treated and released from hospital for puncture wounds. "If the
officer feels he's going to encounter bodily harm, he's not going to
hesitate to do what he needs to do to clear a door."

The shooting has infuriated Black Sabbath's owner, Chris Nasseralleh,
45, who says police knew the dog was inside, but never gave him a
chance to get the animal under control before crashing through his
door with their guns drawn.

Likening the dog to a "son," Mr. Nasseralleh claimed police started
shooting at the dog almost immediately after entering the
three-bedroom apartment by twice hammering the door with a battering
ram. "These are not peace officers. These are animals, these people," he said.

"They walked in shooting," said Mr. Nasseralleh, who says he was
sitting in the living room with his roommate and another man when
police broke down the door.

"You didn't even hear 'police', you just heard pop, pop, pop, pop,"
he said, adding they were forced to lie on the floor while officers
searched the apartment.

Blood splatters stained the hallway walls and carpet where Mr.
Nasseralleh said his wounded pet ran after being shot. A much larger
blood stain marked the white sheets of Mr. Nasseralleh's overturned
bed where the dog eventually collapsed and died.

Mr. Nasseralleh's roommate Sean Turgeon, 29, said the dog ran away
and the police followed and, claimed Mr. Turgeon, "kept shooting." He
said "the dog jumped on his bed and they just let him bleed to death."

Clothes and other personal belongings littered the floor from the
police search while doors to the bedroom to where Black Sabbath ran
and a storage room had also been knocked open by police.

Mr. Nasseralleh and Mr. Turgeon, along with a third man, John
Richard, are each facing a charge of possession of cocaine. All three
were released from police custody at around 6 a.m.

Ottawa police drug unit Staff Sgt. Marc Pinault said officers had
reason to believe there was cocaine being dealt out of the apartment.
"We believed they had drugs there for sale, obtained our warrant and
did our thing," he said, adding police were concerned the men inside
the apartment might have been armed.

"You never know what you are going to find behind a door and have to
be prepared," said the police officer.